Wow, I’m an atheist and I couldn’t disagree with you more!
The beautiful building that housed the films that we went to see in our youth is still there. The work of all of the talented artisans there for all to see.
I wish that a church, even if it were the Scientologists, had taken over the Roxy or the Capitol or Loews 72nd St, or Proctor’s E. 58th St, or the Paramount or any number of spectacular palaces for conversion into a church. They didn’t, and they were all demolished. These thaters ARE GONE…..FOREVER!
Loew’s 175th Street theater, was also taken over by Revernd Ike’s church and lovingly and meticulously restored. It now houses frequent concerts. I have yet to attend, but I look forward to the day that I do. And when I do, I can thank the Reverend Ike for saving that spectacular theater for future generations.
It’s not realistic expect the old palaces to be preserved based on showing movies. In the entire New York Metropolitan area, home to over 18 Million people, there are just 3 palaces that just show movies; The Ziegfeld in Manhatan, Loews Jersey in Jersey City and The Lafayette in Suffern, NY.
Some of the old palaces like the New Amsterdam, the Broadway and the Gallo Opera House (aka Studio 54) are back to live theater. Radio City, Beacon, Apollo, Loews Paradise, St. George are all entertainment venues. Loews 175th is both a church and a concert hall. The Hollywood, Loews Elmwood, Loew’s Metropolitan, Kameo, Elmwood, and Stanley among others are churches who have maintained the integrity of the original theaters.
The Brooklyn Paramount was saved decades ago by LIU and converted to a gymnasium. They now have a brand new gym, and the possibility now exists that, someday, the Brooklyn Paramount can be reborn.
The landmark process is underway to try and save two other old theaters, The Ridgewood in Queens and The Paramount in Staten Island.
My point is, what made movie palaces special was the architecture and the atmosphere that it created when you went there to see a film. Even when it is no longer showing a film, the architecture and atmosphere remain and it is a window into the past that future generations should be able to see. It was a time when Where you went to see a film was (perhaps) more important than What you went to see.
I, for one, am grateful for each palace that is saved, even if the saviour (pardon the pun) is a church.
p.s. Loews’s Kings and the RKO Keiths Flushing sit in ruins waiting to be saved. While I would much prefer to see these historic palaces returned to us as entertainment venues, I would settle for a religious one just to save the buildings.
The answer should NEVER be “just tear it down” because that is truly forever.
Thanks dangel for providing us with this info. As you are probably aware, there is a valiant effort to preserve the Ridgewood Theater in Queens by having the city landmark its facade. It is assumed that this will be an important first step in saving the theater as a whole. The same would apply to the Paramount.
On your blog, you state that the lobby has been restored. Are you able to provide any photos? All we have heard on this page is how the interior has been gutted or severly damaged.
I also congratulate you for starting your blog. I am a native New Yorker, but until my sister married a Staten Islander 15 years ago, my exerience with the “forgotten” borough was limited to the Ferry.
Over the years, I have been amazed to see how much Staten Island has to offer and, more importantly, how little the rest of the world knows about it. From Sailor’s Snug Harbor, to Richmondtown Restoration, from Fort Wadsworth to the Marchand Tibetan Museum, From the Conference House to the St. George Theater, From the zoo and Botanical Garden to the new minor league Baseball Stadium, Staten Island holds many surprises.
A restored Paramount would be a wonderful addition to Staten Island’s and, indeed, New York’s, treasures.
It most definitely is NOT demolished. Though I do feel it was desecrated (pun intended) by the resident church by painting the interior in bright colors and draping the nudes so as not to offend churchgoers.
Even so, the Valencia remains one of the most beautiful theaters ever built and I am grateful to the church for having saved it back in the terrible late 70’s. Otherwise, it may have suffered the fate of so many other palaces: demolition.
Wonderful Job Thomas! Thanks for your efforts to save this spectacular theater. A huge thanks to Ed Tracey as well!
