Dug through some more newspaper clippings. While I don’t have all the gaps, I do show that the Daily News edition on January 25, 1978, has an ad for a movie called “Big Time” which played the RKO Alden (I’ve posted the ad here). Jump forward to December 11, 1980, and an ad in the Post for “Flash Gordon” shows it playing at the “RKO Alden 2.” While some newspapers listed the theater only as “Alden 1, 2, 3 and 4” in ads and movie clocks (with no “RKO”), I do see a March 6, 1982, ads for the movies “The Seduction” and “Death Wish II” that list the theater as “RKO Century’s Alden” (the same paper has ads for “Enter the Ninja” and the 3D re-release of Hitchcock’s “Dial M for Murder” that list only “Jamaica Alden.” My guess, rafaelstorm, is the theater was closed for renovations by RKO to divide the auditoriums, sometime between early 1978 and late 1980. This is when you remember seeing it shuttered. RKO evidently held on to the theater into the 1980’s, even if it neglected to list it in block ads.
Thomas Huang “failed at [his] attempt to revamp” the theater?!? More like he successfully torpedoed any hope that the entire structure would ever be returned to viability in its original form!!! Vandalism, is what it was.
Street view here is off just a tic. The Harris entrance was actually to the right of the McDonald’s space seen here. A glimpse of the former entrance location can be seen on the extreme right of this view, below the high arch-topped window.
Thanks for your kind words, Joel… I think CT needs a comment notification system for photographs! I had no idea you even left your remarks here… and have no idea if you’ll ever know that I’m responding. But anyway, to answer your question… I believe the code in NYC is that buildings that 6 stories or more must have a rooftop water supply and pumping system to furnish occupants with running water – evidently the city’s own infrastructure does not provide sufficient pressure to pump clear water much past the fifth floor. Clearly, from this photo, the fly tower for the Elmwood rises to at least a 6 story equivalent, if not more. My guess is that many stage houses – particularly for the larger theaters – reach these heights as well because I recall seeing such water towers (or at least the platforms on which they once stood) at the top of stage towers all over this city. Keep touring the photos uploaded here and you’ll spot them easily enough.
Tell you what… Looking at all these great pics on top of uploading all the pics I’ve had sitting on my computer, is really making it difficult for me to get on with the rest of my life! And then what am I gonna do once I’ve posted them all? Guess I’ll have to go out and take some more!
The last paragraph in the introductory description to this theater needs to be updated or removed, since the ticket pricing policy is out of date. Probably wasn’t a wise decision on my part to include information that would quickly be so out of date! Anyway, uploaded the old photos I previously posted so they’ll be easy to find.
There is a current photo for the CM Performing Arts Center in Oakdale, Long Island, that is very reminiscent of what the Belair Twin looked like, with it’s L-shaped shopping center location. The only thing I seem to remember is that the Belair was tucked a bit further into its corner than the CM is. Imagine the CM entrance moved a bit to the right in the photo and I think you have a very good approximation of what the Belair was like.
I’m sure nothing that was done to the Music Hall for the Cirque du Soleil show is permanent. The alterations were probably overseen with a great deal of attention to detail and meticulous planning for eventual restoration, once the contract for “Zarkana” runs its course. When David Letterman took over the Ed Sullivan Theatre for the Late Show, they did extensive modifications to the auditorium and took great care to box-up and store pieces of stained glass and other delicate ornamentation so that the Landmark-protected house could be restored once the production vacates the facility. Consider that Letterman is TRULY a long-term tenant at the Ed Sullivan and how much more significant a structure Radio City Music Hall is – not just for the city but the entire country.
Once again, the address for this theater should be updated to 1350 Peninsula Boulevard, Hewlett, NY 11557 to correct both the map locator and the street view. Currently, both are smack in the middle of a residential development in Hewlett Harbor, a good distance away to the east from the theater location.
I’ve seen the same RKO block ads from 1980 and 1982 and also found the Alden missing – but the Alden still shows up in movie clock listings in those same newspaper editions. It is entirely possible that the Alden was operated independently its last few years. The listing I referenced above did not cite “RKO Alden,” merely “Alden 1,” “Alden 2,” “Alden 3” and “Alden 4.”
