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Loew's Valencia Theatre
Jamaica (Queens), New York
The Valencia was first of the five Loew's Wonder Theatres to open its doors. Later in September of 1929 came the Paradise Theatre in the Bronx; the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn; the Jersey Theatre in Jersey City; and in February of 1930 came the 175th Street Theatre in Manhattan. The country's three most prominent theatre architects were involved in these huge projects: Eberson designed the Valencia and Paradise, Rapp & Rapp the Kings and Jersey, and Lamb the 175th Street.
The largest theatre in the Borough of Queens, the Valencia was so popular that Loew's later increased its capacity, as they did at the Paradise and 175th Street, by extending the seating over the orchestra pit, entombing the console. Loew's retained control of the Valencia until 1977, when the company donated the theatre to a Pentecostal church. The walls were repainted in gaudy colors, and a huge chandelier hangs from the "sky." The theatre is essentially intact, unlike the Paradise, which suffered the indignity of being quadruplexed.
The so-called Wonder Mortons (Wonder Organ was a Kilgen designation) were essentially larger versions of the four 4/20s built for Loew's houses in St. Louis, Missouri; Columbus, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Providence, Rhode Island. Of the five, the Valencia's is probably the one most familiar to theatre organ buffs, through recordings made when it was installed in Peter Scheable's home studio in Rosedale, New York. It remained there for many years after Schaeble's untimely death, but was later purchased by Jasper Sanfilippo. Photos courtesy of the Theatre Historical Society of America |
Eberson's atmospheric theatres almost invariably drew their inspiration from Spain or Italy, and his two New York houses were no exception: the Paradise Theatre was Italian and the Valencia Theatre was Spanish. The Valencia was the more restrained, but not by much, for when speaking of Eberson, "restraint" is a relative term. With unornamented ceilings, his theatres were allegedly less costly to build than conventional houses, but it would appear that at least some of the money saved was plowed back into the remaining ornamental work.
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