I spoke to Jenny Fernandez of the Landnarks Commission regarding the status of the designation earlier today. While an approval date has not yet been set, she noted that this should occur shortly and that the need to develop the extensive designation report constituted the prime reason for any delay. If you have ever read a designation report, you would find that the Commission does an extremely thorough job in justifying its actions. This will prove important when the Ridgewood’s proposal goes to the City Planning Commission and the City Council for final approval. It will also add a valuable link to this page.
From our conversation I got the clear impression that the approval process is going smoothly and that no unanticipated snags have thus far emerged. So, the successful end of this leg of the process appears to be near.
Perhaps another reason why so few comments have been registered on this page is that the conversion occurred so early – in the early 1950’s. Thus, probably very few people remember the time when the old Woodside was anything but a church.
Beyond this, the church itself does nothing to promote its cinematic past. Its web page provides a very comprehensive description of St. Sebastian’s origin – and the development of the Catholic religion in Queens – but says nary a word about the movie house conversion. This is really odd, given the fact that they should be very proud of this terrific achievement.
Panzer, I would also include the old Woodside Theater, which was marvelously converted into a Catholic Church in the early 1950’s. Its CT page has a number of terrific pictures that clearly indicate how such conversions should be made. Unfortunately, no pictures of its terrific exterior, which has been equipped with a very imposing Romanesque front, have been added to this site.
But please take a look of this unjustly neglected site and enjoy.
Maybe yes, maybe no Bway. I may have inflated the number of steps that I had to scale to reach the bingo hall. It may have been closer to 12-15.(As I said, I wasn’t counting.) One other thing that I didn’t think about before: When I entered the bingo hall, I had to walk down about 2-3 steps in order to reach the hall’s main level. This further reduced the distance between the street and bingo hall levels, and made it somewhat approximate the difference between the street and theater levels that the person you spoke to described.
Based on this, I think that a good – though hardly compelling – case can be made that the floor of the bingo hall, the bowling alley AND the Parthenon were essentially – except for the slight grade differential – the same. (I should also add that the lay out of the bingo hall – large and deep expanse with a relatively shallow ceiling – closely resembles that of a bowling alley – without, of course, the alleys!) A lot of food for thought.
In addition to this, two other questions remain: (1) what still exists above the dropped ceiling; and (2) what – if anything – previously existed in the basement space now occupied by the clothing outlet?
Thanks you Panzer for such a terrific show. I could think of a number of other creative conversions, e.g., the Woodside and the Meserole, that could also make this cut.
Having had to attend a meeting in the area yesterday afternoon, I took the opportunity to take another peak at the Parthenon, particularly the stores situated in the old building.
With one exception, these are all small “holes in the wall” that only slightly extend into the building. The exception – a clothing outlet that opens on Palmetto St. – is something else entirely. Specifically, it includes the entire portion of the building’s ground floor that is not occupied by the other stores.
I would say that I was standing on the Parthenon’s ground floor except for one thing – the ceiling, which extended only about 12-15 feet above the floor and could certainly not accommodate a movie theater, is very solidly built and appears to be the original. If this is the case, I was actually standing in what was the building’s basement, with the theater being situated on the floor above, probably in what is now the bingo hall. But this would have required persons entering the Parthenon to scale a staircase in order to reach the theater.
Before writing this, I reviewed the entire thread and could find no reference to the configuration of the lobby or to any staircase leading to the main level. So my question is: Does anyone out there remember the Parthenon’s lobby and particularly any stairway that lead to the main level? Also, does anyone remember what, if anything, existed in the space now occupied by the clothing outlet?
Bway, the bingo hall probably occupies the entire length and width of the old theater. Due to the low dropped ceiling, it has a very cramped appearance.
Something just occurred to me. Could it be that the bowling alley was constructed at the street level, with a second floor separately converted into what ultimately became the bingo hall? In that case, the remnants of the bowling alley might still exist below the extended mazzanine and behind the pharmacy, which, by the way, I have never entered. Also, can anyone recall if some second floor use existed when the bowling alley wat still a going affair?