Thanks, Ross. And thanks, Norman! That’s promising news about storing the files at original resolution. Hope batch uploading is something that will work one day as well… Cheers!
I think the confusion is that there is a small and somewhat ramshackle residential area directly across Rockaway Turnpike that runs several square blocks. I’ve heard it called “Meadowmere Park” and I believe a portion of it is included within a weird little hook in the Queens County borderline that is serviced by the Rosedale Post Office. The Five Towns Shopping Center is actually in the village of North Woodmere, which I do not believe is incorporated. Even still, the center is in a sort of isolated no-man’s land, since the rest of North Woodmere is on the other side of the Golf Course that sits across some backwater behind the shopping center. Definitely an odd little corner of Nassau County.
No, Tinseltoes. It is still incorrect, showing a location under elevated train tracks well to the west of the theater’s actual site. I believe it’s been something like 35 years since the J train roared past the Merrick!
Can’t tell from the street view if the building is being gutted and/or demolished or if the congregation has finally been able to proceed with the expansion and renovations it was planning when I last visited several years back. I just added the photos I had previously posted from that visit – and in one of the shots, a model of the proposed construction is displayed in the former ticket lobby.
I posted that photo, which I took just a couple of weeks ago while riding the rails home from Manhattan. I posted a similar shot of the Hillside Theatre from the same trip. I also took a pic of the RKO Alden, but that one was just way too dark and blurry to publish here. Until either myself or some other enterprising individual can get down to Jamaica with a camera, these images will have to do.
Robboehm… The rules for posting pictures on this site state that one should only post images that they themselves have photographed. I’m not sure how strict a rule this is, but I intend to follow it as best I can – even though I have seen plenty of vintage photographs posted here that surely have come from third-party sources. I have no idea what sort of infringement-of-rights issues such postings may or may not hold. The only exceptions I’ve allowed myself are some newspaper clippings I’ve uploaded.
The Alden was definitely divided in four at some point and lasted several years beyond the Valencia. I have clippings from the Daily News in March of 1982 that show the Alden 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the movie clock listings. By October, 1985, the Alden has dropped off movie clock listings in both the News and Newsday.
Hey Bill… I only wish that some of my shots were better quality images. Unfortunately, I shot those on a camera that is inferior to the digital SLR I now have! Anyway, I’ve been spending marathon sessions uploading hundreds of photos I have on my computer – mostly from 2005-2007. Uploaded this batch last night along with a number of photos for the Hollywood Theatre in Times Square and a few other cinemas. At some point during that session, we hit the 10,000 photo mark! Too bad #10,000 couldn’t have been one from the Ziegfeld!
So… no word from Craig on the possibility for future classics series? I know the schedule is looking auspiciously full with new releases in the coming weeks. How long has it been since the last round of classics?
Ha. When I finished uploading a batch of photos for the Hollywood Theatre in New York, last night, I circled back to the “Photos” main page and saw that the counter was up to 9,999 photos! So I added 3 pics to the Lynbrook Theatre gallery and we popped over the top to 10,004! Obviously, others were uploading at the same time I was last night… I wonder exactly which pic it was that hit the 10,000 mark!?
Amazing how quickly we hit that number! And yes… as completely addictive to add photos as it is to peruse the galleries of photos already uploaded! Great job by all concerned… this site just gets better and better!
I wonder if there might be a future enhancement that allows batch uploading of multiple photos for a single theater – like the similar function that exists for Facebook. I also wonder if the uploaded files are stored on site in their original size, so that, perhaps one day, we might be able to click on the individual photos to view the images in their original larger resolutions for even greater appreciation of the details depicted.
Wow… there’s a view I haven’t seen in about 25 years!!! Minus the roll-top gates, of course.
