The similarity of facade design between the Cinema I/II building and Lincoln Center is obvious, and the fact they were built around the same time makes it seem more than a coincidence. So the question is, was there an actual plan to have these Cinemas be the East Side film showcase for Lincoln Center, or was it simply an attempt to capitalize on the publicity around Lincoln Center’s opening?
At this point, all these calls to go ahead and tear it down and arguments over who is to blame are meaningless. They got approvals years ago, yet nothing has happened. Obviously the leeches who have controlled this process from the beginning have not yet sucked all the money out of it that they can. More shell corporations trading ownership back and forth, more agents collecting transaction fees, more design firms collecting commissions, more permits and bribes, more politicians having their palms greased one way or another… it will simply continue until there is no more to be squeezed out, and then something will happen. Tommy Huang dumped oil in the basement, and it has been a black hole ever since.
I’m sorry, but if the current residents of the area don’t know or care about the theater – despite all the efforts to inform them and interest them in its history and potential – then they’ve already got exactly what they deserve. Neither condos nor a “preserved” lobby will bring Flushing “up” – they will simply enrich the pockets of the developer.
The restaurant that expanded into the theater space is closing. You can see the former marquee in the photo.
http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/abbracciamento-s-closing-its-doors/article_516a1076-d460-5218-8f4d-fec1f045f13e.html#.UthaC3UVM4g
Interesting! Though the “Boulevard Latin Cuisine” sign makes no mention of a theater, as the old one did. Wonder if they’re still utilizing that space.
The World’s First All Purpose Motion Picture Theatre? Hmm… not sure what they meant by that. How about Radio City Music Hall? How about most other movie palaces with stages? Peculiar claim. Anyway, that claim was about as accurate as the artist’s rendering in that ad, which bears absolutely no resemblance to reality!
I saw a story about this on the news and was ready to vomit. Not a word about the historic nature of the building…just matter-of-factly that the landlord was going to demolish and rebuild it and the congregation was going to have to find another home.
In the case of the Paradise, it appears to be that the megachurch had megabucks that the owner couldn’t refuse. In the case of the Keith’s (and I suspect in most cases) it is politicians in the pocket of developers.
I somehow missed the fact that the resplendently restored Loew’s Paradise in the Bronx has been bought by a mega church, and construction workers there had already managed to start a fire on Nov. 5 that caused heavy smoke damage. It’s a shame that so few of these stories end in Happily Ever After.
Look at the interior of the Loew’s Kings in Brooklyn and compare it to the shots of the Keith’s. Why is one being refurbished and the other considered a total loss?
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/loew-article-1.1245330
The facade will apparently not be “saved” — it will be “recreated” using “as much of the old building’s bricks as possible”… Anyway, demolition is now underway, and I’m posting some pics I snapped today with my lousy cell phone camera in the photo section. (The fact that they spray-painted “DEMO” all over the bricks on the facade makes me wonder how they’re planning to reuse them; but hey, it makes as much sense as an article about the theater’s demolition being headlined “Theater revival under way”… or the point I made before that this will give Ridgefield TWO non-profit theaters to support, including the one that took this theater’s name.)
Theater revival under way
Robert Miller
Updated 10:42 p.m., Friday, September 14, 2012
NewsTimes.com
Read more: http://www.newstimes.com/local/article/Theater-revival-under-way-3866524.php#ixzz29mYE3Fp0
RIDGEFIELD — Valerie Jensen — dressed for the occasion in black gown, pink carpenter’s tool belt and black Converse All-Star sneakers with shocking pink laces — popped a confetti-filled champagne bottle in front of the old Ridgefield Playhouse.
The theater’s rebirth as The Prospector was about to begin.
“All right,‘’ she said Friday. "Let’s go to the movies.‘’
Jensen was officiating the start of the demolition of the town’s 1939 movie house, turned bank, turned vacant building.
In 18 months, she hopes, it will reopen as a three-screen theater showing a range of films — current releases, independent films, classics.
Her love of the theater, she admitted, began in 2009, when the Ridgfield Library — which owned the old theater — realized the building could not be used as part of its expansion. The library proposed to tear the theater down.
"I had passed this building a million times and never thought about it,‘’ Jensen said. "I went inside. I looked at the theater and the theater looked at me. It was love at first sight.‘’
Jensen is the head of SPHERE — Special People Housing Education Recreation and Employment — which works with people with disabilities. While she’s made two movies for SPHERE, she admits she has no experience running a theater.
But she was able to get the financing to buy the theater from the library for $2.55 million. She will now tear the building down. The new building will duplicate the old theater’s facade lobby, using as much of the old building’s bricks as possible.
The project will then add on the three new cinemas — one with 150 seats, a second with 120, and a third with 150 seats that can be used for parties and special events.
First Selectman Rudy Marconi told the crowd gathered at the ground-breaking of seeing the Alfred Hitchcock classic "Psycho'‘ as an 11-year-old, then running home, scared to death by the menace of a demented Tony Perkins. Oblivious to the world, he ran into a telephone pole, and ripped his new jacket.
Which then gave him something else to be scared of.
"My mother was so mad at me,’‘ he said.
