Pointless trivia… the windows you see in the photo over the marquee were actually in the bathrooms on the balcony level. I miss this theater… it really worked as a twin. The balcony theater was fair, but the orchestra theater was really spacious and preserved the original ambience of the theater before it was split. A pity. At least the exterior facade was preserved and restored, despite the garish red Staples and Duane Reade awnings and signage.
I believe the exterior of this theater was used in the Howard Stern film “Private Parts”. This is on Woodhaven Blvd in the 60’s in the commercial strip several blocks south of Queens Blvd.
It was located on 99th Street just north of the LIE service road. I think it was the Bombay while it was showing Indian fare in the late ‘70’s and '80s.
I believe the theater being described above is the Spanish language twin called The Plaza which is on Roosevelt Avenue and 103rd Street set back on Corona Plaza from the elevated tracks of the #7 IRT train line. It remains in current operation, showing the latest films either dubbed in Spanish or (more frequently) with Spanish subtitles.
The Corona Theater was on Junction Blvd just north of Roosevelt Avenue a station or two west of Corona Plaza on the #7 train. When I was a kid growing up in Elmhurst/Corona in the early ‘70’s, The Corona Theater had been converted into a Bingo Hall for several years already. A similar situation for the RKO Keith’s Theater in Richmond Hill (not to be confused with the controversial and long dormant RKO Keith’s on Northern Blvd in Flushing).
Currently, the lobby area of The Corona has been converted to retail space. However, the setback hulk of the auditorium is still visible from a passing train on the nearby elevated tracks.
Just to correct… the venue was still called The Village Theater as late as 1967. Bill Graham did not re-open it as the Fillmore East until March of 1968 (with Janis Joplin and Big Brother on the bill).
An added bonus is Eddie’s — an old fashioned ice-cream and soda fountain shop right across the street on the corner of 72nd and Metropolitan. After the movie, go get a malted… or better yet, a real old fashioned New York Egg Cream!!!
A rare treat. Personally, I find the theater itself a bit disappointing in it’s current 5 screen configuration. But, Eddie’s makes up for a lot.
If the big exclusive celebrity-studded premier of the latest blockbuster doesn’t happen at the Ziegfield on West 54th street, it happens here at the Astor Plaza. A great huge house, with a rising mezzanine area at the reat of the auditorium (rather than a true balcony vaulted over the orchestra — similar to the Ziegfield in this respect). Not as lush as the Ziegfield, with a very modern and spare unadorned space, but top notch sound and projection and a real movie-theater feel due to the vastness inside.
Located just off Broadway on West 44th Street in the heart of the legitimate Theater District. Not counting the 40 screens on 42nd Street (between the AMC Empire and Loews EWalk theaters), the Astor Plaza and the new (and also subterranean Sony State 4 plex) are the only movie screens left in Times Square proper.
I was a frequent patron of the 42nd Street “grind houses” of the ‘70’s and early '80’s where blaxploitation, grade Z horror, Charles Bronson action and kung-fu flicks ruled the roost (oh, yes — and the occasional porn theater). I don’t recall the Anco too much, except that it was the western most theater on the south side the 42nd street strip between 7th and 8th Avenues… It stood on the spot more or less occupied now by the AMC Empire, opposite an adult theater that was called The Harem (which is roughly where the new 15 screen Loews EWalk Theater and Westin Hotel now stand).
The Band played the very first show as “The Palladium” in the fall of 1976 just before their famous “Last Waltz” farewell concert in San Fransisco. Seeing the Grateful Dead here for 4 shows in early May of 1977 was a life-altering experience. Never caught a movie here. Wasn’t there a pool hall in the same building up a narrow flight of stairs???
Having never experienced the Fillmore (the former Village Theater and Loew’s Commodore on 2nd Ave), this remains my favorite all-time (if now-extinct) place to attend a rock concert. Since it’s conversion to a dance club (and ultimate demolition) The Beacon up on Broadway and 74th has been ably filling the void.
