Lefferts Theatre

I agree with you Luis. Warren, check the venue. The Lefferts was 4 blocks from my grandfather’s house. I went there with my parents occasionally in the late 40s early 50s. Nothing fancy. The Glenwood was fancier. Can’t picture a symphony orchestra, or organ.

Gene r…..Thanks for all of that info. I lived in South Ozone Park for 17 years on 111th Avenue and 117th St. I moved to Manhattan in ‘87. I loved growing up there and will always treasure the memories. I’m amazed that there was more than one theater on Rockaway Blvd, but your explanation makes sense. I don’t know when it opened, but you left out the Casino theater on Liberty as an additional theater option. The RKO Keith’s was already closed by the time I first saw it, but I definitely use to visit Jahn’s! My favorite was “The Kitchen Sink”!!! Thanks also for the history of OLPH! Can’t wait to tell my sisters and parents about it. Did they build the entire campus at that time (schurch, school, convent, rectory). They look like they all belong to the same period.

Finally, when I didn’t see a movie that I wan’t to see playing at the Leffert’s, Casino or Cross Bay, I headed on the Q-41 to Jamaica and the fabulous Loew’s Valencia! Occasionally, the RKO Alden accross the street. Those were theaters!

Thanks for making me smile! Luis

Thank you Ed….Kudos to you for picking up on my New Yawk accent without even hearing it…LOL…

To LuisV…During the years that I alluded to in my post I lived on 123 St which was a rather short walk to the Farrell theater, given all the ‘short cuts’ we could take', then in 1947 we moved to 133 St (still in South Ozone Park) which was just a few blocks from the Park theater on Rockaway Blvd which then became our theater of choice. The Park theater was but a few blocks from the old (even at that time) Ozone theater also located on Rockaway Blvd. I haven’t the slightest recollection of what conversion transpired at the site of the old Farrell theater. Sorry about that lapse on my part. As regards the location on the Farrell, in reality, it was a good location in that it served many moviegoers in a well populated area of Queens for many years and was just a short walk from their homes. The alternatives were to hop on the Q-7 bus and go to the Crossbay theater about 2 miles to the west, or to the Park theater about the same distance to the east, or hop on the Q-10 and travel north on Lefferts Blvd to the Lefferts theater on Liberty Ave or travel further north to the RKO Keats (sp?) near Jamaica and Myrtle Aves. Of course, if you opted to go to the RKO Keats you could always finish off the night out with a stop at Jahn’s ice cream parlor which was right next door. Wow, I can still recall trying to finish off one of their special ice cream treats appropriately named “The Boilermaker”. Man, was that enormous. So, all in all, the location of the Farrell theater wasn’t all that bad of a location considering it’s ease of access to the given neighborhood.
As regards the OLPH church fire, the existing church was built on the very same location of the church that was destroyed by the fire. It was a wood frame structure that was but a few feet from the convent. I can still picture the Pastor, Father Flynn, running in and out of the blazing church, fighting off the firemen as he tried to save as many items as he possibly could from the fires. If memory serves me correctly, the fire somehow started in the vicinity of the manger scene at the rear of the church. Actual causes unknown.

The theater located on the south side of Rockaway Blvd, a few doors west of Lefferts Blvd was named the Farrell Theater. I went to many Sat afternoon matinees there during the early 1940’s (once won a yo-yo contest on stage during the intermission) price to get in was 10 cents and you could stay there all afternoon. When Our Lady of Perpetual Help’s RC Church burnt to the ground during those years a few Sun. masses were held at the Farrell (I recall this because I served as alter boy at many of those masses) until the school’s basement could be converted to a temporary church until the new church was completed.

Thanks so much Ed!!! That did the trick!!

Warren. I haven’t been able to figure that out. There must be a way to save what’s on your screen. I have yet to find out how to save images on local live the normal way. I hope someone can answer that question. Any of you computer savy people able to help on this?

Warren, I am unsure which entrance was the theater one, but I chose RIte Aide because of that large arch in the masonary above the Rite Aide sign. That appears to be where the marquee once was. It also seems like the stage was on the Kids City site, but of course, this is just speculation, but that arch over the Rite Aide seems to point to that being the main entrance.
By the way, do you know of any historic or even non historic photos of the Lefferts, either interior or exterior?

Thanks. Anyway, my memory must be off, since according to the profile above, UA disassociated itself with this theater many years before it closed.

An old question, RobertR, but I just came across this page for the first time today. Laughlin had some problems with the distributors of “Trial of Billy Jack”, but, as the ad seems to indicate, the film did go on to have a pretty major saturation release (since “Billy Jack” in ‘71 was so popular). It was the next film, “Billy Jack Goes to Washington” that Laughlin had to four-wall in abortive engagements in L.A. and one or two other areas. The film never received official theatrical distribution and finally wound up on DVD (in a truncated version) in the late 1990’s. And if you count “Born Losers” from '67, there would be a total of 4 Billy Jack flicks!

So… when did this theater close down? Not that long ago, was it? I swear I can remember seeing “UA Lefferts” listed in newspaper ads and time clocks within the last few years.

The second Billy Jack film called “Trial of Billy Jack” was playing everywhere in this ad. I am not sure if it was this film or the next one that Tom Laughlin released himself as a 4 wall engagement, does anyone remember?
View link

They listed the Lefferts as being in Brooklyn by mistake for this childrens matinee.
View link

your right about the crossbay but wrong about no movie house on rockaway blvd and lefferts. does anyone know the name
david robertson

I would have thought it more likely that the Crossbay would have closed way before the Lefferts. The Lefferts ws 3 blocks from my grandfathers house 0n 120th St off Jerome (101) Avenue.

The Lefferts and Crossbay were alternate family theatres my parents took us to bedides the Oasis and Glenwood.