At least we have Tinseltoes link above. The last three stops of the BMT Jamaica Line, Sutphin Blvd., 160th St. and 168th St. were eliminated as of October 10, 1977. The Metropolitan Av. and Queens Blvd. stops in 1985. The El was gradually dismantled to the point where it now connects into the Archer Av. Subway Station (1988).
I concur with Ed on this. But, there may have been a post office change which resulted in this “correction”. Due to a postal reallignment the Bellerose which was in Bellerose since it was built in 1927 is now in Floral Park.
I believe rafaelstorm may be right about the Alden remaining a single screen to the end. The Valencia, Merrick, Savoy, Hillside and all the others theatres along Jamaica Avenue in Queens and Jericho Turnpike in Nassau went out as single screen theatres.
The reality is that CT only has this photo available to put up front by the current logic. Now if some techie person could extract a better photo from any links that might still be valid and do what is necessary to get it UP FRONT it will be in the mix to be chosen by the daily default logic.
The reality for me is that, as a Long Island Rail Road commuter, the view shown is the one I looked at for thirty years. I hadn’t been on foot in Jamaica since the mid 1960s when Gertz and Macy’s were still there and I was living in Bellerose, Nassau, around the corner from the Bellerose Theatre which is now in Floral Park since the Nassau part of Bellerose is serviced by the Floral Park Post Office, which is about a mile plus further away than the Bellerose Post Office which, in my day was on Braddock Avenue.
I would doubt that in an office environment anything would remain although the ceiling may be hidden behind a dropped ceiling on the top office floor of which there many. Also from the photo above you can see that the building has been made wider to accommodate additional space. So you’ve also lost the integrity of the walls. In smaller theatres which have been repurposed as offices it’s more likely that something remains.
Craigslist is the place for hookups. Let’s keep this site for the original purpose. Some of the old theatres became churches. Others went the other way. But they were part of cinema history so we can’t deny them there space.
Since I was in the area I stopped in at the theatre today since it was open. I hoped to find out a. whether additional space was added to the original theatre footprint when additional screens were added and, b. the seating capacity of each of the auditoriums. The manager met me at the door, was unwilling to answer any questions and asked me to leave. Must have been trained by the former owners of the Westbury. However, it looked to me that the auditoriums to the left of the lobby MIGHT be additional space since, from the exterior of the building, the higher roof portion is to the right, presumably the original space.
I was actually in the building today. There is another article about the current owner but little new about the theatre other than that it had a tin roof. The roof is now shingled but the same shape as appears in the photo I mentioned above.
Since becoming a commercial property a second floor has been added. I had the opportunity to go there and see a number of boxy buttresses on either side of the building. My theory is that the original beams were exposed wood in keeping with the Mission look of the building’s facade and, they have now been boxed in to look more modern.
The good news is that the ornate plaster ceiling panels are in tact and have been painstakingly painted. The detail is so fine that I’m sure it could not have been appreciated by theatre patrons.
Google has it right. This is the buidling which housed St. James number one. The red paint is new this spring. For the first hundred plus years the gable was white. An interesting note. The building is now owned by the person who owns the former St. James Theatre (#3) around the corner.
The link I provided above has been negated by the reorganization of the Historical Society web site. In order to see the image of the Edwards you have to select Collections and then Postcards. It is imbedded in the presentation.
Hey, a lot of stranger things have happened. The Bellerose Theatre is now in Floral Park, after having been in Bellerose for over 70 years. Seems they changed the Post office for the Nassau County portion of the village to Floral Park. The Queens County portion is still Bellerose. Go figure.
There was an earlier Baldwin Theatre on Grand Avenue. I established it on CT earlier this year based upon newspaper accounts. I have yet to establish a specific address. If I have an opportunity to access some really old phone books I may be able to do so. However, I’ve found that for listings prior to 1930 there are often only street names and no specific address. Life was simpler then.