I attended a film here only once, sometime in the early 80’s, and even though it was already triplexed at the time, I remember being awed in the same way as when I visited Loew’s Valencia and Radio City. I don’t remember the film I saw, but the theater I will remember forever.
I had the opportunity to tour the abandoned Loew’s Kings in Brooklyn on 2 ocassions over the last 3 years. It has sat abandoned for almost 30 years and though there is much damage, it can easily be restored – for a lot of money, of course.
Sadly, your tour of the Keiths reveals a theater in even worse shape than the Kings. I believe the damage might be even worse today as I am not sure if you took your tour before that awful developer (Boymelgreen) began some of the interior demolition of the auditorium as he prepared to build his condo before abandoning the project.
Nonetheless, it is wonderful to see that the public is making its voice heard and that, perhaps, this wonderful legacy of theater history may be saved so that future generations will be able to experience what it was like to see a movie in the days when “where” you saw a movie was sometimes more important than “what” movie you were going to see.
Thank you John, I will do that. As I’ve stated many times before, every time a movie palace is lost, they are lost forever. They are not building any new ones. Thousands have been lost nationwide and every effort must be made to save the remaining ones; even if the ones left aren’t up to the caliber of a Radio City, a Loews Paradise or a New Amsterdam. Today’s generation has little idea of how their parents and granparents went to the movies. It was a time when where you saw a movie was just as important (or more so) than what movie you went to see.
While only the facade of the Ridgewood is up for designation, it is a big step in saving the theater as a whole. The Ridgewood is not just one of Lamb’s earliest theaters, it is truly the definition of a neighborhood landmark that served its community uninterupted for 94 years before closing last year.
I will contribute my comments to do my part to save this theater.
Thanks ECR for the info. I wish I was able to attend, but I’m hopeful that others who post on this page will be able to make it and report back to the rest of us.
This ran is last week’s issue of The Real Deal which is the New York real estate industry’s bible publication:
Group forms to protect historic building
RKO Keith’s Theater
A grassroots organization, “Friends of the RKO Keith’s Flushing,” has formed to protect the RKO Keith’s building, a former movie theater. The building, at 135-27 Northern Boulevard in Flushing, is for sale after the current owner failed to develop the site into a planned luxury condominium. But a profitable sale of the property is unlikely, the group said in a statement. The group, which has over 1,000 members, hopes to preserve the building and find a use for it that fits with its past role as a theater. TRD
Just a note to everyone that I have posted The Victoria Theater in Ponce which I discovered on my trip in December. If anyone has any addtional info to add it would be appreciated!
Yes, it was the Taft on the West side of the Roxy and I believe that it still has the Taft name today. The hallway that led to the main Roxy building went through the Taft Hotel and is currently, and sadly, occupied by a TGIF Fridays.
Yes, indeed it is. My only guess is that Radio City rarely shows any films any more and it looks like the ones actually listed do.
Or, they were purists and since Radio City was not originally designed as a movie palace, but instead for live performances/vaudeville, they did not include it. Otherwise, they would have to include The New Amsterdam as well, as it is, in my opinion, one of the 10 most beautiful theaters in the country.
I never went here as a theater; only when it was Club USA. They did an incredible job is turning the theater into one of the legendary clubs of New York.
One of the distinctions was a second dance floor that was two levels higher than the orchestra section. It was designed by Tierry Mugler and was named after him. It had a very high ceiling and on one side of the room was a white stairway to nowhere where one could sit and see everyone who was dancing or see everyone lined up against the bar.
There was also a roof deck where you could see and hear the cacophony of Times Square.
Such a shame that this beautiful theater never made it to be a part of the new Times Square though it did contribute to its rebirth.
Yeah, that’s the answer I was hoping for. It is totally capable of returning to use as a theater; it just doesn’t appear to make financial sense. Even worse, the theater is in dire need of a top to bottom renovation. With the New Amsterdam, Disney took a shot because of the size of the theater, it was capable of housing the biggest Broadway productions, had incredible beauty even in decay and, of course, the city was offering generous tax breaks and loans at low interest.