Thanks Panzer for capturing an act of absolute folly! In looking at the empty lot that will probably remain vacant for the foreseeable future, the sheer stupidy of it all just shocks anyone’s conscience.
Just passed by the place yesterday. While the “Cinema Warsaw” box is still there, it was advertising what seemed to be a dance event. So, cinema does not apppear to be a heavy priority here.
Made a quick pass by today. No change – except that the two chairs behind the closed gates were differently configured. I also took a look at the back of the building. Nothing new has occured there.
Hopefully, we will be hearing shortly fro tme Landmarks Commission.
I passed by the old Panthenon earlier today, the door was open, and I went in. Unfortunately, there is not a lot to report, other than the fact that at leat one of the bingo players knew that the place had once been a movie theater.
The entrance opened not unto a lobby but to a staircase. After going up 20-25 stairs – I wasn’t counting – I entered the bingo hall. The hall filled what was probably the full theater space, but was only about 10 feet high due to the dropped ceiling. Given this, it is impossible to tell what lies above it.
Unless one had to reach the Parthenon’s main level via a staircase – which I very much doubt – my best guess is that the bingo hall occupies space originally created by the balcony and then converted to adapt to the present use.
I was able to pass by the Ridgewood yesterday afternoon. Behind the closed gates were two unoccupied chairs and two of the inner doors were open. This enabled me to look into the lobby. It appears that the rug has been removed, which is what site supervisor told me would occur as part of the renovation project. So some modest progress has been made.
One other interesting thing to report: At the extreme left of the lobby, just behind the ticket window, was what appears to be an old film projector. There were also a few sports trophies laid on the floor. I have no idea what this means, and since no one was there to tell me, it will remain a bit of a mystery.
I just took a closer look at the picture RobertR posted in April. The fact that the old awning covered the entire narrow sidewalk and almost seemed to protrude over the roadway clearly underlines the hazard it posed to truck traffic on this busy and winding street. It’s thus not at all surprising that it had to be replaced with today’s more modest structure. Anyhow, the old “AUSTIN” sign still exists in the theaters side lounge.
It was also nice to see one of the old light Queens street signs.
Gerard, thanks so much for the pictures and the article. This theater certainly means a lot to you. Since I am familiar with the Tennis Hall of Fame, I will look up the theater the next time I visit Newport.
The fact that the Casino was designed by Stanford White – and that it is his only theater that still exists – is really valuable information. It is also clearly documented in the article. Thus, the Casino’s architect is clearly not “Unknown”, and the site manager should accordingly add the great man’s name at the top of this page.
The Greenport actually closed up shop for the season just after Labor Day. Given the number of September events scheduled in Greenport, I am surprised that the theater closed so soon. Still, the Greenport did very fine business this summer. Look forward to a great 2010!
Yes, I guess the “movie theater as baby sitter” function is the reason why so many of the movie houses hired matrons to supervise the kids during those endless Saturday matinees. (In case you are interested, both the Ridgewood and Madison theatre pages feature great stories about their legendary matrons.)
In reading the thread, two things stick out: (1) the Grand probably did not make it into the 1960’s, as noted in the intro. When I was growing up in the 1950’s, the Grand was always spoken about in the past tense. Thus, I doubt very much that it lasted beyond the mid-1950’s. I think of it as a clone of the Nassau – the one in Greenpoint – that also gave up the ghost at around that time.
(2) I was also surprised to learn that the Grand, despite its clearly inferior location, was considered to be a superior venue to the Graham Theater, which was located on the main drag. While both were clearly secondary houses, I would have thought that the Graham would have been the preferred choice of those who would not have wanted to travel to the “good” theaters.
As September is fastly approaching, the Landmarks Commission decision regarding the Ridgewood’s application should be imminent. So, look out for any news accounts of this decision if you see it and, if possible, link the text of the Commission’s decision to this page. We don’t need to hold our breath that much longer.
I spoke to Jenny Fernandez of the Landnarks Commission regarding the status of the designation earlier today. While an approval date has not yet been set, she noted that this should occur shortly and that the need to develop the extensive designation report constituted the prime reason for any delay. If you have ever read a designation report, you would find that the Commission does an extremely thorough job in justifying its actions. This will prove important when the Ridgewood’s proposal goes to the City Planning Commission and the City Council for final approval. It will also add a valuable link to this page.
