Tuesday, December 23, 2014

The latest images of the RKO Keith's

From Brownstoner Queens:

A Q’Stoner tipster was able to get into the construction site and see what’s gone down as of late. And here is their report:
The old RKO Keith’s is a beautiful wreck. The seats are long gone, and most of the stage is demolished, leaving a muddy, graffiti-covered hole. But plenty of intricate wooden details around the stage have survived, like carved scrolls, twisting columns and cherubs. As you go further into the building, most of the details have been stripped, salvaged or demolished.

Little remains of the upper lobby except for a few arched doorways and some urinals, and a damaged but elegant balcony is the only interesting piece left in the rear mezzanine. Unfortunately, the landmarked part of the lobby was locked, so you can’t see what it looks like now.
It looks like more of the interior has been demolished since Matt Lambros, the author of After the Final Curtain, took photos in 2011. But Jonathan Karlik assured us that none of the landmarked portion has been touched: “We have a landmark preservation consultant on board with us and we have spent significant time and money to ensure this. There has been no demolition to the landmark space whatsoever. Any work that has been done was done with a LPC approved soft demo permit to clean up and protect the area. We plan to restore the landmarked area to its original condition. We have over 100 crates of salvaged material in storage and plan to implement pieces into our final product.”

6 comments:

Gary the Agnostic said...

Shameful. No respect for history. Sanctioned vandalism.

Anonymous said...

This looks like Costa's and George's friends might do to the Steinway Mansion unless adults stop them.

Wow, a few thousand as a bribe er 'campaign donation' and a we can forget about complex things like using history to benefit a community or the inherent usefulness of a unique and wonderful place.

Neaderthals never got that far.

They reduced life to its simple essential elements: food, drink, the opposite sex (the foodie scene) - and of course the dirt under their feet and what they can harvest from it.

I don't go to the Natural History Museum in Manhattan for a diorama on the Cave Man Culture. I just go to a Joe Crowly Rally.

Anonymous said...

We do not respect our past, ourselves, or even our future. I am disgusted by mankind. Nuke it all I say.

Anonymous said...

Peter Koo, where are you?

Anonymous said...

That's a damn shame

Jerry Rotondi said...

This is the legacy of the Shulman-Manes administration.
In stark contrast to this WW II era Dresden looking bombed out ruin is the grand Loew's Kings theater in Brooklyn. It is being refurbished into the show place it once was. In that borough Marty Markowitz swore that their movie palace got restored before his term was up as borough president. He kept his promise . The Kings will open soon. Both Manes and Shulman represent two of the most hostile anti preservation politicians that we have seen in recent years. They both betrayed the Keith's by not supporting it's full land marking.. This is the evidence of their crooked work. The Vandals that sacked Ancient Rome could have learned a lot from this pair of vile curs.