I have to take exception to the profile that states that the Alden was turned into a quad. Not in my excellent memory bank, it wasn’t. It closed around the same time as the Valencia, across Jamaica Avenue, but while that theater was given a rebirth as a church, the Alden just remained a hulking derelict, without ever being divided. I used to catch the Q-5 bus at Hillside and 169th, and ride it all the way to the end of the line, in Rosedale, and the bus route passed right next to both theaters. As a matter of fact, there was a bus terminal behind the Valencia, and the Q-5 would sit there for about ten minutes, before moving on its route. Gone are the days!
Here’s a question for the very knowledgable members here. On Vine, between Hollywood and Yucca, is a club now named the Avalon Hollywood. It was used in the 1984 movie “Against All Odds” as either the real or fictional club called The Palace. From the exterior, it’s obvious that this building was once one of the grand old movie palaces; can anybody here identify it?
Of course, the theater was originally named for the father of movie star Gloria De Haven. Does anyone know if she’s active in the preservation/restoration plans?
Lol, Bellerose-Floral Park had always been “iffy,” like Alsace-Lorraine. I grew up in Valley Streamn and as I remember, Floral Park spilled over the Queens-Nassau line.
There was a theater on Eastern Parkway at the southwest corner of the intersecrion of Nostrand Avenue. The building is there, intact, as the Philadelphian Sabbatical Church, not far from this location. Anybody know what theater it was?
I can’t even begin to tell you how many movies I saw at the Valley Stream, from my childhood in the 50s. I still can’t quite accept the fact that it’s no longer there. I know, for a fact, that the last movie I saw there was Mel Brooks' “High Anxiety” in 1977. By that time I was a 27 year old adult living in Brooklyn, and I drove out to Valley Stream to meet my lifelong best friend to see the movie. It was a bitterly cold and snowy winter day, and there was only a handful of people in the theater. We were the only ones laughing at this comedy!
I was born and raised in Valley Stream, and I was only in the Baldwin twice, but I’m as sad as any of you Baldwiners to see that the theater is gone, like so many of the theaters that we grew up with. The first time I drove out to the Baldwin was in 1972, to see the very obscure movie, “Rivals”. I’ve always been a Joan Hackett fan, and it was the only theater where the movie was playing. The following year I drove to the Baldwin again, to see “Night Watch,” which was ending its theatrical run (had the theater become a dollar venue?). That night was a very memorable experience, because near the end of the movie, which is a thriller, a woman sitting way down front let out a blood curdling scream, which turned my blood to ice and my 22 year old heart to stone.
What an astonishing heartbreak it is for me to see the Oriental occupied by Marshall’s. The last time I was in the theater was in 1980, to see “The Fan,” and other than being twinned, it was very much intact.
Bway, do you mean interior or exterior? The last time I was inside the Benson was in the early 80s, and there wasn’t much that was historically significant left in the interior.
Something’s a little wrong with the 668 Bridgeway address. In the 1948 movie, “Impact” there’s a scene filmed further up Bridgeway, where the square borders it. The Gate Theater is clearly visible in the background, on the left side of the street. I think the theater stood where the oddly shaped modern building is now, the last building on the left, at the t-bone intersection of Bridgeway and Princess. The building I’m referring to is occupied by the store, “Jewelry by the Bay”.
I saw two movies at the Greenwich, “Burnt Offerings” and “Ghostbusters 2”. By the 70s, there was nothing distinctive about the interior whatsoever, just an ordinary, plain auditorium, as I recall. Maybe it was NEVER anything memorable though, lol. If you want to get a vintage gander at the theater in a movie, check out Otto Preminger’s 1947 “Daisy Kenyon”. There’s a scene where Henry Fonda is tailing Joan Crawford, and she goes to the Greenwich to see a double bill of Cary Grant and Laraine Day in “Mr. Lucky,” and Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett in “The Woman In the Window”.
You’re 100% correct, Ed. The Valley Stream had been a vaudeville venue, and if I recall correctly, it even had an orchestra pit. I’d guess that its seating capacity was twice that of the Belair.
If you were drinking beer, it didn’t make any difference if the snack bar was open or not, since they didn’t sell beer at the Kent, or any other theater that I’ve gone to. You sound like a terrific date, LMAO!
The only time I was in this theater was to see “Young Frankenstein”. I was totally unimpressed with the theater itself, which was appallingly nondescript. No one need mourn its demise.
Going back to the comment posted by Tillmany in 2004, I just watched “The Killer That Stalked New York” this morning, and noticed the clever, almost seamless blending of the New York and Los Angeles location work with the Columbia backlot shots. I knew right away that the Cozy had to be in L.A. when I spotted the Bradbury Building. There is one brief shot where the name of the Central Theater is clear, on the front of the marquee.