I remember Rocky Horror at this theater — midnight showings Fridays and Saturdays. It was as much a theatrical experience as a movie — and the cult grew right here, as RobertR indicates. I remember the screen was set back in a sort of rectangular recess that had a bright zig-zag of neon tubing on either side that would be lit until the movie started. I saw every rock and roll film ever made during the many summer festivals that played here over the years… Woodstock, Monterey Pop, Grateful Dead Movie, Pink Floyd at Pompeii, Ladies and Gentlemen the Rolling Stones… and even an unexpectedly pornographic cult flick called Cafe Flesh. And afterwards, there was a wonderful little pizzeria just across the street that was slightly below street level where one could have a post-screening dissection of the film over a slice and a beer.
Located on the south side of West 8th street not quite midway between 6th and 5th Avenues.
Located on East 59th between 2nd and 3rd Avenues… This was known for some time as the DW Griffith Theater. When the fully restored version of the 1933 King Kong was put back together in the mid ‘70’s, it played here for a number of weeks at the 1933 price of 10 cents!!! My grandfather took me along with a friend to see this great flick when I was perhaps 11 or 12 (after years of seeing the edited version only on the Million Dollar Movie on local TV channel 9 WOR — memories anyone?) A cozy little theater, as I recall. Haven’t been there since.
Still a great place to see a movie and one of the all-too-few premier “opening night” theaters remaining in the city (the other being the similarly modern but plush Loew’s Astor Plaza on West 44th). It features a very large yet simple streamlined modern auditorium with none of the baroque architectural flourishes of the classic movie palaces. Like the Astor Plaza, the balcony rises at the back of the theater, rather than being vaulted over the orchestra seats. Also like the Astor Plaza, the theater is located underground with the large structure visible from street level serving as a spacious lobby area. The seats are plush, red velvet and the giant screen is concealed behind a heavy curtain that still opens and closes between each showing.
Vintage photos and programs line the walls of the upper and lower lobbies, depicting former Ziegfield shows and performers from the roaring days of the famed Follies at the New Amsterdam and Selwyn Theaters on 42nd street. Sound and projection are state of the art.
The theater is on West 54th Street (an adjacent open plaza stretches to West 55th) just west of 6th Avenue on the north-east fringe of the theater district in midtown Manhattan.
Judging from the exterior architecture, I think this theater more likely dates to the ‘40’s… but I have no factual data on that. Back in the early '70’s, I saw the Marx Brothers classic Animal Crackers here, which enjoyed a successful theatrical re-release (“in glorious black and white” as the ads went) after many years out of issue. That was probably '74 or so.
As for other theaters on 57th Street, there was another called The Festival on the West Side just off 7th Avenue and down the block from the Hard Rock Cafe. Not sure how far that cinema dated back… I recall seeing “The Complete Beatles” there around 1982 or ‘83. I believe there was also a theater called the 57th Street Playhouse near Carnegie Hall between 6th and 7th Avenues. Not to mention the old Carnegie Cinemas, but I think they were actually on 7th Avenue, not 57th.
Forgot to add that when it re-opened as a 4-plex in the ‘70’s, it was known as the Bayside Quad. In its last years it was known as The Movies At Bayside.
On the corner of Bell Blvd and 39th Avenue in the heart of a thriving commercial strip — plenty of pubs, bars and restaurants that fairly hop on a Friday or Saturday night. But, RobertR is correct in saying that this one-time single screen first-run neighborhood theater was allowed to fall into a shameless state of shabbiness. The sound was lousy, the floors sticky and the movies were grossly under-projected. The last time I saw a movie there, I swore the place off. The attractive stucco facade is being nicely renovated as the site is prepped for impending retail usage.
The way this theater was twinned — accurately described in the summary by RobertR — was very similar to the old Fresh Meadows theater (was that an RKO???) on the eastbound Horace Harding Expressway off 188th Street in the Bloomingdales Shopping Center. That theater still stands but was completely gutted and re-opened as a 7 screen multiplex in the late ‘80’s or early '90’s.
