Silvercup Studios

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Silvercup Studios
Company type Studio
IndustryEntertainment
Founded Queens, New York, US (1983)
FoundersStuart Suna
Alan Suna
Headquarters
Queens, New York
,
United States
ProductsMotion pictures, television programs
Website www.silvercupstudios.com
Main building Silvercup Studios and Citicorp Building from Queensboro Bridge.jpg
Main building
Street entrance Silvercup Studios 21 St & QPS jeh.JPG
Street entrance

Silvercup Studios is one of the largest film and television production facilities in New York City. The studio is located in Long Island City, Queens, with another facility in the Port Morris neighborhood of the Bronx. The studio complex has been operating since 1983 in the former Silvercup Bakery building. It was founded by brothers Alan and Stuart Suna.

Contents

History

Silvercup bakery

For many decades of the 20th century, Long Island City was a center for commercial bakeries. [1] During the 1920s building boom on Long Island, the Gordon Baking Company of Detroit made plans to open a factory at 42-25 21st Street to produce its Silvercup brand of bread. [2] After the award of a $1 million contract for its construction in 1929, [3] the building was completed the following year. [4] [5] At its peak, the facility reportedly provided about one third of the bread consumed in the metropolitan area of New York, [2] and supplied New York City's schools. [6] It closed in 1975 as a result of an industrial dispute with the Teamsters union. [2] [7] The neon advertising sign on the roof, which dates from around 1961–62, was visible across the East River in Manhattan. [8]

Film studios

During its early years the facility was used mostly for the filming of music videos and commercials, although occasionally scenes for motion pictures were shot there, including Highlander and Garbo Talks . Norman Leigh, well known among New York City filmmakers for his electrical/gaffing work on the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy , oversaw the studio during its first few years.

Over the years, use of the studio's space has shifted toward the production of television series.

Productions

Silvercup was the primary shooting facility for ABC's Hope & Faith , and HBO's Sex and the City and The Sopranos . The finale of the 1986 film Highlander took place in-universe at Silvercup with an action sequence on its famous rooftop signage. Other film and television productions that have made use of the studio include:

References

  1. ↑ Barritt, T. W. (2015). Long Island Food: A History from Family Farms & Oysters to Craft Spirit. Charleston, SC: American Palate. pp. 93–94. ISBN   978-1626198463.
  2. 1 2 3 Marzlock, Ron (December 16, 2010). "Silvercup's rise, fall and rise". Queens Chronicle . New York. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Heard on the Street" . The Boston Globe . Vol. 116, no. 34. August 3, 1929. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "F. T. Ley projects less by 25 per cent" . The Springfield Sunday Union and Republican . Vol. 53, no. 18. Springfield, MA. August 3, 1931. p. 6 F – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Leahy, Jack (November 7, 1982). "New 'dough' to rise in stages" . Daily News . New York. p. MB 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Epstein, Jason (1977). "The Last Days of New York". In Alcaly, Roger E. & Mermelstein, David (eds.). The Fiscal Crisis of American Cities: Essays on the Political Economy of Urban America With Special Reference to New York. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 59–76. ISBN   0394721934.
  7. ↑ Naugebauer, William (October 2, 1987). "Astoria Studios snare cable TV" . Queens. Daily News . New York. p. XQ 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Rinaldi, Thomas E. (2013). New York Neon. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 171. ISBN   978-0393733419.
  9. ↑ Inoa, Christopher (July 29, 2015). "10 NYC Film Locations for USA Network's "Mr. Robot"". Untapped Cities. Archived from the original on September 11, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.

40°45′4″N73°56′38″W / 40.75111°N 73.94389°W / 40.75111; -73.94389

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