Unqua Theatre

Main Street,
Farmingdale, NY 11735

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Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on April 17, 2015 at 6:58 pm

The last section of this web page from the Farmingdale-Bethpage Historical Society says that the Unqua began in a shed-like structure. The April 7, 1916, issue of The Long Islander had this item about the theater construction project then underway:

“A scaffold in use at the Unqua Theatre, being erected on Main street by Smith & Beierling, collapsed Tuesday, badly shaking up several of the men employed on the job. Fortunately no one was seriously injured, although several were badly scratched.”
It’s possible that the 1916 project was the rebuilding of the Unqua’s original shed-like building, but I’ve found no other items about the construction project, nor any earlier mentions of the theater, so I’m not certain.

CinemaTour actually lists the Opera House. It’s possible they have a source indicating that it did show movies at some point, but I haven’t found any. The caption of a photo of the Opera House about ¾ of the way down this web page says that it opened in 1909, was converted into a woodworking shop in 1915, and was destroyed by fire in 1923. It did present some vaudeville shows during its brief life as a theater, though, and vaudeville shows were often accompanied by a reel or two of movies.

robboehm
robboehm on April 17, 2015 at 3:36 pm

What I find interesting about this is that there was an Opera House in Farmingdale before either the Unqua or the Strand were created. Customarily the Opera House became the first venue for movies in a town. The Opera House subsequently became a factory.

robboehm
robboehm on April 17, 2015 at 3:26 pm

I read someplace that the Unqua, too, like the nearby Strand, also started life as something else, a primitive shed-like structure, and was later remodeled. The Wardell Brothers of Amityville, I believe, were responsible for the reincarnation.