From our conversation I got the clear impression that the approval process is going smoothly and that no unanticipated snags have thus far emerged. So, the successful end of this leg of the process appears to be near.
Perhaps another reason why so few comments have been registered on this page is that the conversion occurred so early – in the early 1950’s. Thus, probably very few people remember the time when the old Woodside was anything but a church.
Beyond this, the church itself does nothing to promote its cinematic past. Its web page provides a very comprehensive description of St. Sebastian’s origin – and the development of the Catholic religion in Queens – but says nary a word about the movie house conversion. This is really odd, given the fact that they should be very proud of this terrific achievement.
Well, here is the Woodside’s CT page. Enjoy!
/theaters/6406/
Panzer, I would also include the old Woodside Theater, which was marvelously converted into a Catholic Church in the early 1950’s. Its CT page has a number of terrific pictures that clearly indicate how such conversions should be made. Unfortunately, no pictures of its terrific exterior, which has been equipped with a very imposing Romanesque front, have been added to this site.
But please take a look of this unjustly neglected site and enjoy.
Here is the old photo of Houston St.
Hope the link works.
View link
Maybe yes, maybe no Bway. I may have inflated the number of steps that I had to scale to reach the bingo hall. It may have been closer to 12-15.(As I said, I wasn’t counting.) One other thing that I didn’t think about before: When I entered the bingo hall, I had to walk down about 2-3 steps in order to reach the hall’s main level. This further reduced the distance between the street and bingo hall levels, and made it somewhat approximate the difference between the street and theater levels that the person you spoke to described.
Based on this, I think that a good – though hardly compelling – case can be made that the floor of the bingo hall, the bowling alley AND the Parthenon were essentially – except for the slight grade differential – the same. (I should also add that the lay out of the bingo hall – large and deep expanse with a relatively shallow ceiling – closely resembles that of a bowling alley – without, of course, the alleys!) A lot of food for thought.
In addition to this, two other questions remain: (1) what still exists above the dropped ceiling; and (2) what – if anything – previously existed in the basement space now occupied by the clothing outlet?
Thanks you Panzer for such a terrific show. I could think of a number of other creative conversions, e.g., the Woodside and the Meserole, that could also make this cut.
Having had to attend a meeting in the area yesterday afternoon, I took the opportunity to take another peak at the Parthenon, particularly the stores situated in the old building.
With one exception, these are all small “holes in the wall” that only slightly extend into the building. The exception – a clothing outlet that opens on Palmetto St. – is something else entirely. Specifically, it includes the entire portion of the building’s ground floor that is not occupied by the other stores.
I would say that I was standing on the Parthenon’s ground floor except for one thing – the ceiling, which extended only about 12-15 feet above the floor and could certainly not accommodate a movie theater, is very solidly built and appears to be the original. If this is the case, I was actually standing in what was the building’s basement, with the theater being situated on the floor above, probably in what is now the bingo hall. But this would have required persons entering the Parthenon to scale a staircase in order to reach the theater.
Before writing this, I reviewed the entire thread and could find no reference to the configuration of the lobby or to any staircase leading to the main level. So my question is: Does anyone out there remember the Parthenon’s lobby and particularly any stairway that lead to the main level? Also, does anyone remember what, if anything, existed in the space now occupied by the clothing outlet?
Bway, the bingo hall probably occupies the entire length and width of the old theater. Due to the low dropped ceiling, it has a very cramped appearance.
Something just occurred to me. Could it be that the bowling alley was constructed at the street level, with a second floor separately converted into what ultimately became the bingo hall? In that case, the remnants of the bowling alley might still exist below the extended mazzanine and behind the pharmacy, which, by the way, I have never entered. Also, can anyone recall if some second floor use existed when the bowling alley wat still a going affair?
Some food for thought.
Thanks Panzer for capturing an act of absolute folly! In looking at the empty lot that will probably remain vacant for the foreseeable future, the sheer stupidy of it all just shocks anyone’s conscience.
