Parsons Quad Theatre
78-28 Parsons Boulevard,
Flushing,
NY
11366
78-28 Parsons Boulevard,
Flushing,
NY
11366
4 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 40 comments
The Parsons closed for the final time on December 18, 1986, and its final attractions by screen order are “Three Amigos” at Screen 1, “Star Trek IV” at Screen 2, “Song Of The South” at Screen 3 and “An American Tail” at Screen 4. It was last known as the “Parsons Quad” and was last operated by Epstein. After closure, the New York Daily News continued listing the theater as “closed” until the first day of 1987.
Shame there are pictures of they interior
This closed as a Quad
Just to clear up some confusion about “Flushing”. The name “Flushing” was used for many years for several different communities in Queens that bordered the famous “Flushing” community anchored by Northern Boulevard, northern Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue. Kew Gardens Hills always had its own zip code (11367) but its Post Office was always referred to as “Station C – Flushing, New York”. When I was a kid, we always used Flushing in our address even though we lived in KGH. In recent years, Queens communities have stopped using the Flushing name. Station C was renamed “Kew Gardens Hills” a few years back.
One more memory… When I was a very young child I remember them having matrons for the Saturday afternoon shows. Scary old ladies with flashlights!!!! The manager was Mr. Resnick, he used to call me Victor instead of Vincent. The stuff you remember…
Thank you Joe for the photo link and to everyone adding their memories to the glories of this old movie house. The photo of the upstairs lounge reminds me of all the times I did my homework there while I was an usher (there was alot of downtime while the movie was running).
A photo of the foyer of the Parsons Theatre can be seen at the top of this page of the January 7, 1950, issue of Boxoffice.
AXminster must have been Brooklyn, then.
AXtel
AXminster, right?
The Meadows in Fresh Meadows also had an AX exchange.
For most of my life I thought I lived in Flushing but later found out that I was really in Kew Gardens Hills. The theater was on Parsons Blvd between 79th Ave and 78th Rd. My phone exchange was also AX1-%%%%.
You should get an Award for having to suffer through “LOST HORIZON” almost as bad as “SONG OF NORWAY”.
Another one time Loews,thats amazing.
I was only at the Parsons once, but I remember the interior was of outstanding late Moderne design. If I’ve got the right theater, it was fairly close to Queens College, no? I saw the French film “Going Places” there, starring Gerard Depardieu and Patrick Dewaere, which means it had a bit of indie/arty programming, at least at that time. I was living in Valley Stream still, so I’m guessing that this was the closest venue to see the movie, without going to Manhattan.
I lived down the block from this theater from 1955 until 1980. When I was two years old my mother and aunt took me to see THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, a very traumatic experience to say the least. From 1970 to 1973 I worked as an usher at the Parsons. My most “interesting†memories are having to watch the LOST HORIZON musical remake for 3 months and the really bad Kung Fu movie DEEP THRUST for a month. There was only one balcony but there were 3 sections: left, middle and right. The ceiling was about 30 feet high, so when you had to change a bulb you had to crawl a catwalk in the ceiling. Changing the marquee was alot easier because you just stood on the roof and hoped you had enough vowels. I used to play baseball in the parking lot.
Buddy’s Bicycle Shop has recently closed. The owner decided to retire (no pun intended). Its a shame; that store was a big part of my childhood summers and was one of the few businesses that was open when the Parsons Theatre was in operation.
The two-block area between 78th Road and Union Turnpike on Parsons has not changed much at all since the theater closed. Buddy’s is still there, the ancient Stuart Electronics store is still there, as is the store that sells pet fish, the John F. Kennedy political club, the pet hospital and the drug rehab center. The Italian restaurant is still there too, althougn under different ownership and with a new name. The old restaurant, Cinque Terre, was owned by my former next door neighbors on 78th Road, the Cozzanis. They still live on 78th Road.
The row of stores on the west side of Parsons between 79th Avenue and Union Turnpike is virtually unchanged for decades.
I didn’t buy it, just read it in line.
Even the New Victory, built in 1900, has only two balconies.
View link
I’d be shocked if any theatre in Queens ever had TWO balconies, let alone three! Even in Manhattan, three balconies smacks more of a turn of the century opera house or concert hall – unless we’re talking Radio City Music Hall.
Yeah, I saw that. I was reading in Images of America in line at a bookstore and they had many of them. Went to the theatres section. It said it was ornate and had 3 balconies.
Where’d you find that bit of misinformation, shoeshoe? As you probably know, this was a modern theater opened in 1949 with a single balcony and featuring a streamlined decor that was far from ornate. If you haven’t already seen them, Warren posted some images of the exterior and interior of the Parsons back on September 2, 2005.
I read elsewhere this theater was ornate and had 3 balconies.
I moved to Kew Garden Hills at age 6 in 1953. I lived there till 1975. I loved the theater. I remember going down the block to the candy store for an “egg cream”. It was on the corner down from “Buddy’s” Bike Shop. I remember the hospital across from the Fire House. It was first called Hillside Hospital. I remember the Jewish Center across the street and the Animal Hospital. Those were the days.
Barry K