Today’s Long Island section of the New York Times has a major article with photos, interior and exterior, of the Suffolk Theater. Story deals with the theater as the linchpin of a downtown rebirth of Riverhead.
I recall the drapes on the lobby windows opened only during the Skouras days, and I always believed it was a way to save on electric bills in the grand foyer! Also, was that big window part of the orignal design, or were bricks hard-to-come by in the summer of 1942 during construction?
Thanks, Warren, for the photos. From my first visit to the Midway in its first year (“Arabian Nights” with Maria Montez, Jon Hall, Sabu) to my last, reopening night as 9-plex (Woody Allen’s “Celebrity”), it was a pleasure to visit. Today, it’s an example of preservation and renewal in the best sense. How many 60+ year-old theaters are fortunate enough to have owners and managers willing to invest in and maintain such important community resources and keep them functioning beautifully despite all the changes in technology, demographics, shifting values, and bottom-line mentality?
The Grande, when I knew it in the 60’s, was an “art house,” and I saw “La Dolce Vita,” “Jules and Jim” and “Last Year at Marienbad” there. It was on the south side of 86th Street, and there was a nearby theater showing German-language films as well.
My favorite memory of the Boston Paramount…. the Boston press screening of “Psycho,” before anyone knew about the shower sequence, the death of the Janet Leigh character early in the picture, etc. Wow! That shock was far greater than the “Alien” surprise many years later.
According to one of the biographies of Woody Allen, for his seventh birthday on December 1, 1942, he and his mom went to the Paramount and saw “The Road to Morocco” (where he became fascinated by Bob Hope) and a stage show with Woody (!) Herman and his orchestra. The Paramount had an obvious effect on him. I attended five days later for my 7th birthday, too, but I didn’t become a comedian or a sax player, or change my name. I just became a theater buff!
Amidst all these fascinating posts on RCMH, for the record, may I add the names of former New York City Councilman Bob Dryfoos and former New York State Lieutenant Governor Mary Ann Krupsak. They led the fight to prevent the imminent demolition and make way for the landmarking that prevented RCMH from facing the wrecker’s ball in 1978.
I wish I had taken a photo of the exterior of this theater during its porn days…. The marquee announcing “Squalor Motel” was a highlight for folks coming off the ramp from the Queensboro Bridge.
Warren, I saw that Phantom episode, too, but probably a week later, at the then-RKO Midway. I did see “Juliet of the Spirits”, but on the first night of its run at the 58th Street, and it seemed to be a full house, and one of the most beautiful color prints I’ve ever seen. When the 58th Street was reduced in seating, there was more pitch between rows than any theater I had previously visited, extremely comfortable, but the auditorium was extremely long, and unless one sat down front, the screen seemed tiny. The 58th Street proscenium was narrow, and the balcony overhang didn’t permit much screen height, either.
I looked up the Harkness in the Internet Broadway database. Here are the plays presented at the theatre in the mid-70’s: The Robber Bridegroom, Edward II, The time of Your Life, Three Sisters, Sweet Bird of Youth. The final two shows were So Long, 174th Street and Ipi-Tombi, both original musicals in 1976 and 77.
In the late 50’s and early 60’s, the “anunciators” were still at either side of the stage. These were the sign boards which listed the vaudeville acts in order of their appearance.
I saw “Fort Ti” at the Criterion one night after my final high school regents exam. I don’t know if it was the “high” from being released from high school test bondage or the quality of the presentation, but the effect of “Fort Ti” was terrific, especially the stereo sound and the curved screen with 3-D.
Warren, belated thanks for your postings on this theater. I lived in Forest Hills for many years. As a kid, I always wondered about that building… my dad, Corona born-and-bred, had told me it had never opened. I guess the stock market crash erased memories of its short life!
