Queens Theatre
219-36 Jamaica Avenue,
Queens Village,
NY
11428
219-36 Jamaica Avenue,
Queens Village,
NY
11428
15 people
favorited this theater
Showing 76 - 100 of 164 comments
btw guys…I knew it was an old Vaudeville house…but never knew about the organ and set pieces and such. BTW Im a Queens Village lifer….49 years alive, same house on 222 Street.
Hi all….hopefully some of you old QV residents are still watching the boards.
Someone asked if the 105 and PS33 are still across from each other.
YES!~
The 105 is in its second building, which replaced the original (which was the original PS33 btw) in the early 70s.
And whats going on with our beloved Century Queens…the church decided to totally renovate the building. Hence the removal of the fire escapes. The facades been redone (much to my chagrin the original ornamentation is gone) the interior was gutted etc. Only thing now…I pass it every day to and from the LIRR stop. It seems work has stopped for some reason. I never see the plywood in front opened up.
BTWnativeforesthiller…I followed the facebook link to heaven. OMG what a group. THANK you.
Anyone aware about what is happening to this theater? Visit
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Look closely at the blue logos at the left and right within the sign; the hotel being referred to is a Howard Johnson’s franchise motel at 220-16 Jamaica Boulevard. I doubt if it has any connection to the church.
That’s what CT seems to be about; depressing photos and bad news. It would be interesting to have some statistics about all the theatres on the site- how many are still operating and how many have been demolished. I would think more of the latter with the bulk of the entries as closed.
Another depressing photo. The theatre is behind you, so the picture must be rotated.
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kjf
Unfortunately, both of these shots are “under the new management” after the original color scheme. Also the vertical is gone. When was that removed?
In addition to changing the type of movies shown they also changed the marquee. The background color used to be green, the chasing lights yellow. Also the chasing lights from the side panels continued across the front to the other side.
Here is a 1986 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/dzezdt
Warren,
For sure! See my post of 9/27/06 (2:07 PM)
RVB,
You have a long memory – the last of the steam locomotives (Class G-5s) were retired in October, 1955.
And yes, those locomotives – at 60MPH eastbound into the Queens Interlocking – set up quite a vibration in the balcony.
I could be wrong, but during the 1980’s, if this was a porn theatre at that time, then this, along with the Earle in Jackson Heights, the Globe in the Bronx, The Polk, as well as the Cinema 9 and Sayrewoods in New Jersey were all run by the same person. I worked at the Sayrewoods, and I know every week we would shuffle the film around from one theatre to the next. He made a lot of money out of those places, I could tell you that.
As a child I was always in awe of the size of the balcony. The main floor didn’t seem all that large. I also remember the rumble of the old LIRR steam locomotives as they would roar past on the express tracks.
How in heaven’s name is my mentioning that I was a gay boy living in the closet in the 50s and 60s flaunting anything. Do you hesitate to mention your wife or girlfriend in a postings? Does that fact that anyone in this group might allude to their being heterosexual, by mentioning a spouse for example, equate with being unseemly? Or do you, GregWalsh, have some kind of separate standard of your own?
Yes I would be very interested if any of the other members believe my post is unseemly. I did not come here to discuss anything other than the cinema, but the posts always relate not only to the theatre, but to people’s experiences in the neighbourhood in which they grew up.up.other
Michael,
You were not merely “mentioning” it; you were – in your own way – flaunting it. As to what is seemly and unseemly, I suggest you re-read the policies addressing relevancy of postings.
All other Members,
My opinion is strictly my own. Please weigh in with yours.
Just who the hell do you think you are GregWalsh, to determine what is seemly and unseemly? Since when is someone who is gay not permitted to mention it? Did I go into a discussion of sexual activity of any kind? I simply stated an experience from my past, and how it related to something I saw in a posting that caused me to chuckle. What is god’s name do you find unseemly about that?
Michael,
Please take discussion of your sexual orientation elsewhere. I think I can speak for most of us in saying that we don’t care if you’ve come out of the closet.
Such discussion is unseemly, and clearly inappropriate for this website.
My guess, Warren, is that you are totally correct. As someone who grew up living in the proverbial closet for my entire childhood in that surrounding neighbourhood (Bellerose), the title of the film made me chuckle.
Thanx for the terrific photos, Warren. I find it interesting that the headline of the story right under the second photo is titled ,The Gay Retreat.“ I wonder, back in those days, in which way they were using that word.
Great pictures of a go by era.
Artie16
oops sorry theater was a typo….. my mom danced in the “THEATRE” that would be the QUEENS THEATRE when they had vaudeville before any of us were born….actually my mom and dad met in front of the Queens Theatre…..
Dear Art,
Oh my goodness! Speaking of voices out of the past! I certainly DO remember you – and your limp – and your wife (Patricia, yes?) – and your home on Jamaica Avenue in Bellerose!
You and I have 50 years to catch up on. Please write to me, ASAP, at
Warmest regards,
Greg Walsh
Hi all:
I also worked at the Queens, and Community theater’s from 1952 till 1969 as manager.
In later years I was a projectionist with Local 640.
Anyone remember me?
Art Ringfield
As a former member of IATSE Local 306 I worked at dozens of theatres within NYC. Indeed I worked at the Queens in the early 80’s when it had a porno grind policy. At the time the Diaz brothers owned the place. I also woked at the community when it was a twin.
FYI, in the early 70’s the Community was known as the Community Gardens……..rock n roll shows were the policy then…many stories of so many houses.
Today few union operators actually run films…….thanks in part to a corrupt local union and an international union who did not give a damn about the projectionists all over the USA.
I can solve the theatre organ mystery. Austin was primarily a church organ company, but theatre organs were generally “unified” instruments. 42 ranks certainly has more punch to it than 11 ranks, but opus 1569 had only 11 ranks. I was the recipient of the organ’s being donated to Chaminade High School in Mineola, Long Island. It was a 3/11, not a 3/42. The Valencia did, indeed, blow this instrument away. It had 23 ranks and 4 manuals, and the ranks were on an even higher pressure than the Queens Village Austin.
The QVT’s reed ranks had already been taken by “midnight organ supply” before I took out the remnant in 1978. We managed to get exact replacement reeds from the Prospect Theatre and from the Beacon Theatre in Port Washington.
9 original Austin ranks remain in the 15 rank Chaminade instrument. All the Austin chests have since been replaced since releathering them would have been even more costly than getting new chests. The Austin console was replaced (given away) when we got the Robert Morton console from the RKO Keiths Richmond Hill in the mid-1980’s. Even the 7.5 hp Spencer turbine was replaced by the 15 hp Spencer from the RKO Keiths Richmond Hill. The old 7.5 is now working for the Middletown NY theatre’s Wurlitzer.