; 203-731-3345
It would be a shame if the Fresh Meadows was really on its last legs, but it sounds as if most of the modernistic grandeur has long been gone anyway. BTW, Tinseltoes, the Box Office article you linked to on July 5 is fascinating – what a great resource that site is. And if you scroll ahead to Page 12 there’s another photo of the Meadows auditorium, in an article on seats.
That is awesome, Tinseltoes! That publication is an absolute treasure trove of information, and how great it is that it’s all been scanned and is available online! The blurb for the cover story says “New type of theatre opened for automobile trade by Century Circuit” so I went looking through the pages and found the story, which is fascinating – it’s even got a reproduction of one of the grand opening newspaper ads. (And according to the story, it was not actually built FOR Century Theatres; it was built by NY Life Insurance Co. as part of the adjacent housing project, and leased from plans by a VP of the Century Circuit)
http://www.boxoffice.com/the_vault/issue_page?issue_id=1949-12-3&page_no=17#page_start
Thanks for that link, Tinseltoes! The story about how that “prison” double bill was promoted in Flushing is even more illuminating than the photo — though “IN PERSON – SING WITH ‘BERNIE’ AT THE MIGHTY ORGAN” on the marquee gives another sense of the flavor of the times.
Library, theater plans move ahead
Posted: 06/20/2012 2:20 PM
RIDGEFIELD — Work on two interlocking projects — the $20 million Ridgefield Library and the Prospector Theatre — are poised to begin work within the next six weeks.
When the work is completed in late 2013, it will change the downtown landscape.
“It’s a radically important nexus for the town,‘’ said Planning and Zoning Commission member Michael Autuori of the two buildings.
The commission gave unanimous approval to the two projects Tuesday. It still must give final approval to the draft decision, but that’s expected to follow without issue.
“I’ve only seen the commission change its mind on draft decisions a couple of times,‘’ said attorney Robert Jewell, representing the library at Tuesday’s meeting. "This isn’t going to be one of those times.‘’
The move now allows the two projects to move forward.
“We have the financing,‘’ said Valerie Jensen, the leader of the move to demolish the old Ridgefield Playhouse on Prospect Street and rebuild it as the Prospector, a three-screen cinema and arts center.
The similarity of facade design between the Cinema I/II building and Lincoln Center is obvious, and the fact they were built around the same time makes it seem more than a coincidence. So the question is, was there an actual plan to have these Cinemas be the East Side film showcase for Lincoln Center, or was it simply an attempt to capitalize on the publicity around Lincoln Center’s opening?
Shhhhh! You’re imagining that!
At this point, all these calls to go ahead and tear it down and arguments over who is to blame are meaningless. They got approvals years ago, yet nothing has happened. Obviously the leeches who have controlled this process from the beginning have not yet sucked all the money out of it that they can. More shell corporations trading ownership back and forth, more agents collecting transaction fees, more design firms collecting commissions, more permits and bribes, more politicians having their palms greased one way or another… it will simply continue until there is no more to be squeezed out, and then something will happen. Tommy Huang dumped oil in the basement, and it has been a black hole ever since.
Not reading Chinese, I wouldn’t know. But I thought most residents of Flushing were Korean.
I’m sorry, but if the current residents of the area don’t know or care about the theater – despite all the efforts to inform them and interest them in its history and potential – then they’ve already got exactly what they deserve. Neither condos nor a “preserved” lobby will bring Flushing “up” – they will simply enrich the pockets of the developer.
And so it goes…
CinemaDude, THANK YOU for that wonderful post!
The restaurant that expanded into the theater space is closing. You can see the former marquee in the photo. http://www.qchron.com/editions/queenswide/abbracciamento-s-closing-its-doors/article_516a1076-d460-5218-8f4d-fec1f045f13e.html#.UthaC3UVM4g
So Patrick Thompson did nothing and made $10 million on the property. Maybe JK Equities can also do nothing and make $20 million?
Interesting! Though the “Boulevard Latin Cuisine” sign makes no mention of a theater, as the old one did. Wonder if they’re still utilizing that space.
Agreed!
I suppose they could have shown films made at Gold Medal Studios in the Bronx… ;)
Interesting! But who, among the general public, would have understood that claim?
The World’s First All Purpose Motion Picture Theatre? Hmm… not sure what they meant by that. How about Radio City Music Hall? How about most other movie palaces with stages? Peculiar claim. Anyway, that claim was about as accurate as the artist’s rendering in that ad, which bears absolutely no resemblance to reality!
I saw a story about this on the news and was ready to vomit. Not a word about the historic nature of the building…just matter-of-factly that the landlord was going to demolish and rebuild it and the congregation was going to have to find another home.
In the case of the Paradise, it appears to be that the megachurch had megabucks that the owner couldn’t refuse. In the case of the Keith’s (and I suspect in most cases) it is politicians in the pocket of developers.
I somehow missed the fact that the resplendently restored Loew’s Paradise in the Bronx has been bought by a mega church, and construction workers there had already managed to start a fire on Nov. 5 that caused heavy smoke damage. It’s a shame that so few of these stories end in Happily Ever After.
