Loew's Valencia Theatre

Last updated

Loew's Valencia Theatre
Loews Valencia sunny jeh.jpg
Loew's Valencia Theatre
Full nameTabernacle of Prayer
Former namesLoew's Valencia
Location165-11 Jamaica Avenue, Queens, New York
Construction
BuiltJune – December 1928
OpenedJanuary 12, 1929
ArchitectJohn Eberson
General contractorThompson-Starrett Company

The Loew's Valencia Theatre is a former movie palace at 165-11Jamaica Avenue in Queens, New York City. Built in 1929 as one of the Loew's Wonder Theatres, the theater was donated to The Tabernacle of Prayer for All People in 1977. It was designated an exterior landmark on May 25, 1999 by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. [1]

Background

In 1926–27, builder Ralph Riccardo acquired the site at Jamaica Avenue and Merrick Road, selling half of the site to the Famous Players–Lasky Corporation (Paramount) who then sold the property to Loew's. [2] Construction started in June 1928 by the Thompson-Starrett Company and was completed in December of that year. [3] It was designed by John Eberson, known for his atmospheric theaters. [4] The interior is adorned in Spanish Colonial and pre-Columbian styles. [5] While the facade is made of brick and terra cotta in the Spanish and Mexican style of the Baroque period. [3] The auditorium walls are adorned with statues, parapets and towers, asymmetrically arranged while the ceiling remains unadorned, like a sky above. [4]

The theatre seats 3,500 people and was the first of the five Loew’s Wonder Theatres, opening on January 12, 1929, with Monte Blue and Raquel Torres in “White Shadows in the South Seas” plus vaudeville on stage. [6] [7] Along with the other Wonder Theatres, it was equipped with a Robert Morton ‘Wonder’ organ of 4 manuals and 23 ranks. [5] It quickly became an attraction for people in not only Jamaica, but Queens and the greater Long Island area to watch the movies. In 1977, the building was donated to the Tabernacle of Prayer who restored the theatre. [1] The organ moved to the Balboa Theatre in San Diego, California where it was restored and debuted in 2009. [5] [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seventh Avenue station (IND lines)</span> New York City Subway station in Manhattan

The Seventh Avenue station is a station on the IND Sixth Avenue Line and the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and 53rd Street in Manhattan, it is served by the D and E trains at all times, and the B train weekdays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kings Theatre (Brooklyn)</span> Performance venue in New York City

The Kings Theatre, formerly Loew's Kings Theatre, is a live performance venue in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. Opened by Loew's Theatres as a movie palace in 1929 and closed in 1977, the theater sat empty for decades until a complete renovation was initiated in 2010. The theater reopened to the public on January 23, 2015 as a performing arts venue. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 22, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loew's Wonder Theatres</span>

The Loew's Wonder Theatres were movie palaces of the Loew's Theatres chain in and near New York City. These five lavishly designed theaters were built by Loew's to establish its preeminence in film exhibition in the metropolitan New York City area and to serve as the chain's flagship venues, each in its own area. All five theaters are still standing. One operates as a community performing arts center; one is a commercial live entertainment venue; and three are currently used as churches, with one of those also used for entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Briarwood station</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The Briarwood station is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 84th Drive, Main Street, Queens Boulevard, and the Van Wyck Expressway, in Briarwood, Queens, bordering Kew Gardens, it is served by the F train at all times, the E train at all times except rush hours and middays, and the <F> train during rush hours in the reverse peak direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loew's Jersey Theatre</span>

The Loew's Jersey Theatre is a theater in Jersey City, New Jersey. Opened in 1929, it was one of the five Loew's Wonder Theatres, a series of flagship Loew's movie palaces in the New York City area. It was designed by the architectural firm of Rapp and Rapp in a Baroque/Rococo style. Tri-plexed in 1974, and then closed in 1986, it was dark for years. It was purchased by the city in 1993 and has been operated by a volunteer organization, the Friends of the Loews, since that time. The theater was designated as a New Jersey Registered Historic Site in 2009. In a move opposed by Friends of the Loews, the city in June 2014, agreed to let AEG Live operate the venue. After going to court, the lease by Friends of the Loews remains in effect. In 2022, a $72 million restoration project was started by Devils Arena Entertainment, a division of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment that operates the Prudential Center, with completion being expected by 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">75th Avenue station</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The 75th Avenue station is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 75th Avenue and Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills, Queens, it is served by the F train at all times, the E train at all times except weekday rush hours and middays, and the <F> train during rush hours in the reverse peak direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike station</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike station is an express station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at Union Turnpike and Queens Boulevard on the border of Kew Gardens and Forest Hills, Queens, it is served by the E and F trains at all times, and the <F> train during rush hours in the reverse peak direction. Despite the station's name, Union Turnpike forms the border between Kew Gardens and Forest Hills, and the station straddles that border, with multiple entrances located in each neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">169th Street station (IND Queens Boulevard Line)</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The 169th Street station is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 169th Street and Hillside Avenue in Queens, it is served by the F train at all times and the <F> train during rush hours in the reverse peak direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sutphin Boulevard station (IND Queens Boulevard Line)</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The Sutphin Boulevard station is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at Sutphin Boulevard and Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, it is served by the F train at all times and the <F> train during rush hours in the reverse peak direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">67th Avenue station</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The 67th Avenue station is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 67th Avenue and Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills, Queens, it is served by the R train at all times except nights, and the E and F trains during late nights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">63rd Drive–Rego Park station</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The 63rd Drive–Rego Park station is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway, consisting of four tracks. Located at 63rd Drive and Queens Boulevard in the Rego Park neighborhood of Queens, it is served by the R train at all times except nights, and the E and F trains at night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Avenue–Newtown station</span> New York City Subway station in Queens

