{"nrhp_refnum":"82001260","name":"RKO Keith's Theater","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"129-143 Northern Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York","county":"Queens","state":"NY","lat":40.76352911300006,"lon":-73.83198929799994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-10-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A movie and vaudeville theatre at the corner of Main Street and Northern Boulevard in downtown Flushing, Queens, New York, designed by Thomas Lamb and opened in 1928.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is one of the few surviving atmospheric movie theatres in the Northeast. It was designed by Thomas Lamb, one of the country's leading theatre architects, and carries its Spanish Baroque Revival atmospheric design through to the outer lobby, which is unusual for Lamb. It has survived with minimal alteration as an intact 1920s movie palace.","narrative":"Opened in 1928 at the corner of Main Street and Northern Boulevard, this Flushing theatre was designed by Thomas Lamb, who completed over 300 theatres in his career. Built for the Keith-Albee vaudeville circuit just as it became part of Radio-Keith-Orpheum, it soon added movie facilities. Its plain exterior hides an atmospheric auditorium in the Spanish Baroque Revival manner, with gilded plaster and wooden facades resembling Spanish courtyards beneath a deep blue ceiling that simulated an evening sky, once lit with projected stars and clouds. Lamb designed few atmospheric theatres, and carrying the theme into the outer lobby was highly unusual. Careful renovation in the mid-1970s created three theatres, yet the lower lobby, four lounges and balcony level remain remarkably intact, with original color schemes, tapestries and murals. With many 1920s theatres in the New York area demolished, it survives as an exceptionally intact movie palace and was once Flushing's leading entertainment center.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific date 1928)","architect_builder":"Thomas Lamb","architectural_style":"Spanish Baroque Revival (atmospheric theatre)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in commercial entertainment use; mid-1970s renovation divided the interior into three theatres while leaving the lower lobby, lounges and balcony level largely intact.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:43.335608-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/82001260.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001260/96d2166c9f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82001260/96d2166c9f-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"MyName (Jim.henderson (talk))","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RKO_Keith_Flushing_jeh.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">MyName (Jim.henderson (talk))</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RKO_Keith_Flushing_jeh.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75321141","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RKO_Keith%27s_Theater_(Flushing,_Queens)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7276883"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/queens/rko-keiths-theater-82001260/"}