Now that the NY Times allows you to search their archives for free going back to 1981, I found these interesting paragraph about the RKO Keith’s in a 1990 story:
‘In 1984, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the interior, calling it ’‘one of the few surviving examples … of the movie palace.’'
But the Board of Estimate eliminated the triplex auditorium from the designation and only the ticket lobby and Grand Foyer were protected.
The Board of Estimate no longer exists in New York City. It was the real political power in the city for decades, much more important than the City Council. It was abolished, I believe sometime in the 1980s, by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that it violated the one-man, one-vote principle.
If my memory serves, the Board of Estimate was made up of the Mayor, City Controller, and Borough Presidents. For the Board of Estimate to have struck down the landmarks designation for th
e RKO’s interior, it seems certain that the Borough President of Queens must have taken action. After all, who else on the Board would have cared?
The Borough President of Queens in 1984 was Donald Manes, a notorious crook who later killed himself when his corruption was revealed. Has all this ever been investigated? Is it likely that Manes killed the landmark designation in return for some payoff? And if so, who made the payoff? It’s all very fascinating, no?
Nice job, Ed. I hadn’t seen those details in such close-up before. It all helps document this great building before it disappears.
To help recall the changing face of the closed building, you might want to look at my pics, taken in 1990 and 94. The theater closed in ‘86, I believe.
You guys are missing the real story here…Meshulam Riklis became famous when he married Pia Zadora and tried to make her into a movie star. That investment didn’t pan out either.
From what I’ve heard, the theater will be demolished and the land re-developed. The University of Hawaii is nearby and might want to build dorms there. Land is scarce in Honolulu and there’s great demand for a prime location like this.
THIS SAD NEWS WAS ANNOUNCED TODAY, FRIDAY JUNE 15, 2007:
Varsity movie theater to close Sunday
Sunday will be the last day of operation for the Varsity Twin Cinema, an aging movie theater â€" long known for art-house and foreign film offerings â€" near the University of Hawai'i’s Manoa campus.
Consolidated Theatres owns the 1.7-acre property at 1106 University Ave., near Beretania Street. The theater was built in 1939.
A full restoration of the RKO Keith’s would be ideal, but at least the preservation of the lobby and foyer would be some consolation. Having lived in Northern California for some years, I saw some films at the Varsity Theater in Palo Alto. When that closed, the city required that the lovely Spanish-style courtyard be preserved. The theater is now a bookstore, but having the courtyard softens the blow. For the other option, go check out what happened to the Prospect Theater just a few blocks from the RKO Keith’s. It was obliterated. There’s nothing there to indicate that a wonderful theater used to exist on the site.
Wow, that water fountain is in quite good condition! At first I thought these two photos were taken before the theater closed. I hope it can be preserved.
They put a floor under the balcony to make that a separate screening area, and then they divided the downstairs seating down the middle, thus creating a triplex. Not sure what the dividers were made of.
I seem to remember that they removed the fountain to create a refreshment stand at the time they created the triplex. Is that true or is my memory failing me?
asphoto, you’re a hero! these photos are marvelous. The “view from second floor balcony” took my breath away. I had no idea that much of the original RKO remains!
And that brings me to my second point – most of us thought there was almost nothing left of the theater. These photos show that’s not true! It was be a tragedy if what is left is allowed to be destroyed. These photos should be widely distributed in order to generate momentum to a restoration movement. I really think these photos should be sent to newspapers, city councilmen, etc. It’s not too late to save the RKO Keith’s!
These photos are very poignant, and deserve wide circulation! I think you should offer them to a local newspaper so that people can see, and it might just generate some momentum for saving and restoring this grand theater!
I’m certain that you’re right about Running Scared, mike69. I didn’t remember the title, but I recalled the poster had Gregory Hines on it. And it did sit fading outside the theater long after it closed.
If the RKO was triplexed in ‘75, then the last movie I saw there beforehand was Godfather Part 2 in '74.