No such luck with the Times Square. It needs lots of work, has no space to accommodate live theater and, in any event, would be too small. I do believe that a restored movie palace of this size could be successful hosting Premiere’s (what better place than 42nd Street), and also hosting classic movie series in addition regular releases. Nonetheless, I don’t see anyone stepping forward to invest in a project like this.
Does the 42nd Street development Corporation have any access to low cost loans? Would the city provide the requisite tax breaks? Does anyone know how much an actual restoration would cost? There are many questions. it’ll be interesting to see what happens.
Why not, William? It has the same seating as the Ziegfeld, but probably feels more intimate because it has an overhanging balcony. I know this theater doesn’t work for the legitimate stage because of a lack of fly space, dressing room areas, etc, but why not a movie theater?
If not a theater, then why not a night club? Back in the day, the best clubs were all in old theaters, Studio 54 (Gallo Opera House), Xenon’s (Henry Miller), Palladium (Academy of Music), Club USA (Forum), The Saint (Loews Commodore), Bond’s (International Casino). This is a long and storied history.
Make no mistake, my overriding preference and desire is for the Times Square to remain a theater. But barring that, I want it brought back into the public realm so that people can see it and admire it once again; either as a club or as retail space that respects the integrity of the space and its legacy.
Marc Ecko has officially pulled out of the retail project for this theater. A new search has begun for a new tenant. I guess the big question is: Exactly what is the state of this theater? Has none of it yet been restored? Is it at all possible that this could be utilized as a movie theater again? Why not have at least one of the old Times Square theaters remain as an actual film palace?
The Liberty is still cocooned as well across the street.
While it would be a great idea for the Ridgewood to function as the Brooklyn/Queens theater for limited releases for opening films, I don’t think it is up to the theaters. That decision rests solely with the movie distributors. They are the ones to decide how many screens to open on. Back in the day, when the movie companies owned the theaters they could easily designate their favorite theaters to open at and then funnel them into secondary theaters for wider release. However, the antitrust laws broke up this relationship in the 50’s and that contributed mightily to the downfall of the big palaces. The new Ridgewood would have to compete against the AMC/Loews and Regals of the world for movies. I don’t think that is viable.
Unfortuantely, I don’t believe that we can go “back to the future” in this regard.
I still don’t understand why the great delay in reopening this theater unless they have severe money issues, which, I would not not surprised if they did.
The theater had been totally renovated when it reopened in April 2006. The only thing missing was the orchestra seats (which had been removed for purposes of showing an Aztec multi-media presentation). I predicted at the time that there was no way this theater would survive based on their projected programming. It didn’t.
So, the theater closed and says that they are “under construction” with a Spring 2009 opening. Their web site shows blank calendars through June. What could they be building for 3 years? Nothing, of course. This is probably simply a financial issue and it is a shame that a theater of this caliber is not available to the public.
Is this theater’s management/ownership totally in private hands?
Back in New York, we have a similar tragedy with Loew’s Paradise owhich sits majestically on The Grand Concourse in The Bronx. A 3,000+ seat movie palace meticulously and spectacularly restored several years ago with private money, but which sits empty and unused due to a shady owner.
I hope both of these theaters get back on track soon!
I agree that the exterior is not worthy, but i believe that the interior is; especially when combined with the history of move premieres held here over the years and its status as the lone theater continuing to show movies. As I understand it, the theater is under long term lease to Clearview and is owned by the billionaire owner of the Alliance/Bernstein tower next door. I wouldn’t be surprised if he would go along with a landmarking.
Sorry, to other readers….I realize this is the Beacon’s page and not The Ziegfeld.
Wow, I’m an atheist and I couldn’t disagree with you more!
The beautiful building that housed the films that we went to see in our youth is still there. The work of all of the talented artisans there for all to see.
