Last week, I was scouting on Jamaica Ave when I noticed a movie-theater-turned-church up the block.

This is pretty common in New York, where are a LOT of once great theaters have been gutted and repurposed, most often into churches, pharmacies and gyms. I’ve stopped in quite a few hoping to find the rare gem that’s survived, but have only been disappointed time and again.

But something immediately stuck out about the Tabernacle of Prayer church.

What a gloriously stunning facade:

The entire front is dripping with swirls of ornamentation, a whimsical blend of Spanish and Mexican baroque design – with an aquatic emphasis? Note the mermaid in the center…

And the numerous half-shells dotting the front. I also love that headressed figure on the right:

But was the interior as well preserved? Or was this another case of a beautiful facade masking a lifeless interior? I tried to go inside, but the church was closed until Sunday. I was definitely coming back.

In the meantime, I did a bit of research and was surprised to learn that this was once the Loew’s Valencia movie palace, one of five flagship Wonder Theaters opened by the Loew’s chain in and around New York in the late 1920′s (a time when an elevated subway used to run along Jamaica Ave).

Picture CC CinemaTreasures.org

All five Wonder Theatres are miraculously still standing. I’ve written about Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre (now being restored), and I’ve been to The Bronx’s Paradise Theatre, Washington Heights’ 175th Street Theatre, and the Loew’s Jersey City. But how had I missed the Valencia?

Then I found this picture of the interior in its hey day, and it floored me. It wasn’t so much a theater as an outdoor village, complete with a night sky. Could this possibly have survived into the 21st century?

Picture CC CinemaTreasures.org

With fingers crossed, I returned the following Sunday. And, just going into the entranceway, I was taken aback.

>>>Continue reading “The Queens Movie Theater You Will Not Believe”

Last week, I was scouting around 145th Street at night, which gave me the perfect opportunity to shoot one of my favorite neon signs in all its glory: Mishkin’s Drugs.

I love this sign. Part of it is its simplicity and compact dimensions; part of it is the perfect color combination of blue, red, and yellowy-orange. And “Mishkin’s” is such a great name.

>>>Continue reading “Want To Take A Trip To 1940s New York? Step Into Mishkin’s Drug Store”

So the other day, I finally saw Men In Black III, and there was one location that stood out:

Located in Chinatown, Wu’s is THE Chinese restaurant all directors beg us to find.

From the paper lanterns and intricate woodwork…

. . .

→ Read More: Why Everyone Films At The Same Damn New York Chinese Restaurant

The other day, I was scouting the steps of the New York Public Library main branch. I’ve had to do this assignment a million times over the years for various movies and TV shows that want to shoot at the world’s most famous library, and I began thinking how sad it was to know a location so well that there were no surprises left to find.

As I was taking the pictures, I happened to zoom in on this row of statues over the main entrance:

Nothing really stood out about them…

Just your run-of-the-mill toga-clad statuary, all looking appropriately deep in thought:

I was about to move on when one of the statues caught my eye: a woman, who resembled all the others except for one very unusual feature…

She was holding a decapitated head.

>>>Continue reading “Is That A Woman Holding A Decapitated Head on the New York Public Library?”