Wow, a couple more childhood memories flashed back: a cheapo sci-fi movied called First Spaceship on Venus, a war movie called Is Paris Burning, and a western called Major Dundee. I saw them all at the RKO. What I would give to see one more movie there……
I’m almost certain that my last visit to the RKO was in 1983, when I saw Return of the Jedi in the upstairs theater. I also saw Star Wars there in 1977. The upstairs theater was the original balcony.
The only time I saw a “double feature” at the RKO was in 1982, when I watched Star Trek 2 upstairs, then snuck into one of the two downstairs theaters to watch Poltergeist.
Turning the RKO into a triplex was an act of vandalism. Besides replacing the lobby fountain with a candy counter, the conversion blocked off parts of the theater in order to construct walls dividing the downstairs seating and the ceiling/floor that turned the balcony into a separate theater. Of course, this was all a prelude to the destruction that has followed since. Does anyone remember when the RKO became a triplex, and the year the RKO shut its doors?
Many thanks to Mike69 for taking and posting those photos! I live in Hawaii now but grew up in Flushing and have many fond memories of the RKO and the many movies I saw there (Godfather, Murder on the Orient Express, Star Wars, etc.)
I hope that more of you New Yorkers will enter the RKO (safely!) and take more photos. The more the better! Are there any seats still in the auditorium? Is the stage still there?
Now that the NY Times allows you to search their archives for free going back to 1981, I found these interesting paragraph about the RKO Keith’s in a 1990 story:
‘In 1984, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the interior, calling it ’‘one of the few surviving examples … of the movie palace.’'
But the Board of Estimate eliminated the triplex auditorium from the designation and only the ticket lobby and Grand Foyer were protected.
The Board of Estimate no longer exists in New York City. It was the real political power in the city for decades, much more important than the City Council. It was abolished, I believe sometime in the 1980s, by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that it violated the one-man, one-vote principle.
If my memory serves, the Board of Estimate was made up of the Mayor, City Controller, and Borough Presidents. For the Board of Estimate to have struck down the landmarks designation for th
e RKO’s interior, it seems certain that the Borough President of Queens must have taken action. After all, who else on the Board would have cared?
The Borough President of Queens in 1984 was Donald Manes, a notorious crook who later killed himself when his corruption was revealed. Has all this ever been investigated? Is it likely that Manes killed the landmark designation in return for some payoff? And if so, who made the payoff? It’s all very fascinating, no?
Nice job, Ed. I hadn’t seen those details in such close-up before. It all helps document this great building before it disappears.
To help recall the changing face of the closed building, you might want to look at my pics, taken in 1990 and 94. The theater closed in ‘86, I believe.
http://bobby19850.tripod.com/
You guys are missing the real story here…Meshulam Riklis became famous when he married Pia Zadora and tried to make her into a movie star. That investment didn’t pan out either.
Glad you enjoyed it, Vito. You should drop by and take a look at the mementos they have there, you’d find those enjoyable.
Here is a website I created showing what replaced the Waikiki Theater:
http://bobster1985.tripod.com/waikikitheatertoday/
I’ve posted new photos of the Varsity here:
http://bobster1985.tripod.com/
There was a proposal in 2003 to demolish the Varsity and build dorms for the U of H. That plan envisioned preserving part of the theater’s entrance:
View link
From what I’ve heard, the theater will be demolished and the land re-developed. The University of Hawaii is nearby and might want to build dorms there. Land is scarce in Honolulu and there’s great demand for a prime location like this.
More pictures of the Varsity can be found here:
http://bobster1985.tripod.com/
Here’s an expanded version of the Advertiser’s story on the closing of the Varsity:
View link
And here’s a story from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin which has a nice photo of the lobby:
View link
I just created a website with photos of the Varsity Theater Honolulu.
Here is the link:
http://bobster1985.tripod.com/
THIS SAD NEWS WAS ANNOUNCED TODAY, FRIDAY JUNE 15, 2007:
Varsity movie theater to close Sunday
Sunday will be the last day of operation for the Varsity Twin Cinema, an aging movie theater â€" long known for art-house and foreign film offerings â€" near the University of Hawai'i’s Manoa campus.
