Hillside Theatre
90-29 Sutphin Boulevard,
Jamaica,
NY
11435
90-29 Sutphin Boulevard,
Jamaica,
NY
11435
7 people
favorited this theater
Showing 101 - 125 of 125 comments
I don’t see any mention, so I’ll note for the record that the Hillside was briefly popular in the middle 60s (63-65?) for a series of talent shows, mostly local doo-wop groups and soul singers.
As I recall, there was a Nedick’s on the corner of Jamaica and Sutphin until about the same time.
As far as “deserted at night” goes, in the mid- to late-60s Sutphin was a prostitutes' stroll.
In answer to Saps comments. I remember passing near this theatre when my family lived in the Jamaica area in the 60s. The theatre did play burlesque. I remember Marilyn Maxwell’s name on the marquee as well as other stars who I can’t quite remember now. I was familar with Maxwell and wondered why in the world was she doing a show like this. It was possible she had a cabaret act too!
It is very hard to find interior photos of any theater. I wish there was a website somewhere that had interior photos of all these theaters, either historical or current.
Loew’s Hillside was always well maintained and had a certain ambience that I personally found very appealing. Are there any photos of the interior anywhere on the internet? As a teenager in the 50’s I usually went there on Sunday afternoons. One memorable time Piper Laurie made a personal appearance and autographed photos in the lobby. If I’m not mistaken, she was promoting “Mississippi Gambler” at the time.
After Loew’s gave the Hillside up, the new owners booked an occasional stage show around 1959 or 1960. One of the shows was the “Jewel Box Review” which was billed as “25 Men and a Girl”. This was prior to their trying burlesque. The “Jewel Box Review” was a moveover from Harlem’s Apollo Theater and was quite spectacular to say the least. The Hillside’s stage facilities were still in fine shape. It was almost as if vaudeville had made a triumphant return.
Wow, burlesque in the late 60’s ! That’s exceptional ! Thanks for mentioning that ! Glad we solved your little mystery for you !
My late mother-in-law saw the Follies Bergere in Paris while in the Army in WW II, and also once saw Gypsy Rose Lee strip !
Your post reads very “sapient” (wise) as opposed to “sappy” palaver from a bunch of “saps” !
I remember passing this theater several times in a car during the late 1960s. I was a boy but I clearly remember that they had a burlesque show running at the time. The word “Follies” is so burned in my brain that a few years later when I saw a friend with a “Mad Follies” magazine, I thought it had to do with strippers! I see the walls of the building all the time when I’m in Jamaica on business, and I’m glad this little mystery has been solved for me.
Thanks, Robbie. Warren argued that same point of transit as opposed to shopping hub in an earlier comment above on this page.
Under the “LOEW’S HILLSIDE” sign was splashed: “The BIG ones come to Loew’s Hillside”. I remember seeing it from the train. I guess it was a ploy to lure patrons in, but being in a transit hub rather than a shopping hub probably was not too successful
More images of the Hillside can be seen at :
http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?4516
http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?4538
http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?2233
Look above the canopy over the el platform on the right side of the images. “LOEW’S HILLSIDE” can be faintly seen in white on that uppermost trapezoidal part of brick wall above the el platform canopy, to the left of the roofline.
Will do, Bway ! Kevin Walsh of forgotten-ny e-mailed me, asking me for a list, so that will motivate me all the more to compile one !
The funny thing is I was trying for a while since Peter first asked me to help him figure out those words on the marquee of the Hillside theater, and just fell short. Now that I know what it says, it looks so clear in the photo now!
And Peter, keep those links coming!
You’re most welcome, ErwinM. I’ve found it helpful and fun to work with several websites, and I’ve been on nycsubway.org and IMDB quite a bit. I found the release date for “Let No Man Write My Epitaph” on the latter site myself. The title stuck in my mind from having seen it in TV Guide four decades ago as a kid. Yes, being an old film buff helps too. I’m always pleased when these mysteries crumble under the power of many minds, and points of view.
In case you were wondering, the relevance of nycsubway.org is that it seems to be the only site with images of the exteriors of some of these old theaters, included as a “bonus” in some images of el stations, some of which are no longer there either, as is the case with that image of the Hillside and the BMT Jamaica el. I intend to post more links to nycsubway.org images that show these old NYC movie houses.
Thanks for the compliment Peter.K. It ended up being a matter of a process of elimination and some research on the internet. Being an old film buff helped a bit too.
Thank you, ErwinM. That tends to confirm my theory of the photo being taken shortly after the February 1961 NYC blizzard.
You’ve got better eyes than me if you can read those blurry old marquee letters from so long ago that well !
I believe that the lettering on the marquee of the Hillside in the photo on the “nycsubways†website reads as follows:
LET NO MAN
WRITE MY EPITAPH
with SHELLEY WINTERS
also HELL IS A CITY
Both features were released by Columbia Pictures nationally in October/November 1960. The IMDB gives NYC release dates for “EIPITAPH” of 11/10/60 and “HELL” of 1/18/61. It is quite reasonable to believe that the two ended up on a double bill in February/March of ’61. Most likely the date on the photo should be ‘61 instead of ’64.
True, most of the shopping and stores were located between 160th and 168th Streets, and perhaps still are.
I wonder how the current business of the Jamaica Multiplex at 159-02 Jamaica Avenue, near the so-called Parsons-Archer Jamaica Center, compares with the maximum combined business of the former and nearby Valencia, Alden, Savoy, Merrick and Hillside Theaters.
“The area was deserted at night.” Even with the LIRR Jamaica hub, BMT el and IND subway stations at Sutphin Blvd., and Jamaica and Hillside Avenues, with all their bus and auto traffic ?
William, thanks for correcting the error in my link to the image I intended to make available.
Warren, thank you. I’m glad you reached the photograph, because I didn’t get the link right at first. I just looked at the image again, and noticed that “Free Parking” had replaced Loew’s at the top of the vertical sign. If Loew’s had dropped the Hillside by then, as you say, who would have been managing it at the time of the photo ? “Let No Man Write My Epitaph” was my educated guess for the top movie, so thanks for confirming my intuition. Any ideas what the second movie might be ? “Captain Newman M.D.”, perhaps ? This gets into a whole new level of detail : projection logs for abandoned movie theaters ! As to the date of the photo, the webmaster of nycsubway.org might be able to help, with reasoning in terms of car types on the Jamaica el. Otherwise, I cannot comment on early 1961 vs. 1964, except to say that early 1961 is even better, because it’s further back in the past, and is more consistent with the large amount of snow on the ground, perhaps from the early February 1961 blizzard in NYC ?
http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?6327
http://www.mycsubway.org/perl/show?6327
http:/www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?6327
See Loew’s Hillside in beautiful living color, above and below the Jamaica el, in the snow of an early winter, nearly forty years ago, at :
http:/www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?6327/
And to think I walked right by there with a friend on a hot summer day in July 1987, from the LIRR to the IND subway, never knowing there was once a theater there (but knowing full well there was once an el there)!
Go to : nycsubway.org, BMT Lines, BMT Jamaica, Sutphin Blvd. station, look at image 6327, and you will see the marquee of Loew’s Hillside Theater in (purportedly)November 1964. I can’t quite make out what it says. My guesses are, “Let No Man Write My Epitaph” and/or “Captain Newman M.D.”. You can also make out the faint name “Hillside” on the top of the building in later, September 1977, images of Sutphin Blvd. station.
The Loew’s Hillside Theatre is located at 90-29 Sutphin Blvd. and it seated 2653 people.