The large, free standing theater was completely gutted to its outer walls and now houses a large Applebees Restaurant and a Victoria’s Secret store. It anchors the Bay Terrace Shopping Center at the corner of Bell Blvd and 26th Avenue in Bayside, Queens.
The shell of this Theater still sits on the west side of Steinway Street just north of 30th Avenue in Astoria. The facade is recognizable with the lobby area (at least) housing a chain drug store. The large hulk of the auditorium can be seen rising behind the two story street level structure and I presume may still feature some original elements in the upper level balcony area?
I remember this theater in the late ‘70’s and '70’s as the RKO Cinerama Twin. Broadway between 46th and 47th, I believe, down the block from the Movieland multi-plex (which was the former Forum 47th Street).
I saw a couple of films here back in the ‘80’s, but I used to pass by it’s wonderful neon marquee on the way home from work every night. In the winter, particularly — when the days grew shorter and night fell earlier — how I needed to get my camera out here to snap a photo of it’s intense red and blue colors. Unfortunately, I never acted on that idea and the marquee exists only in my memory. Interestingly, there were a couple of other neon signs within a few blocks of each other on this stretch of Union Turnpike. One, belonging to what had to be one of the last standalone drive-up dry-cleaners in the City, has recently been damaged by fire. The other, across from the old Utopia Theater site, advertises Albany Glass and still remains.
A quick ride around the block shows that the shell of the theater is still pretty much intact. It closed not too long after the nearby Valencia (just across Jamaica Ave and over a block or two) stopped showing movies in the late ‘70’s.
The Prospect was on Main Street opposite the Flushing branch of the Queens Public Library (which occupies the wedge where Kissena Blvd and Main Street merge). A hodgepodge of retail stores now occupies a new structure on the site.
Pointless trivia… the windows you see in the photo over the marquee were actually in the bathrooms on the balcony level. I miss this theater… it really worked as a twin. The balcony theater was fair, but the orchestra theater was really spacious and preserved the original ambience of the theater before it was split. A pity. At least the exterior facade was preserved and restored, despite the garish red Staples and Duane Reade awnings and signage.
I believe the exterior of this theater was used in the Howard Stern film “Private Parts”. This is on Woodhaven Blvd in the 60’s in the commercial strip several blocks south of Queens Blvd.
It was located on 99th Street just north of the LIE service road. I think it was the Bombay while it was showing Indian fare in the late ‘70’s and '80s.
I believe the theater being described above is the Spanish language twin called The Plaza which is on Roosevelt Avenue and 103rd Street set back on Corona Plaza from the elevated tracks of the #7 IRT train line. It remains in current operation, showing the latest films either dubbed in Spanish or (more frequently) with Spanish subtitles.
The Corona Theater was on Junction Blvd just north of Roosevelt Avenue a station or two west of Corona Plaza on the #7 train. When I was a kid growing up in Elmhurst/Corona in the early ‘70’s, The Corona Theater had been converted into a Bingo Hall for several years already. A similar situation for the RKO Keith’s Theater in Richmond Hill (not to be confused with the controversial and long dormant RKO Keith’s on Northern Blvd in Flushing).
Currently, the lobby area of The Corona has been converted to retail space. However, the setback hulk of the auditorium is still visible from a passing train on the nearby elevated tracks.
Just to correct… the venue was still called The Village Theater as late as 1967. Bill Graham did not re-open it as the Fillmore East until March of 1968 (with Janis Joplin and Big Brother on the bill).
An added bonus is Eddie’s — an old fashioned ice-cream and soda fountain shop right across the street on the corner of 72nd and Metropolitan. After the movie, go get a malted… or better yet, a real old fashioned New York Egg Cream!!!
A rare treat. Personally, I find the theater itself a bit disappointing in it’s current 5 screen configuration. But, Eddie’s makes up for a lot.