Anybody know the fate of the other Paramount in Mahattan? It was on Columbus Circle, built in the early 70s, adjacent to the Gulf+Western tower, which is now a Trump hotel. The theater was below street level, and you went down an escalator near the subway entrance. I just checked Google Maps, and there’s no sign of it, nor do I find mention of it here. I know that I saw “Young Frankenstein” there.
As a Walter Reade single screen theater, the Continental showed a lot of indie/arty fare. I was only there once, to see the French “La Cage Aux Folles,” with subtitles. All I remember about the interior is that it had an air of subdued “class”. There was, if I remember correctly, an outdoor parking lot that ran up the embankment of the LIRR tracks and partially behind the theater, but don’t quote me.
Ed Miller
I was only at the Parsons once, but I remember the interior was of outstanding late Moderne design. If I’ve got the right theater, it was fairly close to Queens College, no? I saw the French film “Going Places” there, starring Gerard Depardieu and Patrick Dewaere, which means it had a bit of indie/arty programming, at least at that time. I was living in Valley Stream still, so I’m guessing that this was the closest venue to see the movie, without going to Manhattan.
My memory of the Cinemart of the 70s and 80s is that it was a shabby dump. The movies that we saw there were on their last run, which fits the dollar format. “On a Clear Day” (the fifth time I saw it!) “Airplane,” and “Flashdance” are the ones I remember seeing there, though I know there were more. Nice to see it’s been reborn, and no reason why it shoudn’t be. Great neighborhood!
rvb, I too saw “Thoroughly Modern Mille” at the Raceway when it was a very new house. As a matter of fact, I think that “TMM” was its first attraction. I’m dumbfounded to see that it closed after such a short lifetime. Your mentioning the old Westbury on Post Avenue dredged up memories of a midnight showing of Mick Jagger in “Performance” there.
Ed Solero, I just looked at the album of beautiful photos that you took of the Laurelton in February of ‘06. Fabulous job, Ed, and let me say in all admiration that you are a true movie palace fanatic. How very gracious that congregation was to allow you to photograph it, and the pics brought back a flood of memories. That display I was talking about in my previous post was set up at the top of the lobby entrance slope. I’ve glimpsed at some of your other albums, and soon I’ll be examining them in detail. I lived in Sunnyside in the mid 70s, and it’s nice to see that the Center and Bliss are still standing, with the Bliss now being a Kingdom Hall. Thank God some of these grand old theaters have been given a second chance, instead of meeting the wrecker’s ball.
Ed Miller
Ed, your post from September of ‘07 was very astute. Those blockbusters behaved in an outrageously unethical fashion. I haven’t a bigoted bone in my body, and I sincerely wish that all of our communities were racially balanced, but that is sadly not the case. In a matter of five years, and I do NOT exaggerate, Laurelton’s racial makeup changed completely, and I blame this on the white population that was terrified of having a black neighbor. I grew up in Valley Stream, just east of Laurelton, and my parents grew up in Springfield Gardens, just to the west, so I know from what I speak. That being said, let’s talk about the Laurelton Theater. My family church was one block south of the theater, and I had a lot of friends in Laurelton, as a kid and a young adult. Laurelton was a hot fifteen minute bike ride from home for me. I saw many, many a movie at the Laurelton, and I have to say that my best guess as to when it was built would be the early 30s, given the interior decor, which was an advanced Art Deco style strongly influenced by a Chinese motif, with the auditorium lighting a joss-house effect. This was a very small theater, with no balcony, and the restrooms were up a single staircase. You came to the ladies’ first, passed the projection room, and then there was the mens', which was quite small. I saw countless movies here, from “Imitation of Life” when I was eight, to “The Birds,” “West Side Story,” and many others. I can’t remember what movie that I saw in ‘58 when the small lobby was decorated for the next attraction, “Separate Tables”. Two small dining tables and chairs were on display, and the tables had complete place settings; the most novel detail was that there were place cards on the tables, on one for “Rita Hayworth” and “Burt Lancaster,” and on the other for “Deborah Kerr” and “David Niven”. Imagine seeing anything like that now! I checked the theater today on Google Maps, and I’m sad to say that the congregation that occupied it for years has gone, and the building has been gutted. Everytime that a part of my childhood is destroyed like this is like a piece of my heart being torn out.