I wish that a church, even if it were the Scientologists, had taken over the Roxy or the Capitol or Loews 72nd St, or Proctor’s E. 58th St, or the Paramount or any number of spectacular palaces for conversion into a church. They didn’t, and they were all demolished. These thaters ARE GONE…..FOREVER!
Loew’s 175th Street theater, was also taken over by Revernd Ike’s church and lovingly and meticulously restored. It now houses frequent concerts. I have yet to attend, but I look forward to the day that I do. And when I do, I can thank the Reverend Ike for saving that spectacular theater for future generations.
It’s not realistic expect the old palaces to be preserved based on showing movies. In the entire New York Metropolitan area, home to over 18 Million people, there are just 3 palaces that just show movies; The Ziegfeld in Manhatan, Loews Jersey in Jersey City and The Lafayette in Suffern, NY.
Some of the old palaces like the New Amsterdam, the Broadway and the Gallo Opera House (aka Studio 54) are back to live theater. Radio City, Beacon, Apollo, Loews Paradise, St. George are all entertainment venues. Loews 175th is both a church and a concert hall. The Hollywood, Loews Elmwood, Loew’s Metropolitan, Kameo, Elmwood, and Stanley among others are churches who have maintained the integrity of the original theaters.
The Brooklyn Paramount was saved decades ago by LIU and converted to a gymnasium. They now have a brand new gym, and the possibility now exists that, someday, the Brooklyn Paramount can be reborn.
The landmark process is underway to try and save two other old theaters, The Ridgewood in Queens and The Paramount in Staten Island.
My point is, what made movie palaces special was the architecture and the atmosphere that it created when you went there to see a film. Even when it is no longer showing a film, the architecture and atmosphere remain and it is a window into the past that future generations should be able to see. It was a time when Where you went to see a film was (perhaps) more important than What you went to see.
I, for one, am grateful for each palace that is saved, even if the saviour (pardon the pun) is a church.
p.s. Loews’s Kings and the RKO Keiths Flushing sit in ruins waiting to be saved. While I would much prefer to see these historic palaces returned to us as entertainment venues, I would settle for a religious one just to save the buildings.
The answer should NEVER be “just tear it down” because that is truly forever.
Thanks dangel for providing us with this info. As you are probably aware, there is a valiant effort to preserve the Ridgewood Theater in Queens by having the city landmark its facade. It is assumed that this will be an important first step in saving the theater as a whole. The same would apply to the Paramount.
On your blog, you state that the lobby has been restored. Are you able to provide any photos? All we have heard on this page is how the interior has been gutted or severly damaged.
I also congratulate you for starting your blog. I am a native New Yorker, but until my sister married a Staten Islander 15 years ago, my exerience with the “forgotten” borough was limited to the Ferry.
Over the years, I have been amazed to see how much Staten Island has to offer and, more importantly, how little the rest of the world knows about it. From Sailor’s Snug Harbor, to Richmondtown Restoration, from Fort Wadsworth to the Marchand Tibetan Museum, From the Conference House to the St. George Theater, From the zoo and Botanical Garden to the new minor league Baseball Stadium, Staten Island holds many surprises.
A restored Paramount would be a wonderful addition to Staten Island’s and, indeed, New York’s, treasures.
It most definitely is NOT demolished. Though I do feel it was desecrated (pun intended) by the resident church by painting the interior in bright colors and draping the nudes so as not to offend churchgoers.
Even so, the Valencia remains one of the most beautiful theaters ever built and I am grateful to the church for having saved it back in the terrible late 70’s. Otherwise, it may have suffered the fate of so many other palaces: demolition.
Wonderful Job Thomas! Thanks for your efforts to save this spectacular theater. A huge thanks to Ed Tracey as well!
I attended a film here only once, sometime in the early 80’s, and even though it was already triplexed at the time, I remember being awed in the same way as when I visited Loew’s Valencia and Radio City. I don’t remember the film I saw, but the theater I will remember forever.