If the big exclusive celebrity-studded premier of the latest blockbuster doesn’t happen at the Ziegfield on West 54th street, it happens here at the Astor Plaza. A great huge house, with a rising mezzanine area at the reat of the auditorium (rather than a true balcony vaulted over the orchestra — similar to the Ziegfield in this respect). Not as lush as the Ziegfield, with a very modern and spare unadorned space, but top notch sound and projection and a real movie-theater feel due to the vastness inside.
Located just off Broadway on West 44th Street in the heart of the legitimate Theater District. Not counting the 40 screens on 42nd Street (between the AMC Empire and Loews EWalk theaters), the Astor Plaza and the new (and also subterranean Sony State 4 plex) are the only movie screens left in Times Square proper.
I was a frequent patron of the 42nd Street “grind houses” of the ‘70’s and early '80’s where blaxploitation, grade Z horror, Charles Bronson action and kung-fu flicks ruled the roost (oh, yes — and the occasional porn theater). I don’t recall the Anco too much, except that it was the western most theater on the south side the 42nd street strip between 7th and 8th Avenues… It stood on the spot more or less occupied now by the AMC Empire, opposite an adult theater that was called The Harem (which is roughly where the new 15 screen Loews EWalk Theater and Westin Hotel now stand).
The Band played the very first show as “The Palladium” in the fall of 1976 just before their famous “Last Waltz” farewell concert in San Fransisco. Seeing the Grateful Dead here for 4 shows in early May of 1977 was a life-altering experience. Never caught a movie here. Wasn’t there a pool hall in the same building up a narrow flight of stairs???
Having never experienced the Fillmore (the former Village Theater and Loew’s Commodore on 2nd Ave), this remains my favorite all-time (if now-extinct) place to attend a rock concert. Since it’s conversion to a dance club (and ultimate demolition) The Beacon up on Broadway and 74th has been ably filling the void.
I remember Rocky Horror at this theater — midnight showings Fridays and Saturdays. It was as much a theatrical experience as a movie — and the cult grew right here, as RobertR indicates. I remember the screen was set back in a sort of rectangular recess that had a bright zig-zag of neon tubing on either side that would be lit until the movie started. I saw every rock and roll film ever made during the many summer festivals that played here over the years… Woodstock, Monterey Pop, Grateful Dead Movie, Pink Floyd at Pompeii, Ladies and Gentlemen the Rolling Stones… and even an unexpectedly pornographic cult flick called Cafe Flesh. And afterwards, there was a wonderful little pizzeria just across the street that was slightly below street level where one could have a post-screening dissection of the film over a slice and a beer.
Located on the south side of West 8th street not quite midway between 6th and 5th Avenues.
Located on East 59th between 2nd and 3rd Avenues… This was known for some time as the DW Griffith Theater. When the fully restored version of the 1933 King Kong was put back together in the mid ‘70’s, it played here for a number of weeks at the 1933 price of 10 cents!!! My grandfather took me along with a friend to see this great flick when I was perhaps 11 or 12 (after years of seeing the edited version only on the Million Dollar Movie on local TV channel 9 WOR — memories anyone?) A cozy little theater, as I recall. Haven’t been there since.
Still a great place to see a movie and one of the all-too-few premier “opening night” theaters remaining in the city (the other being the similarly modern but plush Loew’s Astor Plaza on West 44th). It features a very large yet simple streamlined modern auditorium with none of the baroque architectural flourishes of the classic movie palaces. Like the Astor Plaza, the balcony rises at the back of the theater, rather than being vaulted over the orchestra seats. Also like the Astor Plaza, the theater is located underground with the large structure visible from street level serving as a spacious lobby area. The seats are plush, red velvet and the giant screen is concealed behind a heavy curtain that still opens and closes between each showing.
Vintage photos and programs line the walls of the upper and lower lobbies, depicting former Ziegfield shows and performers from the roaring days of the famed Follies at the New Amsterdam and Selwyn Theaters on 42nd street. Sound and projection are state of the art.