Consolidated Theatres owns the 1.7-acre property at 1106 University Ave., near Beretania Street. The theater was built in 1939.
Here’s a photo taken from an airplane that gives you an appreciation of just how large the RKO really is:
View link
A full restoration of the RKO Keith’s would be ideal, but at least the preservation of the lobby and foyer would be some consolation. Having lived in Northern California for some years, I saw some films at the Varsity Theater in Palo Alto. When that closed, the city required that the lovely Spanish-style courtyard be preserved. The theater is now a bookstore, but having the courtyard softens the blow. For the other option, go check out what happened to the Prospect Theater just a few blocks from the RKO Keith’s. It was obliterated. There’s nothing there to indicate that a wonderful theater used to exist on the site.
Wow, that water fountain is in quite good condition! At first I thought these two photos were taken before the theater closed. I hope it can be preserved.
Keep these photos coming, asphoto!
They put a floor under the balcony to make that a separate screening area, and then they divided the downstairs seating down the middle, thus creating a triplex. Not sure what the dividers were made of.
I seem to remember that they removed the fountain to create a refreshment stand at the time they created the triplex. Is that true or is my memory failing me?
asphoto, you’re a hero! these photos are marvelous. The “view from second floor balcony” took my breath away. I had no idea that much of the original RKO remains!
And that brings me to my second point – most of us thought there was almost nothing left of the theater. These photos show that’s not true! It was be a tragedy if what is left is allowed to be destroyed. These photos should be widely distributed in order to generate momentum to a restoration movement. I really think these photos should be sent to newspapers, city councilmen, etc. It’s not too late to save the RKO Keith’s!
These photos are very poignant, and deserve wide circulation! I think you should offer them to a local newspaper so that people can see, and it might just generate some momentum for saving and restoring this grand theater!
Thanks for the info, AlAlvarez. Not exactly three classic movies! Although Night of the Creeps might refer to the people who bought the RKO Keith’s….
It would be great if they created a FAQ on the Keith’s….this theater gets a lot of activity!
Like so many great things, we only appreciate the RKO now that it’s gone. It certainly was a unique place to watch a movie.
I’m certain that you’re right about Running Scared, mike69. I didn’t remember the title, but I recalled the poster had Gregory Hines on it. And it did sit fading outside the theater long after it closed.
If the RKO was triplexed in ‘75, then the last movie I saw there beforehand was Godfather Part 2 in '74.
Wow, a couple more childhood memories flashed back: a cheapo sci-fi movied called First Spaceship on Venus, a war movie called Is Paris Burning, and a western called Major Dundee. I saw them all at the RKO. What I would give to see one more movie there……
I’m almost certain that my last visit to the RKO was in 1983, when I saw Return of the Jedi in the upstairs theater. I also saw Star Wars there in 1977. The upstairs theater was the original balcony.
The only time I saw a “double feature” at the RKO was in 1982, when I watched Star Trek 2 upstairs, then snuck into one of the two downstairs theaters to watch Poltergeist.
Turning the RKO into a triplex was an act of vandalism. Besides replacing the lobby fountain with a candy counter, the conversion blocked off parts of the theater in order to construct walls dividing the downstairs seating and the ceiling/floor that turned the balcony into a separate theater. Of course, this was all a prelude to the destruction that has followed since. Does anyone remember when the RKO became a triplex, and the year the RKO shut its doors?
Does anyone know the exact date of the last movies shown at the RKO, and the names of the movies?
Many thanks to Mike69 for taking and posting those photos! I live in Hawaii now but grew up in Flushing and have many fond memories of the RKO and the many movies I saw there (Godfather, Murder on the Orient Express, Star Wars, etc.)
I hope that more of you New Yorkers will enter the RKO (safely!) and take more photos. The more the better! Are there any seats still in the auditorium? Is the stage still there?