Here’s a bit of 3-D/“House of Wax” trivia. I attended opening day, which featured Eddie Fisher’s “return from the Army” as well as the premiere of “House of Wax” in WarnerPhonic sound. We arrived in the middle of the first showing of the feature, saw the stage show, and then the beginning of the second showing of “House of Wax.” All of the dialogue for the first few minutes was unintelligible, as though it was in another language. When it cleared up, the first words one understood were “You’re going to like this man —– he speaks your language!” The full house gave that line a hearty response.
The Majestic is literally around the corner from the small train platform at which President Lincoln detrained before delivering his address commemorating the battle.
I saw the first press showing of “2001: A Space Odyssey” at the Capitol, which was the Monday evening before the Thursday night “world premiere.” It was then the original length of 162 minutes. I belive that at least a quarter of the audience hadn’t returned after intermission. There had been no hype about the “ultimate trip,” and they were impatient to say the least!
I was one of only a handful of people remaining in the theater when the curtains finally closed at the end of act 2. I turned to the booth (which was on orchestra level) and gave the thumbs up to Stanley Kubrick!
I’m convinced that his cut version, which I saw several more times at the Capitol, the Warner Cinerama, and the Ziegfeld was superior, but it would be nice for a restoration to be done if just for the historical value of it.
During the fifties, when I attended Cornell, the Temple presented most of the foreign-langage films that were released, and shortly after their New York City openings. The poor sightlines made reading subtitles very difficult.
A framed poster in the lobby calls attention to the fact that the 1939 premiere of “The Wizard of Oz” took place at the Cape Cinema before its New York showing. According to the manager, Margaret Hamilton (Elvira Gulch/Wicked Witch) was appearing at the adjacent Cape Playhouse and arranged for the event.
More memories about the Strand….
Ithaca blue laws prohibited theaters from beginning performances until 2 PM on Sundays. So the continuous schedule of 2-hour shows began at 2 PM with the second hour of the movie, and then, regular shows at 3, 5, 7, and 9. Of course, at 4 PM, with an ackowledgment of “this is where we came in,” the theater emptied and the standees in the long uncomfortable lobby filled up the theater for the second half of show 2.
This was particularly excruciating when the Strand presented the 3-D “Hondo” with John Wayne, boasting in the newspaper ads that the theater had been “re-engineered” to give the best possible 3-D experience. The curtains opened at 2 about 30 minutes into the picture, and, yes, the 3-D was the best ever. Then, came the intermission, the change of the interlocking reels, and the rest of the movie. Then, at 3 PM, following another intermission, the news and cartoon. Then, another intermission, and the beginning of the first set of interlocking reels.
During the fifties, when I was a Cornell student, the Strand was known as the “near-near,” since it was the first theater one reached coming down “the Hill” from the university. The other three theaters, the State, Temple and Ithaca, were the near-far, the far-near, and the far-far. The Strand’s screen was enormous, filling the entire proscenium, but because the screen began almost at stage floor level, short balcony viewers like myself couldn’t see the bottom of the picture unless we sat on our coats!
According to an article in the Palm Beach Daily News by David Rogers (February 2, 2005), the theater had 1,068 seats. It was built in 1926. The premiere film was Paramount’s “Beau Geste”. Performers who appeared on the stage in the early years were George Gershwin, Al Jolson, Will Rogers and Billie Burke. Closed as a film venue in 1980. Designated a landmark by the town of Palm Beach in 1982. Theater gutted. Offices, art gallery, Paramount Church still operating, and the Paramount electric sign lights N. County Road every evening.
Both the Plaza and the Jackson are presenting “Hitch” beginning today with Spanish subtitles, so the borough of Queens now has two theaters serving the needs of the Corona and Jackson Heights communities.
Rear of auditorium had stadium seating. There was no balcony. Was also known as the Manhattan Theatre when showing an exclusive re-release of “Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs” and the Republic Theatre when showing “Pinocchio”. I recall both probably in the 1944/45 period.
Today’s Long Island section of the New York Times has a major article with photos, interior and exterior, of the Suffolk Theater. Story deals with the theater as the linchpin of a downtown rebirth of Riverhead.