The theater is on West 54th Street (an adjacent open plaza stretches to West 55th) just west of 6th Avenue on the north-east fringe of the theater district in midtown Manhattan.
Judging from the exterior architecture, I think this theater more likely dates to the ‘40’s… but I have no factual data on that. Back in the early '70’s, I saw the Marx Brothers classic Animal Crackers here, which enjoyed a successful theatrical re-release (“in glorious black and white” as the ads went) after many years out of issue. That was probably '74 or so.
As for other theaters on 57th Street, there was another called The Festival on the West Side just off 7th Avenue and down the block from the Hard Rock Cafe. Not sure how far that cinema dated back… I recall seeing “The Complete Beatles” there around 1982 or ‘83. I believe there was also a theater called the 57th Street Playhouse near Carnegie Hall between 6th and 7th Avenues. Not to mention the old Carnegie Cinemas, but I think they were actually on 7th Avenue, not 57th.
Forgot to add that when it re-opened as a 4-plex in the ‘70’s, it was known as the Bayside Quad. In its last years it was known as The Movies At Bayside.
On the corner of Bell Blvd and 39th Avenue in the heart of a thriving commercial strip — plenty of pubs, bars and restaurants that fairly hop on a Friday or Saturday night. But, RobertR is correct in saying that this one-time single screen first-run neighborhood theater was allowed to fall into a shameless state of shabbiness. The sound was lousy, the floors sticky and the movies were grossly under-projected. The last time I saw a movie there, I swore the place off. The attractive stucco facade is being nicely renovated as the site is prepped for impending retail usage.
The way this theater was twinned — accurately described in the summary by RobertR — was very similar to the old Fresh Meadows theater (was that an RKO???) on the eastbound Horace Harding Expressway off 188th Street in the Bloomingdales Shopping Center. That theater still stands but was completely gutted and re-opened as a 7 screen multiplex in the late ‘80’s or early '90’s.
The large, free standing theater was completely gutted to its outer walls and now houses a large Applebees Restaurant and a Victoria’s Secret store. It anchors the Bay Terrace Shopping Center at the corner of Bell Blvd and 26th Avenue in Bayside, Queens.
The shell of this Theater still sits on the west side of Steinway Street just north of 30th Avenue in Astoria. The facade is recognizable with the lobby area (at least) housing a chain drug store. The large hulk of the auditorium can be seen rising behind the two story street level structure and I presume may still feature some original elements in the upper level balcony area?
This theater is located on Fresh Meadows Lane just off 69th Ave where it merges with Utopia Parkway in Fresh Meadows, Queens.
I remember this theater in the late ‘70’s and '70’s as the RKO Cinerama Twin. Broadway between 46th and 47th, I believe, down the block from the Movieland multi-plex (which was the former Forum 47th Street).
I saw a couple of films here back in the ‘80’s, but I used to pass by it’s wonderful neon marquee on the way home from work every night. In the winter, particularly — when the days grew shorter and night fell earlier — how I needed to get my camera out here to snap a photo of it’s intense red and blue colors. Unfortunately, I never acted on that idea and the marquee exists only in my memory. Interestingly, there were a couple of other neon signs within a few blocks of each other on this stretch of Union Turnpike. One, belonging to what had to be one of the last standalone drive-up dry-cleaners in the City, has recently been damaged by fire. The other, across from the old Utopia Theater site, advertises Albany Glass and still remains.
A quick ride around the block shows that the shell of the theater is still pretty much intact. It closed not too long after the nearby Valencia (just across Jamaica Ave and over a block or two) stopped showing movies in the late ‘70’s.
The Regency was located on Broadway at 68th Street.
The Prospect was on Main Street opposite the Flushing branch of the Queens Public Library (which occupies the wedge where Kissena Blvd and Main Street merge). A hodgepodge of retail stores now occupies a new structure on the site.
The building is located on Broadway at 107th street.