Dug through some more newspaper clippings. While I don’t have all the gaps, I do show that the Daily News edition on January 25, 1978, has an ad for a movie called “Big Time” which played the RKO Alden (I’ve posted the ad here). Jump forward to December 11, 1980, and an ad in the Post for “Flash Gordon” shows it playing at the “RKO Alden 2.” While some newspapers listed the theater only as “Alden 1, 2, 3 and 4” in ads and movie clocks (with no “RKO”), I do see a March 6, 1982, ads for the movies “The Seduction” and “Death Wish II” that list the theater as “RKO Century’s Alden” (the same paper has ads for “Enter the Ninja” and the 3D re-release of Hitchcock’s “Dial M for Murder” that list only “Jamaica Alden.” My guess, rafaelstorm, is the theater was closed for renovations by RKO to divide the auditoriums, sometime between early 1978 and late 1980. This is when you remember seeing it shuttered. RKO evidently held on to the theater into the 1980’s, even if it neglected to list it in block ads.
Thomas Huang “failed at [his] attempt to revamp” the theater?!? More like he successfully torpedoed any hope that the entire structure would ever be returned to viability in its original form!!! Vandalism, is what it was.
Street view here is off just a tic. The Harris entrance was actually to the right of the McDonald’s space seen here. A glimpse of the former entrance location can be seen on the extreme right of this view, below the high arch-topped window.
Thanks for your kind words, Joel… I think CT needs a comment notification system for photographs! I had no idea you even left your remarks here… and have no idea if you’ll ever know that I’m responding. But anyway, to answer your question… I believe the code in NYC is that buildings that 6 stories or more must have a rooftop water supply and pumping system to furnish occupants with running water – evidently the city’s own infrastructure does not provide sufficient pressure to pump clear water much past the fifth floor. Clearly, from this photo, the fly tower for the Elmwood rises to at least a 6 story equivalent, if not more. My guess is that many stage houses – particularly for the larger theaters – reach these heights as well because I recall seeing such water towers (or at least the platforms on which they once stood) at the top of stage towers all over this city. Keep touring the photos uploaded here and you’ll spot them easily enough.
Tell you what… Looking at all these great pics on top of uploading all the pics I’ve had sitting on my computer, is really making it difficult for me to get on with the rest of my life! And then what am I gonna do once I’ve posted them all? Guess I’ll have to go out and take some more!
This is probably while the modernization of the adjacent Palace Theatre exterior was going on.
The last paragraph in the introductory description to this theater needs to be updated or removed, since the ticket pricing policy is out of date. Probably wasn’t a wise decision on my part to include information that would quickly be so out of date! Anyway, uploaded the old photos I previously posted so they’ll be easy to find.
There is a current photo for the CM Performing Arts Center in Oakdale, Long Island, that is very reminiscent of what the Belair Twin looked like, with it’s L-shaped shopping center location. The only thing I seem to remember is that the Belair was tucked a bit further into its corner than the CM is. Imagine the CM entrance moved a bit to the right in the photo and I think you have a very good approximation of what the Belair was like.
Remove the word “Harbor” from the address. Should be just plain “Hewlett.” Hopefully, that will reset the map and re-position the street view?
I’m sure nothing that was done to the Music Hall for the Cirque du Soleil show is permanent. The alterations were probably overseen with a great deal of attention to detail and meticulous planning for eventual restoration, once the contract for “Zarkana” runs its course. When David Letterman took over the Ed Sullivan Theatre for the Late Show, they did extensive modifications to the auditorium and took great care to box-up and store pieces of stained glass and other delicate ornamentation so that the Landmark-protected house could be restored once the production vacates the facility. Consider that Letterman is TRULY a long-term tenant at the Ed Sullivan and how much more significant a structure Radio City Music Hall is – not just for the city but the entire country.
Once again, the address for this theater should be updated to 1350 Peninsula Boulevard, Hewlett, NY 11557 to correct both the map locator and the street view. Currently, both are smack in the middle of a residential development in Hewlett Harbor, a good distance away to the east from the theater location.
I’ve seen the same RKO block ads from 1980 and 1982 and also found the Alden missing – but the Alden still shows up in movie clock listings in those same newspaper editions. It is entirely possible that the Alden was operated independently its last few years. The listing I referenced above did not cite “RKO Alden,” merely “Alden 1,” “Alden 2,” “Alden 3” and “Alden 4.”
