March 24, 1939 and October 11, 2009:
Showing incredible detail:
enough to show playing on that day:
They Made Me a Criminal – John Garfield, Ann Sheridan (Jan 28, 1939)
Beauty for the Asking – Lucille Ball, Pat Knowles (Feb 24, 1939)
Disney’s Donald Duck The Fox Hunt (July 29, 1938)
Here is what Venator Capital did to the Bowne Tree apartments: built a condo (right) in the courtyard of a 1930’s apartment (left). Unoccupied for over 2 years.
In the basement alone were over 50 rooms, with everything that was needed to support large scale theatre performances. This area on the North side of the building had electricians, carpenters and contractor rooms, an animal room, laundry area, musicians room, band leader’s room, vaults, store rooms, stage ramps, library, stage hand and stage managers rooms. This was the coal delivery area:
In the basement alone were over 50 rooms, with everything that was needed to support large scale theatre preformances. This area on the North side of the building had electricians, carpenters and contractor rooms, an animal room, laundry area, musicians room, band leader’s room, vaults, store rooms, stage ramps, library, stage hand and stage managers rooms.
After seeing a show at the RKO Keith’s you could stand under the marquee and look out at Flushing with renewed imagination. Main Street and Northern Blvd, July 1, 2009.
Stores on the East side of the landmarked RKO Keith’s Lobby, from July 3, 2009. The black marble tile around the store entrance still intact from the original Hyde’s clothing store:
Great find LM if you look closely you’ll notice that the cast iron enframement above the second floor windows has been removed. I wonder what year that was done?
CEO sez:
“I think that, in contrast to other cases, the situation at Boymelgreen Capital is straightforward. It has three assets and prices are at an unprecedented nadir. We took out loans against these assets, and in the current market conditions, we cannot get a price that allows us to repay our debt.”
Megamot College director Naftali Mendelovich attended the meeting as the representative of 300 bondholders. He said, “The company is effectively bankrupt. They don’t have a shekel on hand. To the best of my knowledge, Shaya Boymelgreen personally has no money for the company. We have Azorim and its subsidiaries.”
1955 Jeff:
Could you shed a little more light on this:
“Boymelgreen took out an additional $13.4 million mortgage against the property in April? And people wonder why there’s a sub-prime mortgage crisis!
posted by Jeffrey1955 on Aug 14, 2008 at 11:40am"
Who was the lender, how did you find out?
I like this link. Holding out for that $31M sale on a $15M investment on a property worth $1.4M but will come close to having paid the assessed value in tax and maintenance alone over the course of their ownership, for a zero return. These guys must have money to burn:
[url]http://webapps.nyc.gov:8084/cics/f704/f403001i?DET=4-04958-0048-[/url]
Why not donate to a non-profit and get the write off?
Thanks (again) to Davebazooka’s efforts to post these drawings from the Avery Library at Columbia. The fountain detail is referenced on dwg. F-3 supp. (no copy yet) looks to be on the order of 16'; if knocked down my guess is it would have been limited to the center statue (toppled and used as a battering ram).
On a more positive note the exterior still looks like its in great shape this level of brick work would never be done today, in this view of the back of the theatre:
Nice shot TStathes, never saw that one before.
I am not suprised that Massey bowed out of this one, they probably were not paid. As far as the current owner, after 2 agents failed to sell, it does not bode well; as far as ownership in the future goes there are precedents (they do still have to pay property tax and New York is not one of the best places to fall behind):[color=blue]
“Fifty years later, these sensational movie theaters have become rare monuments in urban downtowns. They have disappeared at an alarming rate or have suffered drastic interior renovations to simplify maintenance. "The Buffalo” has been spared this fate despite the presence of the same economic forces. The building was sold by Shea’s Publix Theater chain to Loew’s Theaters who more recently sold the building and continued to rent it. In December, 1974, the theater fell into the city’s hands through foreclosure when the former owner failed to pay back taxes. A non-profit group known as “Friends of the Buffalo” is seeking an arrangement with the city to handle the maintenance of the building while Loew’s continues to rent it.“[/color]
You can thank the Queens Historical Society for that sign. A good starting point:
E-mail:
Website: http://www.queenshistoricalsociety.org
Mail: 143-35 37th Avenue, Flushing, New York 11354
Warren these would be nice to re-post:
[i]Here are two images of the atmospheric grand lobby. After the theatre closed, the magnificent fountain was somehow “stolen” and is reportedly now installed in a Greenwich Village restaurant: www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/aeebd8b6.jpg www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/bb23e78f.jpg
a 1947 exterior view, taken when the program was a two-day, mid-week reissue booking of WB’s “The Sea Hawk” & “The Sea Wolf.” [url]http://www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/126-2691_IMG.jpg[/i][/url]
Don’t worry there will never be a glass wall, that was just to hoodwink CB7 into thinking they were getting something for nothing and issue a variance. BTW Farrington street is still very original North of 35th Ave. with private homes and pre-war factories; check out Google street view I’ll bet Ed’s house is there, about mid-way to the left in this picture circa 2008:
Thank goodness there wasn’t a 45,000-pound 50-by-100-foot wall of undulating glass fabricated in Madrid, strung like a harp, entirely supported by a tracery of stainless steel cables, in place! (But I’m still keeping my fingers crossed for that 19 story condo that Flushing so desperately needs!)
