Idle Hour Theater
24-29 Jackson Avenue,
Long Island City,
NY
11101
24-29 Jackson Avenue,
Long Island City,
NY
11101
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Island Theater Circuit
Previous Names: New Idle Hour Theater
Nearby Theaters
The Idle Hour Theater was one of the first movie houses in western Queens, and started by using the auditorium of the Masonic Building on Jackson Avenue in Long Island City, which is just across the East River from Manhattan.
By 1923, the operators had been able to save enough funds to build a real theater and adjoining stores directly across the street at Jackson Avenue & 12th Street. The New Idle Hour Theater never became more than a late-run “nabe” and by 1941 was operated by the Island Theater Circuit. It operated into the 1950’s.
Contributed by
Warren G. Harris
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Recent comments (view all 17 comments)
Another gentle reminder to the site manager: Please add the 11101 zip code to the title. Since will make this page far more accessable to a larger number of readers.
Wow that was quick, site manager. Thanks for the change!
Just wondering if there should be a way of using an original (even if antiquated) address for a movie theater, while also displaying the modern address equivalent in the heading. Interesting that the obsolete address of 251 Jackson Ave has Google mapped to the exact spot where we believe this theater to have existed (now known as 24-29 Jackson Ave). Perhaps the site administrator did some hard-coding behind the scenes? I still think displaying both addresses where appropriate (and where known) would be very helpful. The modern address would map the location correctly, while listing the old address as well would provide some historic integrity.
Ed, I entirely agree with your point about retaining, in some way, the original addresses of Queens based theaters like the Idle Hour. Beyond providing some historic integrity, the original addresses will be of value to researchers who wish to review old newspaper articles and theater digests that only refer to the old addresses.
I just noticed the wonderful vintage picture of this old theater that was recently posted at the top of the page. What a terrific addition – and thanks to whoever made this contribution.
I just read a message that Joe Vogel posted on the Vernon Theatre site last October that helps clarify the exact site of this theater. In an ad that memtions movies shown at both theaters, it provides a Court Square address for the Idle Hour. This is exactly where Ed Selero placed it in an earlier post and should, thus, resolve any uncertainty in this theater’s location.
The wonderful poster regarding the “Voice of Ireland” that TT posted in the Photo section raises an interesting question. The very detailed description of the theater’s location – at 12th St. opposite St. John’s Hospital – would, under the current street configuration, be a physical impossibility. This is because the hospital site, which is near Court Square, would now be close to the intersection of Jackson Ave, and approximately 25th St. Thus, when the poster was printed – and the “Voices of Ireland” sang – a very different street configuration held sway. My guess is that the sequence of the old numbered streets was superceeded when the Borough of Queens initiated its comprehensive plan to reorganize all of the streets in the borough. This drawn out process started in the 1910’s and ended in the 1930’s. For the most part, this involved changing nemed to numbered streets but, in this case, it apparently resulted in the re-numbering of numbered streets.
It would also be great to know the date of the poster.
Finally, it is unfortunate that this page’s current main picture is a current google map of the vicinity – and probably not the correct vicinity – and not one of the terrific vintage photos. To find them, you need to enter the photo section. I really hope this situation is addressed by the site administrator.
You can find old maps of Queens online. This map looks like it might show where the Idle Hour was. If you zoom & scroll over to the upper right, you can see a building labeled “Photo Play”, right on the corner of Jackson & 12th St (now 45th Ave), next to 249 Jackson Ave. I’m guessing this is the Idle Hour.
By the way, the location in my previous comment matches where Ed Solero determined the Idle Hour was: the current 24-29 Jackson Ave.
Also, in a comment, Ed wondered about the location of the Masonic Building whose auditorium was used as the original Idle Hour. Google brings up references to a “masonic building” or a “masonic temple” located at 244 Jackson Ave (246 Jackson Ave also comes up in a search result). This issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle from 1931-12-10 describes it as a 3-story brick structure. As I suspected, this matches the current 24-20 Jackson Ave (where Sage General Store, a hip brunch place, is located), which has a kinda fancy masonic look, even at first glance.
Also, there is an alley on Court Square (which you can see on Google Maps), where you can see how far back the building goes. It appears to go far back enough where one can imagine it can fit an auditorium. I’m in that area somewhat regularly. If I’m ever in the mood, I may go in and try to poke around.
Earlier today, I was browsing the Greater Astoria Historical Society’s photos, looking for pictures of the Vernon Theatre, when I came across a picture of the Masonic Temple: http://astoriahistory.smugmug.com/Neighborhoods/Hunters-Point/i-dJd9Vgm/L It is indeed the building I mentioned in my previous comment (24-20 Jackson Ave).
I also put together a collage of the above Idle Hour photo, with the Google Street Views of the same location. If the theatre’s front entrance was positioned the way I think it was, the roadway in front of it has been filled in as a pedestrian area with trees, in recent years:
http://imgur.com/cH3sco6