Queens Theatre

JAlex on December 27, 2005 at 6:28 am

At the corner was the theatre’s airdome; theatre just to the west of that.

patrickgenna on June 18, 2011 at 12:42 am

Hi Chuck1231 and JALex.

Regarding the Queens Theatre, it had a unique feature. It had an outdoor theatre on the east side of the building. This was a an open lot with a brick wall at its rear with a painted white screen.

During the summer, the Queens showed movies.
I am not sure why they did this unless it was too hot to sit inside. My father and I were there many times in the early 1950s sitting on folding chairs and folks try to move them when ushers said no.

In 2006, I stopped at the Queens (church).
The brick wall with its painted screen was still there. A woman from the church saw me and I said hello. We talked a bit and she told me that they were going to alter the front of the theatre building and add another (annex) building to where the outdoor theatre was. I guess they never got around to it. The woman told me that she knew nothing about the history of the theatre or its original name.

What a memory and thanks for the memories. Patrick

jackfolluo on January 1, 2013 at 2:36 pm

From the 1930s to its closing, the Queens theater was owned by Thomas Curley who also owned the Ashland theater in St. Louis. Katherine Curley, sister to Thomas Curley worked the box office during that period. The Queens long time manager was Eddie Keegan. During WW2 Keegan served in the Navy and his wife worked at the theater during that time. I started working there about 1941 dusting seats before the show for free passes, later part time as cleaning up between shows and cleaning the airdrome every morning in the summer. Every one smoked then and we had to pick each cigarette butt and kernel of corn out of the gravel floor outside. I also became the popcorn maker every evening, and later became an usher. I was about 16 when I quit. Great old neighborhood theater and good people to work with.

Every Thursday night (for a time) was dish night. What a time we had giving a different dish every Thursday night to the ladies who came to collect the whole set. During the show sometimes one of the dishes would slip off a ladies lap and clatter to the floor. This would be met with applause, whistles and laughter. Funny reaction.

                                      Jack Folluo
                  

Joe Vogel on December 15, 2017 at 8:52 pm

A disturbing incident took place at the Queens Airdome in 1925, as related in the July 4 issue of Motion Picture News:

“Saturday night Miss Marian Collins, cashier of the Queens Airdome, Maffitt and Marcus avenues, dreamed that she had been held up. Her nerves were upset by the many similar robberies in recent weeks. On Sunday night, June 14, her dream came true when four armed men, all young and roughly dressed and holding handkerchiefs over their faces rushed into the airdome. They robbed Miss Collins of $273.

“When Miss Collins sought to appease the bandits with some small change one of them forced her to open the door of her cage so they could obtain all the cash in sight. So quickly did the quartette work, Manager Tom Curley who was conversing with a patron a short distance away was unaware that a robbery was in progress.”

The article noted recent robberies at these other St. Louis houses: the Liberty Music Hall on Delmar Boulevard, the Compton Airdome on Easton Avenue, and the Arcade Airdome.