Almost a replay of the ‘55 incident posted by Warren on 10/1/2004:
“On May 4th, 1955, two Flushing HS students were killed and a third person critically injured when an out-of-control car smashed into the theatre’s entrance, narrowly missing the boxoffice but zooming into the first lobby, where it was stopped by a solid stone wall. The car’s owner was also dead, and apparently suffered a heart attack while driving on Northern Boulevard near the theatre. Eyewitnesses claimed the car was going about 50mph when it jumped the sidewalk. Damage to the lobby was minimal, and the 800 patrons in the theatre that afternoon never knew that the accident had happened, according to a report in The New York Times. "
‘55 Here is the link: View link
You may be able to glean some info with PS (I’ve tried) but you really need some prior knowledge (knowing to expect Keith Albee, Flushing helps); the 4th line may be 'North of’ or ‘Main &'
btw I saw both of those shows at the RKO; the stooges befriend a nerd who builds up his strength as a galley slave – (didn’t work for the stooges)and comes out as Hercules – funny.
March 24, 1939 and October 11, 2009:
Showing incredible detail:
enough to show playing on that day:
They Made Me a Criminal – John Garfield, Ann Sheridan (Jan 28, 1939)
Beauty for the Asking – Lucille Ball, Pat Knowles (Feb 24, 1939)
Disney’s Donald Duck The Fox Hunt (July 29, 1938)
RKO Keith’s 80 years old:
Here is what Venator Capital did to the Bowne Tree apartments: built a condo (right) in the courtyard of a 1930’s apartment (left). Unoccupied for over 2 years.
Still for sale FAR 7.5 residential and commercial with parking (on paper at least)
In the basement alone were over 50 rooms, with everything that was needed to support large scale theatre performances. This area on the North side of the building had electricians, carpenters and contractor rooms, an animal room, laundry area, musicians room, band leader’s room, vaults, store rooms, stage ramps, library, stage hand and stage managers rooms. This was the coal delivery area:
In the basement alone were over 50 rooms, with everything that was needed to support large scale theatre preformances. This area on the North side of the building had electricians, carpenters and contractor rooms, an animal room, laundry area, musicians room, band leader’s room, vaults, store rooms, stage ramps, library, stage hand and stage managers rooms.
Hosted by the Queens Historical Society:
After seeing a show at the RKO Keith’s you could stand under the marquee and look out at Flushing with renewed imagination. Main Street and Northern Blvd, July 1, 2009.
Stores on the East side of the landmarked RKO Keith’s Lobby, from July 3, 2009. The black marble tile around the store entrance still intact from the original Hyde’s clothing store:
Aside from the for sale sign this view shows that the partnership of Jason and Sergio were the last team to work on the building
Make that the 3rd floor windows, they may have been gone as early as ‘61 View link
Great find LM if you look closely you’ll notice that the cast iron enframement above the second floor windows has been removed. I wonder what year that was done?
CEO sez:
“I think that, in contrast to other cases, the situation at Boymelgreen Capital is straightforward. It has three assets and prices are at an unprecedented nadir. We took out loans against these assets, and in the current market conditions, we cannot get a price that allows us to repay our debt.”
Megamot College director Naftali Mendelovich attended the meeting as the representative of 300 bondholders. He said, “The company is effectively bankrupt. They don’t have a shekel on hand. To the best of my knowledge, Shaya Boymelgreen personally has no money for the company. We have Azorim and its subsidiaries.”
Anyone know how to get in touch with Jeffrey1955 regarding the 3/24/09 question posted above, anyone else know the answer?