Look at the interior of the Loew’s Kings in Brooklyn and compare it to the shots of the Keith’s. Why is one being refurbished and the other considered a total loss? http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/loew-article-1.1245330
The size of these auditoriums is now approaching that of some living rooms! Can’t believe the largest one holds only 175.
The facade will apparently not be “saved” — it will be “recreated” using “as much of the old building’s bricks as possible”… Anyway, demolition is now underway, and I’m posting some pics I snapped today with my lousy cell phone camera in the photo section. (The fact that they spray-painted “DEMO” all over the bricks on the facade makes me wonder how they’re planning to reuse them; but hey, it makes as much sense as an article about the theater’s demolition being headlined “Theater revival under way”… or the point I made before that this will give Ridgefield TWO non-profit theaters to support, including the one that took this theater’s name.)
Theater revival under way Robert Miller Updated 10:42 p.m., Friday, September 14, 2012 NewsTimes.com Read more: http://www.newstimes.com/local/article/Theater-revival-under-way-3866524.php#ixzz29mYE3Fp0 RIDGEFIELD — Valerie Jensen — dressed for the occasion in black gown, pink carpenter’s tool belt and black Converse All-Star sneakers with shocking pink laces — popped a confetti-filled champagne bottle in front of the old Ridgefield Playhouse. The theater’s rebirth as The Prospector was about to begin. “All right,‘’ she said Friday. "Let’s go to the movies.‘’ Jensen was officiating the start of the demolition of the town’s 1939 movie house, turned bank, turned vacant building. In 18 months, she hopes, it will reopen as a three-screen theater showing a range of films — current releases, independent films, classics. Her love of the theater, she admitted, began in 2009, when the Ridgfield Library — which owned the old theater — realized the building could not be used as part of its expansion. The library proposed to tear the theater down. "I had passed this building a million times and never thought about it,‘’ Jensen said. "I went inside. I looked at the theater and the theater looked at me. It was love at first sight.‘’ Jensen is the head of SPHERE — Special People Housing Education Recreation and Employment — which works with people with disabilities. While she’s made two movies for SPHERE, she admits she has no experience running a theater. But she was able to get the financing to buy the theater from the library for $2.55 million. She will now tear the building down. The new building will duplicate the old theater’s facade lobby, using as much of the old building’s bricks as possible. The project will then add on the three new cinemas — one with 150 seats, a second with 120, and a third with 150 seats that can be used for parties and special events. First Selectman Rudy Marconi told the crowd gathered at the ground-breaking of seeing the Alfred Hitchcock classic "Psycho'‘ as an 11-year-old, then running home, scared to death by the menace of a demented Tony Perkins. Oblivious to the world, he ran into a telephone pole, and ripped his new jacket. Which then gave him something else to be scared of. "My mother was so mad at me,’‘ he said. ; 203-731-3345
© 2012 Hearst Communications
It would be a shame if the Fresh Meadows was really on its last legs, but it sounds as if most of the modernistic grandeur has long been gone anyway. BTW, Tinseltoes, the Box Office article you linked to on July 5 is fascinating – what a great resource that site is. And if you scroll ahead to Page 12 there’s another photo of the Meadows auditorium, in an article on seats.
That is awesome, Tinseltoes! That publication is an absolute treasure trove of information, and how great it is that it’s all been scanned and is available online! The blurb for the cover story says “New type of theatre opened for automobile trade by Century Circuit” so I went looking through the pages and found the story, which is fascinating – it’s even got a reproduction of one of the grand opening newspaper ads. (And according to the story, it was not actually built FOR Century Theatres; it was built by NY Life Insurance Co. as part of the adjacent housing project, and leased from plans by a VP of the Century Circuit) http://www.boxoffice.com/the_vault/issue_page?issue_id=1949-12-3&page_no=17#page_start
Thanks for that link, Tinseltoes! The story about how that “prison” double bill was promoted in Flushing is even more illuminating than the photo — though “IN PERSON – SING WITH ‘BERNIE’ AT THE MIGHTY ORGAN” on the marquee gives another sense of the flavor of the times.
From the Danbury News-Times:
Library, theater plans move ahead Posted: 06/20/2012 2:20 PM RIDGEFIELD — Work on two interlocking projects — the $20 million Ridgefield Library and the Prospector Theatre — are poised to begin work within the next six weeks.
When the work is completed in late 2013, it will change the downtown landscape.
“It’s a radically important nexus for the town,‘’ said Planning and Zoning Commission member Michael Autuori of the two buildings.
The commission gave unanimous approval to the two projects Tuesday. It still must give final approval to the draft decision, but that’s expected to follow without issue.
“I’ve only seen the commission change its mind on draft decisions a couple of times,‘’ said attorney Robert Jewell, representing the library at Tuesday’s meeting. "This isn’t going to be one of those times.‘’
The move now allows the two projects to move forward.
“We have the financing,‘’ said Valerie Jensen, the leader of the move to demolish the old Ridgefield Playhouse on Prospect Street and rebuild it as the Prospector, a three-screen cinema and arts center.
Copyright © 2011 Hearst Communications Inc
So apparently, the massive marquee that covered the original curved one was a part of the “thorough modernization” of 1951?