Polk Theater

I wonder when the “Polk Ave.” lost that wonderful marquee and became the “Polk”? “Little Miss Roughneck” opened in ‘38, so we know it happened after that. In my neck of the island in B'klyn, several theaters underwent facelifts in the pre-Scope post-war years ca.'48-'52. McCourt’s “Queer Street” captures the Polk of that era (the paragraphs on “Don’t Bother to Knock” are exemplary) without calling the theater “Polk Ave.” or mentioning its elegant marquee. That book goes into some detail about the custodian’s hilarious hanky-panky at the time.

The Brandts' must have had money in that picture – with a few exceptions all the theatres playing it are Brandt!

I must have been buzzed if/when I wrote that the Polk was in good condition. The place is okay but it isn’t as well maintained as the Fair Theater on Astoria Blvd. I was able to see the old projectors and the owner offered to sell them to me. But I don’t have the money for that.

The Polk Theater received a mention in this week’s (July 18th) issue of New York magazine, as the second of 50 unique-to-Queens sites to consider checking out before the borough (inevitably) becomes gentrified.

There are some wicked descriptions of teen-age, um, activities at the Polk Theater in the widely praised memoir about pre-Stonewall gay life, James McCourt’s “Queer Street” (Norton, 2003). The author grew up on 94 Street in the 40s-50s.

I stopped by to see if this theater was still running. It is still open. I went there on 11/15/04. There was this old woman selling ‘tickets’ in the box office. The tickets are threaded through the old ticket machine, but unlike the old days, she doesn’t push a button to dispense them. The place has a musty smell. The small lobby is still intact. It is smaller than most theaters. Once inside I gave the ticket to an ‘usher’. Next to the door on the left is the old ticket collection box. I don’t know what it is actually called. There are still the old concession stand display cases. There are stairs that lead to the restrooms. There is no balcony. There is old paneling on the walls that no doubt hide the original walls. It would be interesting to peel them off. Upstairs is an old phone booth minus the pay phone. The bathrooms are okay. There are also to old scales that don’t work but are probably worth something. The theater looks as if suspended in time. It needs a good cleaning. I once had the opportunity to see the projection room. The projectors are still in place and probably work.

The owner of this theatre has had it since the early 60’s. It used to play second run double bills. In the late eightys he attempted to play porno by day and second run at night but never cleaned up the place or gave it a chance.