Interesting. I may be imagining it but I thought I could sometimes see tape thinking there was a repair. Do you know if the Bellerose had a larger screen than the Floral? I seem to remember the proscenium of the Floral being narrower.
I was impressed by the length and narrowness of the theatre the first time I saw a live production there, I believe it was Anything Goes. I was in the last row. Made up for that with Stomp by being in the second row. Stomp was actually a very clever show that became a bit repetitious with time. I’m not disappointed that I saw it.
Contrary to the heading, not the last single screen theatre. There is the Sag Harbor, Montauk and, across the city line the North Shore Towers. Seasonally they also show movies on Ocean Beach, Fire Island, at the Community center.
Mark, Ed Sullivan didn’t broadcast from the Center, but from the theatre on Broadway which now bears his name. In the day, I believe, it was Hammerstein’s.
Never experienced the national anthem. Did do God Save the Queen in Toronto and London, England, not Ontario.
Vito, as a person of knowledge, can you tell me something about screen sizes. I always thought that the wide proscenium at the Bellerose might have given it an advantage since every bit of the opening was filled with the Cinemascope screen. Were they standard or was there some sort of formula involving distance from the projection booth? I’m sure some of the theatres couldn’t have had too wide a screen because of structural limitations.
Although our dialogue is taking place on the Floral my home port was the Bellerose which was a block and a half away. Oddly enough if I were venturing out of town it was usually to Queens Village rather than Floral Park. When I got wheels it was everywhere since I wanted to experience as many theatres as possible.
Since the theatre was in the mall there was a sign which read, I believe, “The Movies” on the east facing wall closest to the entrance near the theatre, which was on the second level. When an exterior renovation took place that sign was not longer visible.
At least we have Tinseltoes link above. The last three stops of the BMT Jamaica Line, Sutphin Blvd., 160th St. and 168th St. were eliminated as of October 10, 1977. The Metropolitan Av. and Queens Blvd. stops in 1985. The El was gradually dismantled to the point where it now connects into the Archer Av. Subway Station (1988).
I concur with Ed on this. But, there may have been a post office change which resulted in this “correction”. Due to a postal reallignment the Bellerose which was in Bellerose since it was built in 1927 is now in Floral Park.
It’s bad enough banning books, but banning theatres?
I believe rafaelstorm may be right about the Alden remaining a single screen to the end. The Valencia, Merrick, Savoy, Hillside and all the others theatres along Jamaica Avenue in Queens and Jericho Turnpike in Nassau went out as single screen theatres.
The reality is that CT only has this photo available to put up front by the current logic. Now if some techie person could extract a better photo from any links that might still be valid and do what is necessary to get it UP FRONT it will be in the mix to be chosen by the daily default logic.
The reality for me is that, as a Long Island Rail Road commuter, the view shown is the one I looked at for thirty years. I hadn’t been on foot in Jamaica since the mid 1960s when Gertz and Macy’s were still there and I was living in Bellerose, Nassau, around the corner from the Bellerose Theatre which is now in Floral Park since the Nassau part of Bellerose is serviced by the Floral Park Post Office, which is about a mile plus further away than the Bellerose Post Office which, in my day was on Braddock Avenue.
I would think baseball.
I would doubt that in an office environment anything would remain although the ceiling may be hidden behind a dropped ceiling on the top office floor of which there many. Also from the photo above you can see that the building has been made wider to accommodate additional space. So you’ve also lost the integrity of the walls. In smaller theatres which have been repurposed as offices it’s more likely that something remains.
Craigslist is the place for hookups. Let’s keep this site for the original purpose. Some of the old theatres became churches. Others went the other way. But they were part of cinema history so we can’t deny them there space.
Since I was in the area I stopped in at the theatre today since it was open. I hoped to find out a. whether additional space was added to the original theatre footprint when additional screens were added and, b. the seating capacity of each of the auditoriums. The manager met me at the door, was unwilling to answer any questions and asked me to leave. Must have been trained by the former owners of the Westbury. However, it looked to me that the auditoriums to the left of the lobby MIGHT be additional space since, from the exterior of the building, the higher roof portion is to the right, presumably the original space.