I recall the drapes on the lobby windows opened only during the Skouras days, and I always believed it was a way to save on electric bills in the grand foyer! Also, was that big window part of the orignal design, or were bricks hard-to-come by in the summer of 1942 during construction?
Thanks, Warren, for the photos. From my first visit to the Midway in its first year (“Arabian Nights” with Maria Montez, Jon Hall, Sabu) to my last, reopening night as 9-plex (Woody Allen’s “Celebrity”), it was a pleasure to visit. Today, it’s an example of preservation and renewal in the best sense. How many 60+ year-old theaters are fortunate enough to have owners and managers willing to invest in and maintain such important community resources and keep them functioning beautifully despite all the changes in technology, demographics, shifting values, and bottom-line mentality?
The Grande, when I knew it in the 60’s, was an “art house,” and I saw “La Dolce Vita,” “Jules and Jim” and “Last Year at Marienbad” there. It was on the south side of 86th Street, and there was a nearby theater showing German-language films as well.
I found a 1932 exterior picture of the already-derelict theater on Queenspix.com, FOR 118.
My favorite memory of the Boston Paramount…. the Boston press screening of “Psycho,” before anyone knew about the shower sequence, the death of the Janet Leigh character early in the picture, etc. Wow! That shock was far greater than the “Alien” surprise many years later.
According to one of the biographies of Woody Allen, for his seventh birthday on December 1, 1942, he and his mom went to the Paramount and saw “The Road to Morocco” (where he became fascinated by Bob Hope) and a stage show with Woody (!) Herman and his orchestra. The Paramount had an obvious effect on him. I attended five days later for my 7th birthday, too, but I didn’t become a comedian or a sax player, or change my name. I just became a theater buff!
Amidst all these fascinating posts on RCMH, for the record, may I add the names of former New York City Councilman Bob Dryfoos and former New York State Lieutenant Governor Mary Ann Krupsak. They led the fight to prevent the imminent demolition and make way for the landmarking that prevented RCMH from facing the wrecker’s ball in 1978.
I wish I had taken a photo of the exterior of this theater during its porn days…. The marquee announcing “Squalor Motel” was a highlight for folks coming off the ramp from the Queensboro Bridge.
Warren, I saw that Phantom episode, too, but probably a week later, at the then-RKO Midway. I did see “Juliet of the Spirits”, but on the first night of its run at the 58th Street, and it seemed to be a full house, and one of the most beautiful color prints I’ve ever seen. When the 58th Street was reduced in seating, there was more pitch between rows than any theater I had previously visited, extremely comfortable, but the auditorium was extremely long, and unless one sat down front, the screen seemed tiny. The 58th Street proscenium was narrow, and the balcony overhang didn’t permit much screen height, either.
I looked up the Harkness in the Internet Broadway database. Here are the plays presented at the theatre in the mid-70’s: The Robber Bridegroom, Edward II, The time of Your Life, Three Sisters, Sweet Bird of Youth. The final two shows were So Long, 174th Street and Ipi-Tombi, both original musicals in 1976 and 77.
The Actors Company, under the supervision of John Houseman, presented several plays in repertory, probably in the 70’s.
In the late 50’s and early 60’s, the “anunciators” were still at either side of the stage. These were the sign boards which listed the vaudeville acts in order of their appearance.
I saw “Fort Ti” at the Criterion one night after my final high school regents exam. I don’t know if it was the “high” from being released from high school test bondage or the quality of the presentation, but the effect of “Fort Ti” was terrific, especially the stereo sound and the curved screen with 3-D.
Warren, belated thanks for your postings on this theater. I lived in Forest Hills for many years. As a kid, I always wondered about that building… my dad, Corona born-and-bred, had told me it had never opened. I guess the stock market crash erased memories of its short life!