Thanks, Ross. And thanks, Norman! That’s promising news about storing the files at original resolution. Hope batch uploading is something that will work one day as well… Cheers!
I guess the only way to find out for sure is to get down there for another visit. Will see if I can swing by either tomorrow or sometime next week.
I think the confusion is that there is a small and somewhat ramshackle residential area directly across Rockaway Turnpike that runs several square blocks. I’ve heard it called “Meadowmere Park” and I believe a portion of it is included within a weird little hook in the Queens County borderline that is serviced by the Rosedale Post Office. The Five Towns Shopping Center is actually in the village of North Woodmere, which I do not believe is incorporated. Even still, the center is in a sort of isolated no-man’s land, since the rest of North Woodmere is on the other side of the Golf Course that sits across some backwater behind the shopping center. Definitely an odd little corner of Nassau County.
No, Tinseltoes. It is still incorrect, showing a location under elevated train tracks well to the west of the theater’s actual site. I believe it’s been something like 35 years since the J train roared past the Merrick!
Can’t tell from the street view if the building is being gutted and/or demolished or if the congregation has finally been able to proceed with the expansion and renovations it was planning when I last visited several years back. I just added the photos I had previously posted from that visit – and in one of the shots, a model of the proposed construction is displayed in the former ticket lobby.
I posted that photo, which I took just a couple of weeks ago while riding the rails home from Manhattan. I posted a similar shot of the Hillside Theatre from the same trip. I also took a pic of the RKO Alden, but that one was just way too dark and blurry to publish here. Until either myself or some other enterprising individual can get down to Jamaica with a camera, these images will have to do.
Robboehm… The rules for posting pictures on this site state that one should only post images that they themselves have photographed. I’m not sure how strict a rule this is, but I intend to follow it as best I can – even though I have seen plenty of vintage photographs posted here that surely have come from third-party sources. I have no idea what sort of infringement-of-rights issues such postings may or may not hold. The only exceptions I’ve allowed myself are some newspaper clippings I’ve uploaded.
The Alden was definitely divided in four at some point and lasted several years beyond the Valencia. I have clippings from the Daily News in March of 1982 that show the Alden 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the movie clock listings. By October, 1985, the Alden has dropped off movie clock listings in both the News and Newsday.
Hey Bill… I only wish that some of my shots were better quality images. Unfortunately, I shot those on a camera that is inferior to the digital SLR I now have! Anyway, I’ve been spending marathon sessions uploading hundreds of photos I have on my computer – mostly from 2005-2007. Uploaded this batch last night along with a number of photos for the Hollywood Theatre in Times Square and a few other cinemas. At some point during that session, we hit the 10,000 photo mark! Too bad #10,000 couldn’t have been one from the Ziegfeld!
So… no word from Craig on the possibility for future classics series? I know the schedule is looking auspiciously full with new releases in the coming weeks. How long has it been since the last round of classics?
Ha. When I finished uploading a batch of photos for the Hollywood Theatre in New York, last night, I circled back to the “Photos” main page and saw that the counter was up to 9,999 photos! So I added 3 pics to the Lynbrook Theatre gallery and we popped over the top to 10,004! Obviously, others were uploading at the same time I was last night… I wonder exactly which pic it was that hit the 10,000 mark!?
Amazing how quickly we hit that number! And yes… as completely addictive to add photos as it is to peruse the galleries of photos already uploaded! Great job by all concerned… this site just gets better and better!
I wonder if there might be a future enhancement that allows batch uploading of multiple photos for a single theater – like the similar function that exists for Facebook. I also wonder if the uploaded files are stored on site in their original size, so that, perhaps one day, we might be able to click on the individual photos to view the images in their original larger resolutions for even greater appreciation of the details depicted.
Correction – this is view from upper balcony seating.
Correction to description – this (and auditorium views that follow) taken from upper balcony cross aisle.
Correction to description – this (and auditorium views that follow) taken from upper balcony cross aisle.