RKO Keith's Theatre
135-35 Northern Boulevard,
Flushing,
NY
11354
135-35 Northern Boulevard,
Flushing,
NY
11354
51 people
favorited this theater
Showing 476 - 500 of 1,324 comments
Jeffrey, I encourage you to write to both sources you mentioned, and regardless of whether you receive a response, it will be on the record. CC politicians too. Let the voice of the people be heard. Kudos!
I wouldn’t worry. It sounds like a fuzzy-minded plan. This probably means it is going nowhere.
I think that’s a safe bet. The article says, “Missing from the images are details of the grand movie house lobby, which will be exposed to the street through a two-story glass atrium.” Gee, I wonder why those details are missing? Well, let’s see — it also says, “Designers plan to erect a steel cage around the original structure and then insert protective skin. The original façade will then be removed to reveal the interiors for all of Main Street to see, making the old lobby a star.” So obviously, your concerns about destruction of the front of the lobby are correct, and they either haven’t got a clue or are afraid to reveal what this actually means. But there are some truly bizarre things mentioned as well. It continues, “The cage will then support the new structure and the tower’s base will replicate the stage’s proscenium arch.” What?? How does the stage’s proscenium arch figure into any of this, when it’s at the far end of the auditorium and is to be demolished? How would the tower’s base “replicate” it? Hold on; that’s not all. The article also says, “A senior center will weave its way around the space, and Valgor hopes to see restaurant and bar crowds enliven the lobby.” Does this mean the lobby will be open and provide access to the restaurant and bar? Will the seniors be on display through the glass wall? Does ANY of this make any sense? I think I’m going to write to either The Architect’s Newspaper or Jay Valgora at STUDIO V, or both, and ask for some explanations.
Plus the article is still vague about the issue of exactly how the foyer will be visible through the glass without removing half the landmarked space. They should provide a new floor plan or a detailed rendering of what the lobby will look like to an observer standing directly in front of the building, not from blocks away down Main Street. I would bet they still do not know what they are talking about.
I love the way the subhead in “The Architect’s Newspaper” says this design “saves 82-year-old RKO Keith’s Theater”! Really? Last time I checked, most theaters consist of more than a lobby. Ah, but that’s a mere detail… wouldn’t expect architects to be bothered with those.
Just found this link, it shows the fountain I was wondering about on the other side of the foyer, a small picture of which is shown:
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I enlarged it here:
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And here is the old postcard from the 1930s showing approximately the same view:
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So the fountain I was worried about is still there in its corner. Its counterpart on the opposite side of the room is missing, however, along with the biggie that adorned the center of the room, though its position on the floor is indicated by an outline. The decorative cornice above the coat check window is now missing and plastered over. Hmmm I get deja vu reading this article, especially when i see the part about a missing fountain in a dentist’s office. Has this been posted before?
Well I guess if they say it’s “trashed” and there is nothing left it must be true.
:)
Maybe they should grab a look at this entire thread to get an idea of how little they know about this place. They probably don’t care anyway, it is all about the money. I am now worried that more looting has taken place since that ornate wall fountain now seems to be missing from the foyer. I wonder who took it?
Dave, superb work in drawing a comparison between the original blueprints and what features may be retained if developer Patrick Thompson & the politicians have their way.
I second your comment on how the developer does not seem to know what they are talking about. Removing the front for glass curtain slap would most likely mean sacrificing a wall of the original lobby. It is doubtful that the Landmarks Preservation Commission would permit that.
I’ve used Tom Lamb’s floor plan of the RKO to dummy up a “before and after” set of two blueprints showing how much of the space would have to be removed in order for the foyer to be visible from the street.
Here is the original layout:
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Here is a possible new layout with everything removed so that the north part of the foyer will be visible from the street through a “glass curtain”:
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The north part of the foyer visible from the street would be the faux facade with the windows and balconies, drawn here in the original designs:
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I suppose the marble staircases would be visible too. Unfortunately the ticket lobby and the decorative rotunda above it, and the three baroque-style arches along the south foyer would be removed in order to clear the sight line. If these are landmarked areas, I do not see how it will be permissible to remove them. Again, I think the developers do not know what they are talking about when they talk about a glass curtain…or they feel the faux facade on the north foyer will be enough to preserve.