Here’s a bit of 3-D/“House of Wax” trivia. I attended opening day, which featured Eddie Fisher’s “return from the Army” as well as the premiere of “House of Wax” in WarnerPhonic sound. We arrived in the middle of the first showing of the feature, saw the stage show, and then the beginning of the second showing of “House of Wax.” All of the dialogue for the first few minutes was unintelligible, as though it was in another language. When it cleared up, the first words one understood were “You’re going to like this man —– he speaks your language!” The full house gave that line a hearty response.
The Majestic is literally around the corner from the small train platform at which President Lincoln detrained before delivering his address commemorating the battle.
I saw the first press showing of “2001: A Space Odyssey” at the Capitol, which was the Monday evening before the Thursday night “world premiere.” It was then the original length of 162 minutes. I belive that at least a quarter of the audience hadn’t returned after intermission. There had been no hype about the “ultimate trip,” and they were impatient to say the least!
I was one of only a handful of people remaining in the theater when the curtains finally closed at the end of act 2. I turned to the booth (which was on orchestra level) and gave the thumbs up to Stanley Kubrick!
I’m convinced that his cut version, which I saw several more times at the Capitol, the Warner Cinerama, and the Ziegfeld was superior, but it would be nice for a restoration to be done if just for the historical value of it.
During the fifties, when I attended Cornell, the Temple presented most of the foreign-langage films that were released, and shortly after their New York City openings. The poor sightlines made reading subtitles very difficult.
A framed poster in the lobby calls attention to the fact that the 1939 premiere of “The Wizard of Oz” took place at the Cape Cinema before its New York showing. According to the manager, Margaret Hamilton (Elvira Gulch/Wicked Witch) was appearing at the adjacent Cape Playhouse and arranged for the event.
More memories about the Strand….
Ithaca blue laws prohibited theaters from beginning performances until 2 PM on Sundays. So the continuous schedule of 2-hour shows began at 2 PM with the second hour of the movie, and then, regular shows at 3, 5, 7, and 9. Of course, at 4 PM, with an ackowledgment of “this is where we came in,” the theater emptied and the standees in the long uncomfortable lobby filled up the theater for the second half of show 2.
This was particularly excruciating when the Strand presented the 3-D “Hondo” with John Wayne, boasting in the newspaper ads that the theater had been “re-engineered” to give the best possible 3-D experience. The curtains opened at 2 about 30 minutes into the picture, and, yes, the 3-D was the best ever. Then, came the intermission, the change of the interlocking reels, and the rest of the movie. Then, at 3 PM, following another intermission, the news and cartoon. Then, another intermission, and the beginning of the first set of interlocking reels.
During the fifties, when I was a Cornell student, the Strand was known as the “near-near,” since it was the first theater one reached coming down “the Hill” from the university. The other three theaters, the State, Temple and Ithaca, were the near-far, the far-near, and the far-far. The Strand’s screen was enormous, filling the entire proscenium, but because the screen began almost at stage floor level, short balcony viewers like myself couldn’t see the bottom of the picture unless we sat on our coats!
According to an article in the Palm Beach Daily News by David Rogers (February 2, 2005), the theater had 1,068 seats. It was built in 1926. The premiere film was Paramount’s “Beau Geste”. Performers who appeared on the stage in the early years were George Gershwin, Al Jolson, Will Rogers and Billie Burke. Closed as a film venue in 1980. Designated a landmark by the town of Palm Beach in 1982. Theater gutted. Offices, art gallery, Paramount Church still operating, and the Paramount electric sign lights N. County Road every evening.
Both the Plaza and the Jackson are presenting “Hitch” beginning today with Spanish subtitles, so the borough of Queens now has two theaters serving the needs of the Corona and Jackson Heights communities.
Rear of auditorium had stadium seating. There was no balcony. Was also known as the Manhattan Theatre when showing an exclusive re-release of “Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs” and the Republic Theatre when showing “Pinocchio”. I recall both probably in the 1944/45 period.