RKO Keith's Theater (Flushing, New York)
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RKO Keith's Theater
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RKO Keith Flushing, April 2009
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| Location | 135-35 Northern Blvd., Queens, New York |
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| Coordinates | 40°45′48″N 73°49′57″W / 40.76333°N 73.83250°WCoordinates: 40°45′48″N 73°49′57″W / 40.76333°N 73.83250°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1928 |
| Architect | Thomas Lamb |
| Architectural style | Mission/Spanish Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | |
| Added to NRHP | October 29, 1982 |
RKO Keith's Theater is a historic RKO Pictures movie theater located in the Flushing section of the New York City borough of Queens. It was designed by noted theater architect Thomas W. Lamb (1871–1942) and built in 1928. It has a plain three story exterior facade, but the auditorium interior was designed in a Spanish Baroque Revival style. The theater contained approximately 2,974 seats.
The RKO Keith's Theater was opened on Christmas Day in 1928 as a "vaudeville house" and movie theater, with additional renovations made during the 1970s to install three screens. There were many stars who performed at this theater. Some of these stars included Bob Hope, Jack Benny and the Marx Brothers, Judy Garland, Mae West, Milton Berle, Jimmy Durante, and Jerry Lewis, all of whom performed and provided entertainment on stage., On Saturday, January 16, 1965, Hollywood stars Cesar Romers and Connie Stevens also entertained audiences at RKO Keith's Theater; Stevens was a resident of Bayside during that time.
The theater was closed in 1986 and then partially gutted illegally by the building's new owner Thomas Huang. Huang acquired this theater for $3.4 million, with the intention of repurposing and restructuring it into "office space or a shopping mall." However, residents of the community felt that this theater, as a landmark, would go into disrepair had Huang's proposal succeeded. During his time as owner of RKO Keith's, several landmark parts within the theater were found demolished; when this occurred Huang's building permits became void. Huang had been attacked and blamed by Flushing leaders since 1986, the year of his purchase and acquirement of this theater. Huang also dumped approximately 10,000 gallons of waste oil in the basement of the theater. He was indicted and pleaded guilty to two felony charges. Additionally, Huang was arrested for "falsely certifying" that the oil tank, from which the oil was dumped, was successfully cleaned in front of the city Fire Department. He was sentenced to five years probation and a $5,000 fine and ordered by the court to remediate conditions in the theater in lieu of serving jail time. Huang ignored the order.
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