RICHMOND Hill preserves its very own classic movie palace of yore… and this one has a marquee that has at least retained the look it had in its halcyon days, with red neon-lit nameplates and a gold border. The theatre opened as the Keith’s Richmond Hill about 1928 at 117-09 Hillside Avenue just east of Myrtle Avenue. The old marquee, which had been hidden under aluminum siding for some years, was restored in 2001 during production for a feature film, “The Guru.” Until the 1960s, it also hosted stage shows; England’s Dave Clark Five appeared there at the height of their popularity in 1965. Unfortunately the years have not been kind to its ornately constructed interior, though it’s structurally sound. The theatre, which sat over 2200 customers, closed in the 1970s. Next door was Jahn’s, a 1923-vintage ice cream shop, once of a chain started by John Jahn… yes, John Jahn… in the Bronx in 1897.
Current management, which runs the place as a flea market and bingo hall, unfortunately isn’t keen on idlers such as myself coming in and pointing cameras. I squeezed off this shot before being ordered to vacate the premises. Camera wielding strangers are feared and loathed much more than actual troublemakers. The theater’s terra cotta frontage and old marquee have been retained, which doesn’t occur very often with former theaters.
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