Paramount Studios Complex | |
 Kaufman Astoria Studios | |
 | |
| Location | 35th Ave., 35th, 36th, and 37th Sts.,Astoria, Queens,New York City |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°45′24″N73°55′29″W / 40.75667°N 73.92472°W /40.75667; -73.92472 |
| Area | 5 acres (2 ha) |
| Built | 1921 |
| Architect | Multiple |
| NRHP reference No. | 78001897[1] |
| NYCL No. | 0977 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 14, 1978 |
| Designated NYCL | March 14, 1978 |
TheKaufman Astoria Studios is afilm studio located in theAstoria neighborhood ofQueens inNew York City. The studio was constructed forFamous Players–Lasky in 1920, since it was close toManhattan'sTheater District. The property was taken over by real estate developer George S. Kaufman in 1982 and renamed Kaufman Astoria Studios.
The studio is home to New York City's onlybacklot, which opened in December 2013.[2] The property was designated a nationalhistoric district and added to theNational Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The studio was originally constructed forFamous Players–Lasky in 1920 to provide the company with a facility close to theBroadway theater district.[3] Manyfeatures andshort subjects were filmed there between 1920 and 1933.W. C. Fields made his silent features there. The firstSherlock Holmes sound film,The Return of Sherlock Holmes (also 1929), was made at the studio by the British producerBasil Dean. The first two films featuring theMarx Brothers,The Cocoanuts (1929) andAnimal Crackers (1930), were shot at the Astoria Studio.
Paramount used the Astoria studio heavily in the early years of talking pictures, primarily for short subjects starring New York-based stage and radio performers:Burns and Allen,Eddie Cantor,Tom Howard,Ethel Merman,Rudy Vallee,Lillian Roth, and many others. During this period the studio facility was known as the Paramount Studio.
In 1932, afterParamount Pictures moved all studio operations to California, the Astoria location was turned over to independent producers, includingWalter Wanger, whose films were released through Paramount[4] or other Hollywood film companies. All the films starringtango iconCarlos Gardel made in the United States were shot at Astoria Studios.Gloria Swanson cites the studio as, "the studio where I'd been making all of my pictures since 1923" in her autobiographySwanson on Swanson. In 1938,...One Third of a Nation... was the last feature film to be shot there during that era.[3]
Educational Pictures rented space at the facility during the 1930s, until Educational closed its doors in 1938. The last theatrical films produced at Astoria were a series of shortRobert Benchley comedies released by Paramount between 1940 and 1942.
In 1942, theUnited States Army Signal Corps Army Pictorial Service took over the studio for the making of Army training films until 1971, includingThe Big Picture, shown on American network television and later in syndication.
In 1975, the studio opened again for shooting onThieves.[3]
In 1978, the property was designated a nationalhistoric district and added to theNational Register of Historic Places. The district encompasses six contributing buildings.[1]
In 1981, New York City received an Urban Development Action Grant from the federal government for the renovation and expansion of the studio whichKenneth Schuman, NYC Commissioner for Economic Development, described as being of "compelling public interest".[5]
In 1982, the property was taken over by real estate developer George S. Kaufman and renamed Kaufman Astoria Studios.[6]
Kaufman Astoria Studios has seven sound stages including the new Stage K, designed by theJanson Design Group.[7]
In 2008,Martin P. Robinson, who playsMr. Snuffleupagus,Telly Monster, and Slimey the Worm onSesame Street, married Annie Evans, a writer for the show on theSesame Street set. The ceremony was performed on the steps of 123 Sesame Street and the reception was held throughout the rest of the set.[8]
On December 3, 2013, a 34,800-square-foot (3,230 m2)backlot was dedicated. It is the only studio backlot in New York City.[2]
In 2014, Kaufman Astoria Studios announced plans to build a new 18,000-square-foot soundstage on its Astoria campus within two years.[9]
In 2020, Kaufman Astoria Studios announced a five-block redevelopment project around the studio, in conjunction withLarry Silverstein, Bedrock Real Estate, and ODA Architecture. The area would be called Innovation QNS and stretch from 37th to 43rd Streets from 35th to 36th Avenues. The project, to cost $2 billion, would add 2,700 residential units, 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) for shops and restaurants, and 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2) for creative industries.[10][11] Construction was planned to begin in 2023.[12] In 2022, theNew York City Council approved the Innovation QNS project,[13][14] although local activists had opposed the plans.[15][16] Construction was delayed in part because of the expiration of the421-a tax exemption and the2023 Writers Guild of America strike.[17] Two of the buildings in the Innovation QNS site were sold in early 2025,[18] and the project was canceled that August due to industry and tax-policy uncertainty.[19][20]
Motion pictures filmed there include the musicalsHair andThe Wiz, and the filmsGoodfellas,The Money Pit, andCarlito's Way. In 1984, TheJacksons' music video "Torture" was filmed there as well. Many sequences, especially the 'visitation' sequence in 2002 TV mini seriesAngels in America, were also shot there. A 2009 remake,The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, also used the studios. In 2011, the remake ofArthur filmed a few scenes there.
Television shows filmed at the studio includeSesame Street,Succession,Orange Is The New Black,[21]Onion News Network,Johnny and the Sprites,Bear in the Big Blue House,Between the Lions,The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss,Oobi,Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego, and its successorWhere in Time is Carmen Sandiego? Other projects recorded at the studios have includedJudge Judy,Power of 10,The Cosby Show,Cosby,The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd,Swans Crossing,Law & Order,Million Dollar Password, the 2009 pilot ofThe $1,000,000 Pyramid,Video Power,Spin City,Generation Gap andMariah Carey'sMTV Unplugged.WFAN, a local sports radio station owned byAudacy, was formerly based at the studio before moving to lower Manhattan in the fall of 2009.
The walls of the studio are lined with signed images of the performers who have worked in the studios, includingMilton Berle,Frank Sinatra,The Marx Brothers,Ginger Rogers,George Burns,Lena Horne,Ethel Merman,Paul Robeson,Lillian Gish,Claudette Colbert,Gloria Swanson,Maurice Chevalier,Jeanette MacDonald,Diana Ross, andJerry Orbach.
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