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Get a Rare Glimpse Inside Jamaica's 'Wonder Theatre'

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | September 30, 2014 7:49am
 The Historic Districts Council is organizing a tour at the historic theatre on Saturday, Oct. 4.
Valencia Theater in Jamaica
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QUEENS — New York may have dozens of places to see a movie but The Valencia, a cinema on Jamaica Avenue dating back to 1929, is one of only five historic “Wonder Theatres” in the city.

This Saturday, history buffs and architecture lovers will get a rare chance to peek inside the building during a tour organized by The Historic Districts Council.

During the tour, participants will get to see the elaborate interior of the building at 165-11 Jamaica Ave., near Merrick Boulevard.

Designed by John Eberson, the theater features a terracotta facade, ornamental columns and finials (roof ornamentations) as well as colorful balconies that were inspired by Spanish and Mexican architecture, according to published reports.

The theater was built as one of five Loews "Wonder Theatres," constructed mostly in the 1920s in the New York City area to promote the chain.

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“These places used to be these fantastic kind of fantasy places that were incredibly evocative," said Simeon Bankoff, executive director of the Historic Districts Council.

"It was where everyday people would go to escape into dreamland for a few hours.”

The Valencia, which has 3,500 seats, was very successful for several decades. But it closed as a movie theater in 1977 following a financial crisis in New York.

Later, Loews donated the building, which became a New York City landmark in 1999, to the Tabernacle of Prayer for All People.

Last year, the Historic Districts Council had organized a tour of another "Wonder Theatre," the Loews United Palace Theatre on 175th Street in Washington Heights, which the group said was very popular.

This will be the group's first tour of The Valencia.

The Tabernacle of Prayer for All People also occasionally allows visitors to see the interior of the historic theater.

The event — Secret Lives Tour: Loews Valencia Theatre – is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 4 at 11:30 a.m. Cost: $30 for Friends of HDC, $40 for general public. Portion of the profits will be donated to the church. Tickets can be purchased here. To see more pictures of the Valencia, go here.