Hollis Cinema
191-12 Jamaica Avenue,
Hollis,
NY
11423
191-12 Jamaica Avenue,
Hollis,
NY
11423
3 people
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Saw a piece of an ad for the Hollis which dated back to 1928. Theater was probably opened in 1926 or 1927 since all the other theaters in the PLAYCO ad I uploaded opened in that period.
Uploaded an ad from 1933 which Texas2step added to Century’s Floral. Indicates the Hollis along with the Floral, Bellaire, Bellerose and Park (Rockaway Park) were part of the Playco circuit. Never heard of that one.
Uploaded photo as the Hollis Cinema. Before it was a cinema it was just Hollis in neon letters where the new signage appears.
I was never in the Bellaire but the exterior certainly looked “itchy”. I remember hearing stories about how the Bellaire would have water on the floor after a rain. I found it really odd when it was converted into a two level bowling alley. The lower one must have really flooded. I was in the Hollis once, see an earlier posting. I found the surroundings pleasant even though the projectionist on that day was totally incompetent missing cues, cursing loudly at his own frustrations, etc..
I actually remember seeing Rocky 2 in that theater which premiered in 1979. So I know that theater didn’t “find God” until at least 1980. And the zip code is 11423.
Thanks so much for doing all that checking!
MarkieS, I just went back to the Island site to see if there was a photo, the links no longer exist, and found a posting from you dated June 18, 2009 in which you mentioned your mother, at age 81, referring to the Island as “the itch” and seeing Intermezzo there.
Thank you, it WAS The Island. My mom remembered the name. She remembers seeing Intermezzo and Pygmalion there.
To the best of my knowledge there were only two theatres in Hollis. This one and the Island. The Island had a very old looking incandescent lit marquee. I attended one performance at the Hollis in the 1950s. I thought it was clean and attractive. My only negative was the projectionist on that day was totally incompetent. He never made smooth transitions between the reels and he could be heard cursing loudly when things didn’t go right. I remember the usherette, yes usherette, saying she didn’t understand his problem because he was union.
my mom told me about a dumpy theater in Hollis that even in the 30’s was known as “the itch”, and showed movies that had been out for awhile. I don’t think it was this one though. Any ideas what it could have been?
Here is a May 1962 ad. Click on the ad for an expanded view:
http://tinyurl.com/lo87o7
Trouble in 1970:
http://tinyurl.com/23qzf8
Here’s a local.live.com aerial view of the former theater facing the south and looking at the building’s Jamaica Avenue frontage.
Hollis Theater aerial
Click on the larger building icon in the bird’s eye tool palette to get a closer view. The theater is the buidling with the white facade behind the 3 trees on the sidewalk.
I remember passing this building by a few times and thinking it may have been a former theater – but then I quickly dismissed that notion as it was at a time when I was zealously “seeing” former theaters on every other street corner! Had I noticed any church signage there would have been no doubt whatsoever.
Actually it played adult films well into the 80’s. The church that is there now has been there snce about 1997/1998. It had been closed for a few years until the church bought it. I know some people who attend the church.
In 1962 this was being billed as The Hollis Repetory Cinema. They were playing a double bill of “Public Enemy” and “A Nous La Liberte” both from 1931. The next day they were playing Sophia Loren in “Aida”. I found this amusing since a year ago I made postings on the Guild 50th site about this “lost” film which was revived in the 80’s there. Even more amusing is Hollis having an art house, if you saw this area now.
In a 1958 ad Prudential advetised the theatre as The Hollis-Art. They were playing a double feature of “Gates of Paris” and Maria Schell in “So Little Time”.