So now Ed Solero has vanished along with the fountain? Nothing makes any sense.
I still can’t comprehend those photos. If they are indeed unretouched and show the actual state things are in, it seems almost incomprehensible that the walls were stripped down to the sheetrock and graffitied, yet the frames and ticket booth – not to mention the entire columned second story – appear to be virtually in mint condition. That’s why I thought they were artist’s renderings of parts to be restored.
This fountain is mentioned by SWCphotography on a post of February 16, 2009, referencing Ed Solero’s photobucket page. Whatever happened to Ed Solero?
I am noticing in this image that the corner fountain is missing:
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Over there in the center right where it is all blank sheetrock (the angled section of the wall), used to have this fountain on it if I am not mistaken:
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If that fountain is missing, it must have been removed since “asphoto” took this picture back in January 2007.
Yes half the foyer and the entire ticket lobby would have to be removed. I am sure the developers are simply spewing the party line about the property until they have another publicity campaign thought up. Their publicists probably have not even looked at the original drawings and floorplans, and therefore do not know what they are talking about. People are so dense nowadays that they probably would not even understand what they are looking at even if they did study the floor plans. No doubt they are brilliant in the business and finance department though, since that is about all anyone studies or cares about anymore.
I still don’t understand the concept…if they make the “lobby of glass on one side so it can be seen from the street”, doesn’t that DESTROY the whole street side of the lobby? This whole concept sounds absurd. But then again, “preservation” has been absurd lately anyway.
I rezzed those teensy interior shots up in Photoshop…not too much more detail revealed but a little easier on the eyes. With such a marvelous medium as the internet where we can view images in high resolution, I despise it when web sites do not offer large images for viewing. I have found this happens on web sites both small and large, small to big budget. We might as well just pick up a copy of the paper or mag and look at if if the web site is not going to offer a better visual experience.
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And I am sure there will be some type of wax figures of the political figures behind this, preserved behind glass for future generations too. If they want to mummify the lobby, they will cast themselves as well. Nightmare At The RKO Keith’s!
Let’s all go to the lobby…
Let’s all go to the lobby…
Let’s all go to the lobby…
And stare at it through the glass!
That’s similar to what is happening to the Ridgewood Theater. It was an operating theater just 2 or 3 years ago, and now they claim it is “in shambles” or “beyond home or repair” it’s maddening.
I am with you, Jeffrey & Dave. The photos in the Queens Courier are precisely what it looks like now. Not so bad afterall. The developers tend to exaggerate about condition to generate an excuse for demolition of what they want, and also say that something intact is in shambles to make it appear as if they are actually doing something. This is one such case study. Observe it citywide, and we will all see for ourselves.
OMG what great pictures, to bad they are so tiny, I am sure that is exactly what the foyer looks like now. DAMN i wish i could be in there to take some pictures. Why do they post such small images? It is impossible to fully appreciate them.
Unfortunately, the text does nothing to explain what the pictures show, saying only they are “interior photos of the theater and renderings of how it will look after development.” If those are indeed simply “interior photos of the theater” then the lobby is actually in EXCELLENT shape, except for the streaks of white water damage on one portion of the blue ceiling and the sections of lower wall that have been stripped. I find that hard to believe.
Meanwhile Thompson keeps claiming that the building will be a “classic bookend” to Main St. What is classic about it? It looks like another big apartment building, albeit with some quirky angles. The glass curtain in the renderings appears nearly opaque, with a feeble excuse for a marquee that makes no attempt to recreate either the original or later one on the Keith’s. It will be virtually impossible for anybody to tell there was ever a theater there if they’re not standing right in front of it. What a joke.
Those are very odd images — they obviously combine actual photos of the ruined interior with renderings of the restoration. Are the walls shown in their current plain white plaster with graffiti simply to show the contrast, or because they’re not planning to restore those areas? They also leave open the question of how one will be able to view the restored high ceiling if the whole thing is enclosed in glass, since you’d have to be able to walk through it to look up!
Let’s have a demonstration in front of the theater, we’ll all bring cameras and stand out front and demand to be let in to inspect the ticket lobby and foyer which are landmarked, and should be available for public inspection and photography. Wealthy developers and their finance/business pals have too much power and should be taken down a few notches.
Sorry…my sarcasm meter must be on the fritz. I think Patrick Thompson encased it in glass.