Just passed by the place yesterday. While the “Cinema Warsaw” box is still there, it was advertising what seemed to be a dance event. So, cinema does not apppear to be a heavy priority here.
Made a quick pass by today. No change – except that the two chairs behind the closed gates were differently configured. I also took a look at the back of the building. Nothing new has occured there.
Hopefully, we will be hearing shortly fro tme Landmarks Commission.
I passed by the old Panthenon earlier today, the door was open, and I went in. Unfortunately, there is not a lot to report, other than the fact that at leat one of the bingo players knew that the place had once been a movie theater.
The entrance opened not unto a lobby but to a staircase. After going up 20-25 stairs – I wasn’t counting – I entered the bingo hall. The hall filled what was probably the full theater space, but was only about 10 feet high due to the dropped ceiling. Given this, it is impossible to tell what lies above it.
Unless one had to reach the Parthenon’s main level via a staircase – which I very much doubt – my best guess is that the bingo hall occupies space originally created by the balcony and then converted to adapt to the present use.
Does anybody have any other ideas?
Site manager, thanks for the prompt response to my Stanford White request!
I was able to pass by the Ridgewood yesterday afternoon. Behind the closed gates were two unoccupied chairs and two of the inner doors were open. This enabled me to look into the lobby. It appears that the rug has been removed, which is what site supervisor told me would occur as part of the renovation project. So some modest progress has been made.
One other interesting thing to report: At the extreme left of the lobby, just behind the ticket window, was what appears to be an old film projector. There were also a few sports trophies laid on the floor. I have no idea what this means, and since no one was there to tell me, it will remain a bit of a mystery.
I just took a closer look at the picture RobertR posted in April. The fact that the old awning covered the entire narrow sidewalk and almost seemed to protrude over the roadway clearly underlines the hazard it posed to truck traffic on this busy and winding street. It’s thus not at all surprising that it had to be replaced with today’s more modest structure. Anyhow, the old “AUSTIN” sign still exists in the theaters side lounge.
It was also nice to see one of the old light Queens street signs.
Gerard, thanks so much for the pictures and the article. This theater certainly means a lot to you. Since I am familiar with the Tennis Hall of Fame, I will look up the theater the next time I visit Newport.
The fact that the Casino was designed by Stanford White – and that it is his only theater that still exists – is really valuable information. It is also clearly documented in the article. Thus, the Casino’s architect is clearly not “Unknown”, and the site manager should accordingly add the great man’s name at the top of this page.
Peter, did you see any of the advertizing that was noted by East Coast Rocker? If you did, what did it say?
Thanks ECR for the update. By the way, what exact kind of advertisement did you see posted at the Ridgewood?
The Greenport actually closed up shop for the season just after Labor Day. Given the number of September events scheduled in Greenport, I am surprised that the theater closed so soon. Still, the Greenport did very fine business this summer. Look forward to a great 2010!
Yes, I guess the “movie theater as baby sitter” function is the reason why so many of the movie houses hired matrons to supervise the kids during those endless Saturday matinees. (In case you are interested, both the Ridgewood and Madison theatre pages feature great stories about their legendary matrons.)
In reading the thread, two things stick out: (1) the Grand probably did not make it into the 1960’s, as noted in the intro. When I was growing up in the 1950’s, the Grand was always spoken about in the past tense. Thus, I doubt very much that it lasted beyond the mid-1950’s. I think of it as a clone of the Nassau – the one in Greenpoint – that also gave up the ghost at around that time.
(2) I was also surprised to learn that the Grand, despite its clearly inferior location, was considered to be a superior venue to the Graham Theater, which was located on the main drag. While both were clearly secondary houses, I would have thought that the Graham would have been the preferred choice of those who would not have wanted to travel to the “good” theaters.
Great shot Warren, and welcome back.
Thanks Warren. Hope you as well as the Cinemart, which is doing very nicely.
As September is fastly approaching, the Landmarks Commission decision regarding the Ridgewood’s application should be imminent. So, look out for any news accounts of this decision if you see it and, if possible, link the text of the Commission’s decision to this page. We don’t need to hold our breath that much longer.