Fair Theatre

Located at 90-18 Astoria Blvd in East Elmhurst, Queens, the Fair Theatre has a complex but notable place in NYC’s LGBTQ+ history. It 1st opened on Christmas Day 1937 as a 599-seat neighborhood movie house, named for the nearby 1939–40 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows. Like many outer-borough theaters, it initially screened mainstream films at reduced prices, weeks after their Manhattan runs. As moviegoing declined in the late 1960s & early ‘70s, the Fair transitioned into a grindhouse, eventually incorporating adult films alongside low-budget action & exploitation movies.

By the late ‘70s & ‘80s, the Fair became informally known as a queer cruising space, particularly for gay, bisexual, & curious men. Former patrons recall a divided layout: straight films in the main auditorium & gay adult films in smaller secondary screening rooms, with social & sexual interactions occurring throughout the building. This dual programming allowed the theater to function as both a regular cinema & a semi-public queer gathering space.

Unlike many former grindhouses that closed or were redeveloped, the Fair survived repeated legal & zoning challenges. A 1998 Queens court ruling determined it complied with city regulations governing adult businesses near churches & schools, allowing it to remain open. By the late 2000s, the Fair shifted again, incorporating Bollywood & action films in the main auditorium while continuing adult programming in smaller rooms.

Contemporary accounts describe the Fair as being patronized by cruising gay men & trans people. Community posts & reviews note that solo attendance is common, & that Saturdays–especially Saturday afternoons & evenings–are busiest. While technically open to the general public, multiple patrons emphasize that heterosexual couples & straight women are rare. As a result, today the Fair Theatre is often cited as the last continuously operating grindhouse-style cinema & gay porn theatre in NYC, & one of the city’s longest-running queer-coded adult spaces of its kind.

A history taken from https://www.instagram.com/p/DUiMJSyFj3g/?img_index=5

That post includes photos of inside the theatre as well as mention of a 2015 short filmed there.

Some of the best years of my youth were spent at this theatre. Is there another adult theatre close to NYC? There’s got to be another place like this theatre once was. Does anyone know?

What are the hours at the Fair?

I called the theater and the person who answered said there are no plans to close.

Is the Fair Theatre really closing down? I haven’t been there in 2 years.

Patrick Crowley on April 7, 2008 at 10:49 am Yeah, I couldn’t agree more, guys. I’ve removed all the off-topic/sexual comments.

Note to adult theater patrons: Cinema Treasures isn’t the place to discuss such topics. If you post anything that is of a sexual nature, we’ll delete your comment and account without warning.

…especially a website that is supposed to be about preserving, documenting or remembering movie theaters, not rehashing whatever problem you had with management or trying to find out if it’s a good place to hook up. I don’t know why this particular theater seems to attract so many who don’t understand that.

Try Groucho glasses. But seriously, would they recognize you after 15 months? Do they have photos of you plastered around the box office? What kind of defacement were you accused of? If they didn’t prosecute then it seems a little late now.

On March 19, 2017, theatrelvr mentioned a doc called “Been Too Long at the Fair” on Vimeo. I couldn’t find it by simplying searching Vimeo, so I am posting the link here. Be forewarned that some of the content is explicit and gay. https://vimeo.com/ondemand/beentoolongatthefair/154216841

I added pictures that I took yesterday. It was near closing time.

An update is needed here. There are actually five screens. The main auditorium has not been divided and is mostly in its original condition except for the addition of silver tinsel curtains and the stage being enlarged.Double feature last run, kung-foo, and classics are shown here with program changes every Sunday and Thursday. They also show special events like awards shows and sporting events. Most of the seating in the orchestra level was reupholstered about 10 years ago when new carpet was installed. The seating in the balcony was reupholstered as well but looks like it was taken from a much older theater. The next screen is located behind the lobby in a room with seating for seven with a similar program as the main auditorium. The other three screens are in spaces that used to be shoppes to the right of the lobby. One has a small standing room only balcony. The next one has video booths behind the screen, and the last one has video booths in the back. Adult double features are shown in those auditoriums.

Mike- Remember when strippers were “exotics”?

Neely O'Hara says, Art films? Nudies! That’s all they are. Nudies.