I grew up in Jackson Heights in the 1950s and saw a few movies at the Colony, including High Noon, Disney’s The Living Desert, and at least one of Ingmar Bergman’s films. The Colony was one of two “art houses” in the neighborhood, the other being the Earle on 74th Street.
went to the Polk many times as a kid. They had a good Saturday kid’s matinee, as did the Boulevard and Fair. I think the last time I went to the Polk, it had already been converted into a porn house, the third theater in Jackson Heights so transformed (along with the Earle and Fair). On the next block, also on 37th Avenue, was the fabulous Dragon Seed Restaurant, which had one of the first stereophonic music systems in the city. On Mondays, when the restaurant was closed, the owner opened it to neighborhood audiophiles. Great neighborhood!
I think the Pike may have been the little theater next to (and connected to) the Capri. I was there on the day workers ripped off the old silver screen. The buildings are still intact and have been remodeled into an art gallery.
There are likely thousands of photo links on this site that no longer work. Has anyone found a solution? Can’t photos be uploaded to this site and stored here?
Does anyone remember seeing Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder at the Jackson in the 1950s? If so, was it screened in 2D or 3D? I seem to recall it being shown in 3D ..
It’s not a great theater, but it’s very nice and hasn’t been overrestored, so you still feel like you’re in an old theater. The current projection/sound system is first rate; it’s a pleasure to see movies there.
That’s interesting, because I contacted Friends of the Loew’s last week to ask whether the original plaque was still in place! Haven’t yet heard from them …
I should mention that there is no signature or other identification of the artist of the bust.
Thanks to Warren Harris for the 1929 article from the New York Times.
At the time of Loew’s death in 1927, 144 theaters had been completed and 24 more were in construction. It is likely (though unconfirmed) that each of those 168 theaters had a memorial plaque installed in 1929. I wonder how many of the original plaques are still in place …
Unfortunately, this is how the theater looked BEFORE the addition of the marquee. It’s a beautiful building and the entry was quite elegant. That’s now gone.
This discussion has to take the prize for the most amusing on cinematreasures.
The Fair was one of my favorite theaters growing up in East Elmhurst. I think the first film I saw there was “From Here to Eternity.” Then they started showing 3D movies. Wow! My regret was not seeing “I, The Jury” when it played at the Fair in 3D. Happily, I got to see it at the Egyptian in Hollywood in 2006.
As Will mentioned above, the Bijou recently received a new marquee and vertical sign. Both are poor designs. The marquee looks like three commercial retail signs bolted together at the corners. A view of that beautiful entry arch (in the image above) has been obliterated. It’s doubtful any architect was involved, and astonishing that this design made it through what is usually a very demanding downtown historic preservation process. As an architect, I’m sure a fine design could have been produced within the budget, but, alas, it seems like no one tried ..
I grew up in Jackson Heights in the 1950s and saw a few movies at the Colony, including High Noon, Disney’s The Living Desert, and at least one of Ingmar Bergman’s films. The Colony was one of two “art houses” in the neighborhood, the other being the Earle on 74th Street.
went to the Polk many times as a kid. They had a good Saturday kid’s matinee, as did the Boulevard and Fair. I think the last time I went to the Polk, it had already been converted into a porn house, the third theater in Jackson Heights so transformed (along with the Earle and Fair). On the next block, also on 37th Avenue, was the fabulous Dragon Seed Restaurant, which had one of the first stereophonic music systems in the city. On Mondays, when the restaurant was closed, the owner opened it to neighborhood audiophiles. Great neighborhood!
The PBS American Masters documentary on Elia Kazan (mentioned above) was shown again tonight. There was a nice exterior view of the Commodore marquee.
Here’s a link to a remembrance and photo of Loew’s State Memphis: http://www.memphistechhigh.com/memphis/memories/state.html
Here’s a remembrance and photo of Loew’s Palace in Memphis: http://www.memphistechhigh.com/memphis/memories/palace.html
The Theatre Historical Society in Elmhurst, IL, already has one of these.
I think the Pike may have been the little theater next to (and connected to) the Capri. I was there on the day workers ripped off the old silver screen. The buildings are still intact and have been remodeled into an art gallery.
The 1959 photo has been moved to the following website:
http://yfrog.com/h80mohj
There are likely thousands of photo links on this site that no longer work. Has anyone found a solution? Can’t photos be uploaded to this site and stored here?
Here’s a photo of the Loew’s Bay Ridge c.1959
http://twitpic.com/3gz4o4
Does anyone remember seeing Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder at the Jackson in the 1950s? If so, was it screened in 2D or 3D? I seem to recall it being shown in 3D ..
There was a nice video of the marquee of the Bama in the Joan Baez documentary that aired last night on PBS.
This item has been sold.
This item has been relisted at a lower price.
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The item didn’t sell on eBay but is still available. Anyone interested can contact me at
There are great Technicolor views of the Chicago in these 1948 short documentaries:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaMGqzkNwLY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi9VrrVLMn0
It’s not a great theater, but it’s very nice and hasn’t been overrestored, so you still feel like you’re in an old theater. The current projection/sound system is first rate; it’s a pleasure to see movies there.
That’s a big piece of paper .. a stack of movie posters, perhaps?
That’s interesting, because I contacted Friends of the Loew’s last week to ask whether the original plaque was still in place! Haven’t yet heard from them …
I should mention that there is no signature or other identification of the artist of the bust.
Thanks to Warren Harris for the 1929 article from the New York Times.
At the time of Loew’s death in 1927, 144 theaters had been completed and 24 more were in construction. It is likely (though unconfirmed) that each of those 168 theaters had a memorial plaque installed in 1929. I wonder how many of the original plaques are still in place …
I’ve now listed this on eBay
View link
Unfortunately, this is how the theater looked BEFORE the addition of the marquee. It’s a beautiful building and the entry was quite elegant. That’s now gone.
This discussion has to take the prize for the most amusing on cinematreasures.
The Fair was one of my favorite theaters growing up in East Elmhurst. I think the first film I saw there was “From Here to Eternity.” Then they started showing 3D movies. Wow! My regret was not seeing “I, The Jury” when it played at the Fair in 3D. Happily, I got to see it at the Egyptian in Hollywood in 2006.
As Will mentioned above, the Bijou recently received a new marquee and vertical sign. Both are poor designs. The marquee looks like three commercial retail signs bolted together at the corners. A view of that beautiful entry arch (in the image above) has been obliterated. It’s doubtful any architect was involved, and astonishing that this design made it through what is usually a very demanding downtown historic preservation process. As an architect, I’m sure a fine design could have been produced within the budget, but, alas, it seems like no one tried ..
View link
Is it a photographic repro or done in real bronze?