Keith-Albee Theatre, or RKO Keith’s Theater
View from the balcony of the Keiths Theatre
The RKO Keith’s Theatre, originally called the Keith-Albee Theatre, opened Christmas Day, 1928 at 1:00 PM. Located in Flushing, Queens, it was designed by Thomas W. Lamb, an architect known for his theater designs, which can also be seen in New York’s Ziegfeld Theatre and Proctor’s 58th Street (which was built simultaneously with the Keith’s).
The first movie shown in the theater was “Three Week Ends,” a silent film starring one of the true embodiments of the roaring twenties, Clara Bow. The theater was operated by the Keith-Albee-Orpheum Corporation until 1929 when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America to form RKO Pictures. The Keith-Albee was then renamed RKO Keith’s Theatre.
The main level of the auditorium
The Keith’s was designed in the Spanish Baroque Revival style and had 2974 seats. The ceiling was painted a deep blue so that clouds seemed to move across the ceiling, making it look like clouds floating across the night sky. The cloud effect came from projectors on either side of the balcony, which broke in the theater’s later years. Lamb designed other theaters with the same atmospheric effect, including the Loew’s Pitkin and Proctor’s 58th Street.
In the center of the oval-shaped lobby was a fountain with a centerpiece featuring a statue of Cupid surrounded by several dolphins and stocked live goldfish. It was moved before the theater closed and is rumored to be in either an East Village restaurant or a dentist’s office in New Jersey.
Upper level of the lobby area
The lobby of the Keiths was given landmark status in 1984. The building was sold in 1986 to developer Tommy Huang, who closed the theater a few months later. Shortly after Huang announced the theater would be torn down to make way for a mall. The Flushing community was outraged and people protested in front of the theater. Huang started work on the theater’s lobby disregarding it’s landmark status, and stripped it to prepare for renovations.
The main floor mens smoking room
The city stopped demolition in February 1987 – since then, the Keith’s has been in a state of disrepair. A plan was recently approved that proposes to tear down the auditorium and replace it with a 17-story tower that houses 357 apartments, a senior center and retail space. Of the original architecture, only the lobby and ticket booth will be saved.
One of the remaining murals in the auditorium
Most of the area above the lobby has been stripped to the framework
Trackbacks
- Lawndale Theatre | After the Final Curtain
- Off Book - Abandonment Issues
- Kenosha Theatre | After the Final Curtain
- The Palace Theatre « After the Final Curtain
- The Newark Paramount Theatre « After the Final Curtain
- Newark Paramount Theatre « After the Final Curtain
- Loew’s Palace Theatre « After the Final Curtain
- The RKO Hamilton Theatre « After the Final Curtain
- The Boyd Theatre « After the Final Curtain
- Loew’s Majestic Theatre « After the Final Curtain
- After the Curtain: RKO Hamilton Theater | Untapped New York
These are all amazing. The first one I had to stare at for awhile:)
This is just a sad miracle of loss. I am heading out to Flushing, and looking for the back door…
My high school graduation (Flushing High School) was held here in 1961. About 900 graduates and families. I also remember early dates in the balcony.
It’s unfortunate this magnificent theater is going to end up as condos.
The style is VERY similar to the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio, Texas, which was completely restored and is the home of the San Antonio Symphony and a popular venue for touring shows.
I SO hope you save this lobby at least – so sad – I grew up in Flushing and the theater was my favorite place – the powder room was a little girl’s fantasy of what a movie star’s house would look like, and the lobby – wow – I can’t believe the developer got away with what he did.
I remember seeing the Dave Clark Five movie there in ’65 and having them walk out onstage afterwards… and the crowd goes wild
I remember seeing Jerry Lewis on stage publicizing his new movie the bellboy in 1960
Saw the Ali and Norton fight here with friends. Ali won in the last round. I will miss it very much.
Developer Tommy Huang should RUN OUT OF TOWN….but only AFTER he’s fined for what he did.
Wow, My brothers use to tell me about this place. It looked so Amazing. I’m upset that stuff like this has to Happen!!!! BRING BACK THE THEATER!!!!
Seeing Poltergeist was the last time I was in this theater. I was younger then and unaware of the theater’s magnificence. To recall what it looked like through photos of it’s deterioration is so sad – like the opening scene of the movie Titanic only this is a “theater wreck”.
My brother and I saw Superman and Star Wars in this grand theater. We use to stare up at the magnificent saphire-blue lit ceiling before the movie started. I even caught myself a few times looking up at the the theater’s ceiling during the actual movie. I even remember where we sat. We pretty much always sat on the main floor close to an aisle towards the left. The detailed moulding, murals and framework throughout this majestic theater just added to its grandeur. After the movie, we would linger around and take in its magnificence. As a little girl it was such a treat to be able to see a movie there. The theater looked so rich that I wondered as a little girl if it resembled the rich folks mansions. It is so disappointing to see it in such disrepair.
An apartment complex with Senior center and retail space? My guess is that somehow the senior center idea will be ditched and luxury apartments will go up. Great, more unaffordable housing. The community would still like to see a movie theater there. A municipal parking is just walking distance away. Can’t this theater still be salvaged and restored? How long will a NYC landmark be allowed to decay like this?
Thank you for taking and posting these photos! The RKO Keith’s was a big part of my life growing up in Flushing during the 1960s and ’70s. I saw so many movies here, including The Godfather and The Godfather II, but probably my favorite was Murder on the Orient Express in 1974. The decor of the RKO perfectly matched that of the film. I think the last movie I saw there was either Star Trek 2 or Return of the Jedi. It’s been sad to see the theater sitting there empty for the last quarter century, and even sadder to see how it’s fallen into disrepair. I hope that if it proves impossible to restore the RKO as a theater, at least the lobby will be restored and serve as a reminder of this once-great palace.