Ed Miller
I have to take exception to the profile that states that the Alden was turned into a quad. Not in my excellent memory bank, it wasn’t. It closed around the same time as the Valencia, across Jamaica Avenue, but while that theater was given a rebirth as a church, the Alden just remained a hulking derelict, without ever being divided. I used to catch the Q-5 bus at Hillside and 169th, and ride it all the way to the end of the line, in Rosedale, and the bus route passed right next to both theaters. As a matter of fact, there was a bus terminal behind the Valencia, and the Q-5 would sit there for about ten minutes, before moving on its route. Gone are the days!
Here’s a question for the very knowledgable members here. On Vine, between Hollywood and Yucca, is a club now named the Avalon Hollywood. It was used in the 1984 movie “Against All Odds” as either the real or fictional club called The Palace. From the exterior, it’s obvious that this building was once one of the grand old movie palaces; can anybody here identify it?
Of course, the theater was originally named for the father of movie star Gloria De Haven. Does anyone know if she’s active in the preservation/restoration plans?
Can someone please tell this young senior what a battling cage is? Is it for kickboxing/martial arts? LMAO!
Lol, Bellerose-Floral Park had always been “iffy,” like Alsace-Lorraine. I grew up in Valley Streamn and as I remember, Floral Park spilled over the Queens-Nassau line.
There was a theater on Eastern Parkway at the southwest corner of the intersecrion of Nostrand Avenue. The building is there, intact, as the Philadelphian Sabbatical Church, not far from this location. Anybody know what theater it was?
I can’t even begin to tell you how many movies I saw at the Valley Stream, from my childhood in the 50s. I still can’t quite accept the fact that it’s no longer there. I know, for a fact, that the last movie I saw there was Mel Brooks' “High Anxiety” in 1977. By that time I was a 27 year old adult living in Brooklyn, and I drove out to Valley Stream to meet my lifelong best friend to see the movie. It was a bitterly cold and snowy winter day, and there was only a handful of people in the theater. We were the only ones laughing at this comedy!
I was born and raised in Valley Stream, and I was only in the Baldwin twice, but I’m as sad as any of you Baldwiners to see that the theater is gone, like so many of the theaters that we grew up with. The first time I drove out to the Baldwin was in 1972, to see the very obscure movie, “Rivals”. I’ve always been a Joan Hackett fan, and it was the only theater where the movie was playing. The following year I drove to the Baldwin again, to see “Night Watch,” which was ending its theatrical run (had the theater become a dollar venue?). That night was a very memorable experience, because near the end of the movie, which is a thriller, a woman sitting way down front let out a blood curdling scream, which turned my blood to ice and my 22 year old heart to stone.
What an astonishing heartbreak it is for me to see the Oriental occupied by Marshall’s. The last time I was in the theater was in 1980, to see “The Fan,” and other than being twinned, it was very much intact.
Bway, do you mean interior or exterior? The last time I was inside the Benson was in the early 80s, and there wasn’t much that was historically significant left in the interior.
Something’s a little wrong with the 668 Bridgeway address. In the 1948 movie, “Impact” there’s a scene filmed further up Bridgeway, where the square borders it. The Gate Theater is clearly visible in the background, on the left side of the street. I think the theater stood where the oddly shaped modern building is now, the last building on the left, at the t-bone intersection of Bridgeway and Princess. The building I’m referring to is occupied by the store, “Jewelry by the Bay”.
I saw two movies at the Greenwich, “Burnt Offerings” and “Ghostbusters 2”. By the 70s, there was nothing distinctive about the interior whatsoever, just an ordinary, plain auditorium, as I recall. Maybe it was NEVER anything memorable though, lol. If you want to get a vintage gander at the theater in a movie, check out Otto Preminger’s 1947 “Daisy Kenyon”. There’s a scene where Henry Fonda is tailing Joan Crawford, and she goes to the Greenwich to see a double bill of Cary Grant and Laraine Day in “Mr. Lucky,” and Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett in “The Woman In the Window”.
Wasn’t “Meet Danny Wilson” a 1951 release?
You’re 100% correct, Ed. The Valley Stream had been a vaudeville venue, and if I recall correctly, it even had an orchestra pit. I’d guess that its seating capacity was twice that of the Belair.
If you were drinking beer, it didn’t make any difference if the snack bar was open or not, since they didn’t sell beer at the Kent, or any other theater that I’ve gone to. You sound like a terrific date, LMAO!
This is my neighnorhood theater, and it has nothing whatsoever to recommend it.
The only time I was in this theater was to see “Young Frankenstein”. I was totally unimpressed with the theater itself, which was appallingly nondescript. No one need mourn its demise.
