RKO Keith's Richmond Hill Theatre
117-09 Hillside Avenue,
Queens,
NY
11418
117-09 Hillside Avenue,
Queens,
NY
11418
25 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: RKO
Functions: Bingo Hall, Swap Meet
Previous Names: B.F. Keith's Theatre
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Located in the Richmond Hill section of Queens, New York. The former B.F. Keith’s Theatre opened on March 22, 1929 with 6-acts of Radio-Keith-Orpheum Vaudeville on stage and the talkie movie “Strange Cargo” starring Lee Patrick. It later showed second-run fare and double bills.
The RKO Keith’s Richmond Hill Theatre closed on June 25, 1968 with Elizabeth Taylor & Marlon Brando in “Reflections in a Golden Eye”. Since then it has been used as a bingo hall and flea market. The marquee and front of the building were renovated and used as a location for the 2002 movie “The Guru” starring Jimi Mistry.
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philipgoldberg
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Recent comments (view all 432 comments)
Rumors are circulating about a possible sale of the property, including one of conversion into a church. More here
Given the possible consequences that a sale of this building would have, its conversion into a house of worship would be a pretty good one. In fact, some of the best reuses have involved exactly that.
What a difference when you look at photos of this theatre inside compared to the Keiths in Flushing.
Several color photos of the exterior can be viewed midway through this article at the “Forgotten New York” website here
Another update on current use has been posted at the “Forgotten New York Website.” Click here
What’s the current use of the theatre?
The theater’s blacked out marquee shows up several times in The Punisher: One Last Kill on Disney+.
This theatre should be listed as (New York/New York/Queens/Richmond Hill). Richmond Hill is a neighborhood in Queens.
@Al Alvarez, that’s actually incorrect. It’s a holdover from how Queens developed and how its post offices were organized before it joined NYC in 1898. Queens was a collection of separate towns, villages, and Long Island City, each with its own identity and postal arrangements. Those local names survived consolidation, so addresses still use names such as Astoria, Flushing, Jamaica, or Ridgewood. That’s unlike Brookly, in which all the towns had already consolidated into one independent city before joining New York.
Is New York the only city where its theaters are broken down in a way that winds up omitting the actual city that it’s in? In the case of this theater, the categories move from State to Borough and then neighborhood, skipping the fact that it’s in NYC!