I had the opportunity to tour the abandoned Loew’s Kings in Brooklyn on 2 ocassions over the last 3 years. It has sat abandoned for almost 30 years and though there is much damage, it can easily be restored – for a lot of money, of course.
Sadly, your tour of the Keiths reveals a theater in even worse shape than the Kings. I believe the damage might be even worse today as I am not sure if you took your tour before that awful developer (Boymelgreen) began some of the interior demolition of the auditorium as he prepared to build his condo before abandoning the project.
Nonetheless, it is wonderful to see that the public is making its voice heard and that, perhaps, this wonderful legacy of theater history may be saved so that future generations will be able to experience what it was like to see a movie in the days when “where” you saw a movie was sometimes more important than “what” movie you were going to see.
Agreed, The Ziegfeld has closed fairly often for weeks at a time over te years, but it’s still around. I’m not worried.
Wonderfully said John!
Thank you John, I will do that. As I’ve stated many times before, every time a movie palace is lost, they are lost forever. They are not building any new ones. Thousands have been lost nationwide and every effort must be made to save the remaining ones; even if the ones left aren’t up to the caliber of a Radio City, a Loews Paradise or a New Amsterdam. Today’s generation has little idea of how their parents and granparents went to the movies. It was a time when where you saw a movie was just as important (or more so) than what movie you went to see.
While only the facade of the Ridgewood is up for designation, it is a big step in saving the theater as a whole. The Ridgewood is not just one of Lamb’s earliest theaters, it is truly the definition of a neighborhood landmark that served its community uninterupted for 94 years before closing last year.
I will contribute my comments to do my part to save this theater.
Thanks ECR for the info. I wish I was able to attend, but I’m hopeful that others who post on this page will be able to make it and report back to the rest of us.
This ran is last week’s issue of The Real Deal which is the New York real estate industry’s bible publication:
Group forms to protect historic building
RKO Keith’s Theater
A grassroots organization, “Friends of the RKO Keith’s Flushing,” has formed to protect the RKO Keith’s building, a former movie theater. The building, at 135-27 Northern Boulevard in Flushing, is for sale after the current owner failed to develop the site into a planned luxury condominium. But a profitable sale of the property is unlikely, the group said in a statement. The group, which has over 1,000 members, hopes to preserve the building and find a use for it that fits with its past role as a theater. TRD
Just a note to everyone that I have posted The Victoria Theater in Ponce which I discovered on my trip in December. If anyone has any addtional info to add it would be appreciated!
Yes, it was the Taft on the West side of the Roxy and I believe that it still has the Taft name today. The hallway that led to the main Roxy building went through the Taft Hotel and is currently, and sadly, occupied by a TGIF Fridays.
Yes, indeed it is. My only guess is that Radio City rarely shows any films any more and it looks like the ones actually listed do.
Or, they were purists and since Radio City was not originally designed as a movie palace, but instead for live performances/vaudeville, they did not include it. Otherwise, they would have to include The New Amsterdam as well, as it is, in my opinion, one of the 10 most beautiful theaters in the country.
I never went here as a theater; only when it was Club USA. They did an incredible job is turning the theater into one of the legendary clubs of New York.
One of the distinctions was a second dance floor that was two levels higher than the orchestra section. It was designed by Tierry Mugler and was named after him. It had a very high ceiling and on one side of the room was a white stairway to nowhere where one could sit and see everyone who was dancing or see everyone lined up against the bar.
There was also a roof deck where you could see and hear the cacophony of Times Square.
Such a shame that this beautiful theater never made it to be a part of the new Times Square though it did contribute to its rebirth.
Yeah, that’s the answer I was hoping for. It is totally capable of returning to use as a theater; it just doesn’t appear to make financial sense. Even worse, the theater is in dire need of a top to bottom renovation. With the New Amsterdam, Disney took a shot because of the size of the theater, it was capable of housing the biggest Broadway productions, had incredible beauty even in decay and, of course, the city was offering generous tax breaks and loans at low interest.