1955 Jeff:
Could you shed a little more light on this:
“Boymelgreen took out an additional $13.4 million mortgage against the property in April? And people wonder why there’s a sub-prime mortgage crisis!
posted by Jeffrey1955 on Aug 14, 2008 at 11:40am"
Who was the lender, how did you find out?
Another nice link to keep tabs on:
[url]http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?symbol=BMGN[/url]
I like this link. Holding out for that $31M sale on a $15M investment on a property worth $1.4M but will come close to having paid the assessed value in tax and maintenance alone over the course of their ownership, for a zero return. These guys must have money to burn:
[url]http://webapps.nyc.gov:8084/cics/f704/f403001i?DET=4-04958-0048-[/url]
Why not donate to a non-profit and get the write off?
Here is what one of the pair of foyer fountains looked like:
courtesy of Ed Solero’s Photobucket and 6/6/06 posting
Thanks (again) to Davebazooka’s efforts to post these drawings from the Avery Library at Columbia. The fountain detail is referenced on dwg. F-3 supp. (no copy yet) looks to be on the order of 16'; if knocked down my guess is it would have been limited to the center statue (toppled and used as a battering ram).
On a more positive note the exterior still looks like its in great shape this level of brick work would never be done today, in this view of the back of the theatre:
Nice shot TStathes, never saw that one before.
I am not suprised that Massey bowed out of this one, they probably were not paid. As far as the current owner, after 2 agents failed to sell, it does not bode well; as far as ownership in the future goes there are precedents (they do still have to pay property tax and New York is not one of the best places to fall behind):[color=blue]
“Fifty years later, these sensational movie theaters have become rare monuments in urban downtowns. They have disappeared at an alarming rate or have suffered drastic interior renovations to simplify maintenance. "The Buffalo” has been spared this fate despite the presence of the same economic forces. The building was sold by Shea’s Publix Theater chain to Loew’s Theaters who more recently sold the building and continued to rent it. In December, 1974, the theater fell into the city’s hands through foreclosure when the former owner failed to pay back taxes. A non-profit group known as “Friends of the Buffalo” is seeking an arrangement with the city to handle the maintenance of the building while Loew’s continues to rent it.“[/color]
You can thank the Queens Historical Society for that sign. A good starting point:
E-mail:
Website: http://www.queenshistoricalsociety.org
Mail: 143-35 37th Avenue, Flushing, New York 11354
Warren these would be nice to re-post:
[i]Here are two images of the atmospheric grand lobby. After the theatre closed, the magnificent fountain was somehow “stolen” and is reportedly now installed in a Greenwich Village restaurant:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/aeebd8b6.jpg
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/bb23e78f.jpg
a 1947 exterior view, taken when the program was a two-day, mid-week reissue booking of WB’s “The Sea Hawk” & “The Sea Wolf.” [url]http://www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/126-2691_IMG.jpg[/i][/url]
Don’t worry there will never be a glass wall, that was just to hoodwink CB7 into thinking they were getting something for nothing and issue a variance. BTW Farrington street is still very original North of 35th Ave. with private homes and pre-war factories; check out Google street view I’ll bet Ed’s house is there, about mid-way to the left in this picture circa 2008:
Thank goodness there wasn’t a 45,000-pound 50-by-100-foot wall of undulating glass fabricated in Madrid, strung like a harp, entirely supported by a tracery of stainless steel cables, in place! (But I’m still keeping my fingers crossed for that 19 story condo that Flushing so desperately needs!)
Almost a replay of the ‘55 incident posted by Warren on 10/1/2004:
“On May 4th, 1955, two Flushing HS students were killed and a third person critically injured when an out-of-control car smashed into the theatre’s entrance, narrowly missing the boxoffice but zooming into the first lobby, where it was stopped by a solid stone wall. The car’s owner was also dead, and apparently suffered a heart attack while driving on Northern Boulevard near the theatre. Eyewitnesses claimed the car was going about 50mph when it jumped the sidewalk. Damage to the lobby was minimal, and the 800 patrons in the theatre that afternoon never knew that the accident had happened, according to a report in The New York Times. "
‘55 Here is the link: View link
You may be able to glean some info with PS (I’ve tried) but you really need some prior knowledge (knowing to expect Keith Albee, Flushing helps); the 4th line may be 'North of’ or ‘Main &'
btw I saw both of those shows at the RKO; the stooges befriend a nerd who builds up his strength as a galley slave – (didn’t work for the stooges)and comes out as Hercules – funny.
Here is Clay’s web site: http://www.claycoleshow.com/