Going back to the comment posted by Tillmany in 2004, I just watched “The Killer That Stalked New York” this morning, and noticed the clever, almost seamless blending of the New York and Los Angeles location work with the Columbia backlot shots. I knew right away that the Cozy had to be in L.A. when I spotted the Bradbury Building. There is one brief shot where the name of the Central Theater is clear, on the front of the marquee.
Anybody know the fate of the other Paramount in Mahattan? It was on Columbus Circle, built in the early 70s, adjacent to the Gulf+Western tower, which is now a Trump hotel. The theater was below street level, and you went down an escalator near the subway entrance. I just checked Google Maps, and there’s no sign of it, nor do I find mention of it here. I know that I saw “Young Frankenstein” there.
As a Walter Reade single screen theater, the Continental showed a lot of indie/arty fare. I was only there once, to see the French “La Cage Aux Folles,” with subtitles. All I remember about the interior is that it had an air of subdued “class”. There was, if I remember correctly, an outdoor parking lot that ran up the embankment of the LIRR tracks and partially behind the theater, but don’t quote me.
Ed Miller
I was only at the Parsons once, but I remember the interior was of outstanding late Moderne design. If I’ve got the right theater, it was fairly close to Queens College, no? I saw the French film “Going Places” there, starring Gerard Depardieu and Patrick Dewaere, which means it had a bit of indie/arty programming, at least at that time. I was living in Valley Stream still, so I’m guessing that this was the closest venue to see the movie, without going to Manhattan.
My memory of the Cinemart of the 70s and 80s is that it was a shabby dump. The movies that we saw there were on their last run, which fits the dollar format. “On a Clear Day” (the fifth time I saw it!) “Airplane,” and “Flashdance” are the ones I remember seeing there, though I know there were more. Nice to see it’s been reborn, and no reason why it shoudn’t be. Great neighborhood!
rvb, I too saw “Thoroughly Modern Mille” at the Raceway when it was a very new house. As a matter of fact, I think that “TMM” was its first attraction. I’m dumbfounded to see that it closed after such a short lifetime. Your mentioning the old Westbury on Post Avenue dredged up memories of a midnight showing of Mick Jagger in “Performance” there.
Ed Solero, I just looked at the album of beautiful photos that you took of the Laurelton in February of ‘06. Fabulous job, Ed, and let me say in all admiration that you are a true movie palace fanatic. How very gracious that congregation was to allow you to photograph it, and the pics brought back a flood of memories. That display I was talking about in my previous post was set up at the top of the lobby entrance slope. I’ve glimpsed at some of your other albums, and soon I’ll be examining them in detail. I lived in Sunnyside in the mid 70s, and it’s nice to see that the Center and Bliss are still standing, with the Bliss now being a Kingdom Hall. Thank God some of these grand old theaters have been given a second chance, instead of meeting the wrecker’s ball.
Ed Miller
Ed, your post from September of ‘07 was very astute. Those blockbusters behaved in an outrageously unethical fashion. I haven’t a bigoted bone in my body, and I sincerely wish that all of our communities were racially balanced, but that is sadly not the case. In a matter of five years, and I do NOT exaggerate, Laurelton’s racial makeup changed completely, and I blame this on the white population that was terrified of having a black neighbor. I grew up in Valley Stream, just east of Laurelton, and my parents grew up in Springfield Gardens, just to the west, so I know from what I speak. That being said, let’s talk about the Laurelton Theater. My family church was one block south of the theater, and I had a lot of friends in Laurelton, as a kid and a young adult. Laurelton was a hot fifteen minute bike ride from home for me. I saw many, many a movie at the Laurelton, and I have to say that my best guess as to when it was built would be the early 30s, given the interior decor, which was an advanced Art Deco style strongly influenced by a Chinese motif, with the auditorium lighting a joss-house effect. This was a very small theater, with no balcony, and the restrooms were up a single staircase. You came to the ladies’ first, passed the projection room, and then there was the mens', which was quite small. I saw countless movies here, from “Imitation of Life” when I was eight, to “The Birds,” “West Side Story,” and many others. I can’t remember what movie that I saw in ‘58 when the small lobby was decorated for the next attraction, “Separate Tables”. Two small dining tables and chairs were on display, and the tables had complete place settings; the most novel detail was that there were place cards on the tables, on one for “Rita Hayworth” and “Burt Lancaster,” and on the other for “Deborah Kerr” and “David Niven”. Imagine seeing anything like that now! I checked the theater today on Google Maps, and I’m sad to say that the congregation that occupied it for years has gone, and the building has been gutted. Everytime that a part of my childhood is destroyed like this is like a piece of my heart being torn out.
Ed Miller