The Grand Avenue–Newtown station is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located under private property at the northeast corner of the intersection of Grand Avenue, Broadway, and Queens Boulevard in the neighborhood of Elmhurst, Queens, it is served by the R train at all times except nights, and the E and F trains at night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beacon Theatre (New York City)</span> Entertainment venue in Manhattan, New York

The Beacon Theatre is an entertainment venue at 2124 Broadway, adjacent to the Hotel Beacon, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1929, the Beacon Theatre was developed by Samuel "Roxy" Rothafel and built as a movie palace, with 2,894 seats across three levels. It was designed by Walter W. Ahlschlager with decorations inspired by the Renaissance, Ancient Roman, Ancient Greek, and Rococo styles. The theater is designated as a New York City interior landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Eberson</span>

John Adolph Emil Eberson was an Austrian-American architect best known for the development and promotion of movie palace designs in the atmospheric theatre style. He designed over 500 theatres in his lifetime, earning the nickname "Opera House John". His most notable surviving theatres in the United States include the Tampa Theatre (1926), Palace Theatre Marion (1928), Palace Theatre Louisville (1928), Majestic Theatre (1929), Akron Civic Theatre (1929) and Paramount Theatre (1929). Remaining international examples in the atmospheric style include both the Capitol Theatre (1928) and State Theatre (1929) in Sydney, Australia, The Forum, the Lewis J. Warner Memorial Theater (1932) at Worcester Academy in Worcester, Massachusetts and Le Grand Rex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Palace</span> Theater in Manhattan, New York

The United Palace is a theater at 4140 Broadway in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The theater, occupying a full city block bounded by Broadway, Wadsworth Avenue, and West 175th and 176th Streets, functions both as a spiritual center and as a nonprofit cultural and performing arts center. Architect Thomas W. Lamb designed the theater as a movie palace, which opened in 1930 as one of five Loew's Wonder Theatres in the New York City area. The theater's lavishly eclectic interior decor was supervised by Harold Rambusch, who also designed the interior of the Roxy Theatre and the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Morton Organ Company</span>

The Robert Morton Organ Company was an American producer of theater pipe organs and church organs, located in Van Nuys, California. Robert Morton was the number two volume producer of theatre organs, building approximately half as many organs as the industry leader Wurlitzer. The name Robert Morton was derived not from any person in the company, but rather from the name of company president Harold J. Werner's son, Robert Morton Werner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paradise Theater (Bronx)</span> Former theater and concert venue in the Bronx, New York

The Paradise Theater, formerly Loew's Paradise Theatre, is a movie palace-type theater located at 2417 Grand Concourse in the Bronx, New York. Constructed in 1929 at the height of grand movie theaters, in the later 20th century the building was used also for live entertainment. It was leased in 2012 for use by the World Changers Church International New York for founding a local congregation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">165th Street Bus Terminal</span> Bus terminal in Queens, New York

Kostow Greenwood Architects LLP, is a New York City-based architecture firm, specializing in broadcast and live arts facilities, interior architecture and historic preservation and renovation and urban revitalization projects. Serving commercial, nonprofit and institutional clients, the firm was founded in 1987, and is led by principals Michael Kostow and Jane Greenwood. Kostow Greenwood is a Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise.

References

  1. 1 2 Macfarquhar, Neil (May 26, 1999). "Former Movie Palace Is Named a Landmark". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Riccardo Building Leased 100 Percent" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. January 11, 1929. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Loew' s Valencia Theater" (PDF). Landmarks Preservation Commission. May 25, 1999. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Gray, Christopher (April 15, 1990). "STREETSCAPES: Jamaica's Valencia Theater; A Success Story Masks A Landmarks Law Quirk". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 "Loew's Valencia Theatre in Jamaica, NY - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  6. ↑ Durgin, Chester (January 12, 1929). "Reflections on the Screen" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. p. 14. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  7. ↑ "W. Saxton Installed as Head of Valencia" (PDF). Long Island Daily Press. January 12, 1929. p. 1. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  8. ↑ "ATOS: Balboa Theatre". www.atos.org. Retrieved September 6, 2015.

40°42′23″N73°47′41″W / 40.706268°N 73.794625°W / 40.706268; -73.794625

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.