I would beg to differ, Bway. While there is nothing specific the entire shape of the building “reads” theatre.
Funny thing when the picture came up I thought it was another church conversion because of the way the light pole appears. Then I saw the CVS sign.
I was actually in the building today. There is another article about the current owner but little new about the theatre other than that it had a tin roof. The roof is now shingled but the same shape as appears in the photo I mentioned above.
Since becoming a commercial property a second floor has been added. I had the opportunity to go there and see a number of boxy buttresses on either side of the building. My theory is that the original beams were exposed wood in keeping with the Mission look of the building’s facade and, they have now been boxed in to look more modern.
The good news is that the ornate plaster ceiling panels are in tact and have been painstakingly painted. The detail is so fine that I’m sure it could not have been appreciated by theatre patrons.
Google has it right. This is the buidling which housed St. James number one. The red paint is new this spring. For the first hundred plus years the gable was white. An interesting note. The building is now owned by the person who owns the former St. James Theatre (#3) around the corner.
The link I provided above has been negated by the reorganization of the Historical Society web site. In order to see the image of the Edwards you have to select Collections and then Postcards. It is imbedded in the presentation.
Hey, a lot of stranger things have happened. The Bellerose Theatre is now in Floral Park, after having been in Bellerose for over 70 years. Seems they changed the Post office for the Nassau County portion of the village to Floral Park. The Queens County portion is still Bellerose. Go figure.
Newsday carried movie times in the June 26, 2011 paper, so, presumably, it’s open. Whether it opened on the 10th is a moot point so long as it’s open.
There was an earlier Baldwin Theatre on Grand Avenue. I established it on CT earlier this year based upon newspaper accounts. I have yet to establish a specific address. If I have an opportunity to access some really old phone books I may be able to do so. However, I’ve found that for listings prior to 1930 there are often only street names and no specific address. Life was simpler then.
Interesting. I may be imagining it but I thought I could sometimes see tape thinking there was a repair. Do you know if the Bellerose had a larger screen than the Floral? I seem to remember the proscenium of the Floral being narrower.
The theatre was in the building to the left past the intersecting street on the Google image. The zoom feature is of no help in this instance.
I was impressed by the length and narrowness of the theatre the first time I saw a live production there, I believe it was Anything Goes. I was in the last row. Made up for that with Stomp by being in the second row. Stomp was actually a very clever show that became a bit repetitious with time. I’m not disappointed that I saw it.
Contrary to the heading, not the last single screen theatre. There is the Sag Harbor, Montauk and, across the city line the North Shore Towers. Seasonally they also show movies on Ocean Beach, Fire Island, at the Community center.
Mark, Ed Sullivan didn’t broadcast from the Center, but from the theatre on Broadway which now bears his name. In the day, I believe, it was Hammerstein’s.
Haven’t been in the area for years but I remember thinking it odd that the theatre had two box offices. Handy in view of all the chopping up.
Never experienced the national anthem. Did do God Save the Queen in Toronto and London, England, not Ontario.
Vito, as a person of knowledge, can you tell me something about screen sizes. I always thought that the wide proscenium at the Bellerose might have given it an advantage since every bit of the opening was filled with the Cinemascope screen. Were they standard or was there some sort of formula involving distance from the projection booth? I’m sure some of the theatres couldn’t have had too wide a screen because of structural limitations.
Although our dialogue is taking place on the Floral my home port was the Bellerose which was a block and a half away. Oddly enough if I were venturing out of town it was usually to Queens Village rather than Floral Park. When I got wheels it was everywhere since I wanted to experience as many theatres as possible.
Since the theatre was in the mall there was a sign which read, I believe, “The Movies” on the east facing wall closest to the entrance near the theatre, which was on the second level. When an exterior renovation took place that sign was not longer visible.