UA Quartet
16006 Northern Boulevard,
Flushing,
NY
11358
16006 Northern Boulevard,
Flushing,
NY
11358
9 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Island Theater Circuit, Skouras Theatres, United Artists Theater Circuit Inc.
Architects: Maurice D. Sornik
Functions: Retail
Previous Names: Roosevelt Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Roosevelt Theatre opened on August 14, 1926 with a seating capacity of 1,758. The opening program featured film footage of Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Al Jolson in “The Jazz Singer” was the first ‘talkie’ screened at the theatre, using a sound on disc system. By 1946 it was operated by Skouras Theatres.
On July 14, 1971, this was the first quad ever opened in New York. I remember the projectionist telling me that when it opened people came from all over the country to see it. Architect Maurice D. Sornik was the architect for the conversion, and theatre look was very funky 1960’s.
The lobby was located in the middle of what once was the original auditorium and the theatres built around the perimeter. The restrooms were the only thing on the second floor besides the projection booth and were reached by climbing a huge staircase. When the Quartet first opened, there was not all the automated projection equipment and actually had four projectionists for a very short time.
UA let this house close and crumble on October 2, 1997. There was talk about expanding it but they just quietly closed it.
Contributed by
RobertR
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Recent comments (view all 113 comments)
Remember the Roosevelt well from growing up in the neighborhood in the sixties. Saw Lilies of the Field there on a double bill with Pocketful of Miracles over the Christmas holidays in 1963. I think it was mostly a second run theater in those days. Interesting to read that it was built before the Keith’s and the Prospect in downtown Flushing.
Boxoffice of August 30, 1971, has two pages about the UA Quartet. It includes a cutaway drawing showing how the four small auditoriums and new foyer had been arranged inside the gutted auditorium of the Roosevelt Theatre. There are also a few photos.
First page
Second page
When the Quartet was about to open they had an “open house” for the public.
Trying to figure if this still stands. The google map takes us to a parking lot but immediately next to it is a building that looks like a theatre from the air (very tiny stagehouse) which is now a Chinese supermarket.
The supermarket was in the theater building (in the present Street View it’s got a “For Lease” sign on it.) Street View is stranded in the parking lot, but give it a couple of clicks and you can see the theater’s former emergency exit doors on the back of the building. The marquee is still on the front of the building, too, but covered with a plain surface.
Photo of opening marquee uploaded.
Saw many flicks during the UA era of this theater. I remember seeing “Network” and “Invasion of the body snatchers” and during the screening of “Snatchers” I vividly recall the film snapping at a pivotal moment. The collective groan of the crowd was quite memorable. It was still quite pleasant even after its quadplexing in the early 70s
Hello everyone! what has braught me here was many many years of looking online to see if I could find any old pictures of this place, I had my best years of my life and fondest memories in and around this theatre, can anyone help me find any more pictures of the Quartet? from 1988-1998? thank you!
Please update, theatre closed October 2, 1997
Please update, UA Qaurtet Cinema open on July 14, 1971 It was UA first quad theatre built