No such luck with the Times Square. It needs lots of work, has no space to accommodate live theater and, in any event, would be too small. I do believe that a restored movie palace of this size could be successful hosting Premiere’s (what better place than 42nd Street), and also hosting classic movie series in addition regular releases. Nonetheless, I don’t see anyone stepping forward to invest in a project like this.
Does the 42nd Street development Corporation have any access to low cost loans? Would the city provide the requisite tax breaks? Does anyone know how much an actual restoration would cost? There are many questions. it’ll be interesting to see what happens.
Why not, William? It has the same seating as the Ziegfeld, but probably feels more intimate because it has an overhanging balcony. I know this theater doesn’t work for the legitimate stage because of a lack of fly space, dressing room areas, etc, but why not a movie theater?
If not a theater, then why not a night club? Back in the day, the best clubs were all in old theaters, Studio 54 (Gallo Opera House), Xenon’s (Henry Miller), Palladium (Academy of Music), Club USA (Forum), The Saint (Loews Commodore), Bond’s (International Casino). This is a long and storied history.
Make no mistake, my overriding preference and desire is for the Times Square to remain a theater. But barring that, I want it brought back into the public realm so that people can see it and admire it once again; either as a club or as retail space that respects the integrity of the space and its legacy.
Marc Ecko has officially pulled out of the retail project for this theater. A new search has begun for a new tenant. I guess the big question is: Exactly what is the state of this theater? Has none of it yet been restored? Is it at all possible that this could be utilized as a movie theater again? Why not have at least one of the old Times Square theaters remain as an actual film palace?
The Liberty is still cocooned as well across the street.
While it would be a great idea for the Ridgewood to function as the Brooklyn/Queens theater for limited releases for opening films, I don’t think it is up to the theaters. That decision rests solely with the movie distributors. They are the ones to decide how many screens to open on. Back in the day, when the movie companies owned the theaters they could easily designate their favorite theaters to open at and then funnel them into secondary theaters for wider release. However, the antitrust laws broke up this relationship in the 50’s and that contributed mightily to the downfall of the big palaces. The new Ridgewood would have to compete against the AMC/Loews and Regals of the world for movies. I don’t think that is viable.
Unfortuantely, I don’t believe that we can go “back to the future” in this regard.
Yikes! From the looks of that photo, the Agnew it looks like it used to be a Hooters!!!!!!
Is there no hope at all?
Joe G…….That sounds AWESOME!!!!!!
Howard…..please accept my apology! I meant no offense. I will make sure I get it right going forward.
As per the related article, There is an open house with tours today and tomorrow.
I still don’t understand why the great delay in reopening this theater unless they have severe money issues, which, I would not not surprised if they did.
The theater had been totally renovated when it reopened in April 2006. The only thing missing was the orchestra seats (which had been removed for purposes of showing an Aztec multi-media presentation). I predicted at the time that there was no way this theater would survive based on their projected programming. It didn’t.
So, the theater closed and says that they are “under construction” with a Spring 2009 opening. Their web site shows blank calendars through June. What could they be building for 3 years? Nothing, of course. This is probably simply a financial issue and it is a shame that a theater of this caliber is not available to the public.
Is this theater’s management/ownership totally in private hands?
Back in New York, we have a similar tragedy with Loew’s Paradise owhich sits majestically on The Grand Concourse in The Bronx. A 3,000+ seat movie palace meticulously and spectacularly restored several years ago with private money, but which sits empty and unused due to a shady owner.
I hope both of these theaters get back on track soon!
Thanks Larry! I’ll make sure I spell it right from now on
I agree that the exterior is not worthy, but i believe that the interior is; especially when combined with the history of move premieres held here over the years and its status as the lone theater continuing to show movies. As I understand it, the theater is under long term lease to Clearview and is owned by the billionaire owner of the Alliance/Bernstein tower next door. I wouldn’t be surprised if he would go along with a landmarking.
Sorry, to other readers….I realize this is the Beacon’s page and not The Ziegfeld.