. for the houseboat recording studio used by pink floyd see astoria recording studio . paramount studios complex u.s. national register of historic places u.s. historic district nyc landmark kaufman astoria studios show map of new york city show map of new york show map of the us location 35th ave. 35th 36th and 37th sts . astoria queens new york city coordinates 40 45 27.74 n 73 55 25.77 w 40.7577056 n 73.9238250 w 40.7577056 ; 73.9238250 coordinates 40 45 27.74 n 73 55 25.77 w 40.7577056 n 73.9238250 w 40.7577056 ; 73.9238250 area 5 acres 2.0 ha built 1921 architect multiple nrhp reference 78001897 1 significant dates added to nrhp november 14 1978 designated nycl march 14 1978 the kaufman astoria studios is a historic movie studio located in the astoria section of the new york city borough of queens . it is home to new york city s only backlot which opened in december 2013 . 2 contents 1 history 2 recent activities 3 references 4 external links history edit the studio was originally built by famous players lasky in 1920 to provide the company with a facility close to the broadway theater district . many features and short subjects were filmed here between 1920 and 1933 . the first two marx brothers films were shot here the cocoanuts 1929 and animal crackers 1930 before the team moved to los angeles . the first sherlock holmes sound film the return of sherlock holmes also 1929 was made at the studio by the british producer basil dean . the dance of life 1929 was a film musical shot on sound stages with most exterior scenes filmed on a back lot that existed at that time . it was also known as astoria studio and paramount studio . after paramount pictures moved all studio operations to california in 1932 the astoria location was turned over to independent producers whose films were released through paramount 3 or other hollywood film companies . all the films starring tango icon carlos gardel made in the united states were shot at the kaufman astoria . in 1942 the united states army signal corps army pictorial service took over the studio for the making of army training and indoctrination films until 1971 including the big picture that was shown on american television as a network television series . the property was designated a national historic district and added to the national register of historic places in 1978 . the district encompasses six contributing buildings . 1 in 1982 the property was taken over by real estate developer george s. kaufman and renamed kaufman astoria studios . 4 motion pictures filmed there include the musicals hair and the wiz and the films goodfellas and carlito s way . in 1984 the jacksons music video torture was filmed there as well . the 1986 movie the money pit starring tom hanks and shelley long . many sequences especially the visitation sequence in 2002 tv mini series angels in america were also shot here . a 2009 remake the taking of pelham 1 2 3 also used the studios . in 2011 the remake of arthur filmed a few scenes there . television shows filmed at the studio include sesame street onion news network johnny and the sprites where in the world is carmen sandiego and its successor where in time is carmen sandiego other projects recorded at the studios have included judge judy power of 10 the cosby show swans crossing law & order million dollar password the 2009 pilots of the 1 000 000 pyramid video power spin city and mariah carey s mtv unplugged . wfan a local sports radio station owned by cbs 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 including milton berle frank sinatra ginger rogers george burns lena horne ethel merman bill cosby paul robeson lillian gish claudette colbert maurice chevalier jeanette macdonald diana ross and jerry orbach . the former 36th street recently gated as a back lot recent activities edit kaufman astoria studios has seven sound stages including the new stage k designed by the janson design group . 5 in 2008 marty robinson who plays aloysius snuffleupagus telly monster and slimy the worm on sesame street married annie evans a writer for the show on the sesame street set . the ceremony was performed on the steps of 123 sesame street and the reception was held throughout the rest of the set . 6 on december 3 2013 a 34 800 square foot backlot was dedicated . it is the only studio backlot in new york city . 2 in 2014 kaufman astoria studios has announced plans to build a new 18 000 square foot sound stage on its astoria campus within two years . 7 kaufman astoria studios recently contracted to have a photovoltaic solar array installed on the roof of their facility . the project was developed by lionshead energy of queens ny while the installation is being handled by solar landscape based in neptune new jersey . references edit notes a b national park service 2009 03 13 . national register information system . national register of historic places . national park service . a b joe anuta 3 december 2013 . kaufman astoria studios grows hollywood style backlot and matching gate crain s new york business . crain s new york business . cultural resource information system cris searchable database . new york state office of parks recreation and historic preservation . retrieved 2016 08 01 . note this includes elizabeth spencer ralph august 1978 . national register of historic places registration form paramount studios complex pdf . retrieved 2016 08 01 . and accompanying 12 photographs astoria studio revives film era in new york . the new york times . 3 august 1983 . levere jane l. june 11 2008 . square feet a big new york city movie studio is getting bigger . the new york times . retrieved 2009 04 12 . sesame street wedding . studio times . kaufman astoria studios . summer 2009 . retrieved 2009 10 25 . al barbarino 22 april 2014 . kaufman astoria studios to build eighth studio . commercial observer . external links edit media related to kaufman astoria studios at wikimedia commons official website historic american buildings survey habs no . ny 5716 astoria studios barracks buildings thirty fourth ave between thirty fifth & thirty sixth streets queens subdivision queens county ny 3 data pages kaufman astoria studios at internet movie database v t e new york city historic sites nrhp manhattan brooklyn queens staten island bronx nhl new york state nyc manhattan brooklyn queens staten island bronx v t e u.s. national register of historic places in new york topics contributing property keeper of the register historic district history of the national register of historic places national park service property types lists by county albany allegany bronx broome cattaraugus cayuga chautauqua chemung chenango clinton columbia cortland delaware dutchess erie essex franklin fulton genesee greene hamilton herkimer jefferson kings brooklyn lewis livingston madison monroe montgomery nassau new york manhattan niagara oneida onondaga ontario orange orleans oswego otsego putnam queens rensselaer richmond staten island rockland saratoga schenectady schoharie schuyler seneca st. lawrence steuben suffolk sullivan tioga tompkins ulster warren washington wayne westchester northern southern wyoming yates lists by city albany buffalo new rochelle new york city bronx brooklyn queens staten island manhattan below 14th st. 14th 59th st. 59th 110th st. above 110th st. minor islands niagara falls peekskill poughkeepsie rhinebeck rochester syracuse yonkers other lists bridges and tunnels national historic landmarks category national register of historic places in new york portal national register of historic places v t e neighborhoods in the new york city borough of queens addisleigh park arverne astoria auburndale bayside bayswater beechhurst belle harbor bellerose boulevard gardens breezy point briarwood broad channel broadway flushing cambria heights chinatown college point corona douglaston east elmhurst edgemere elmhurst far rockaway floral park flushing forest hills fresh meadows fresh pond glendale glen oaks hammels hollis howard beach jackson heights jamaica jamaica estates jamaica hills kew gardens kew gardens hills koreatown laurelton lefrak city little neck locust manor long island city maspeth middle village neponsit north shore towers ozone park pomonok queensboro hill queensbridge queens village rego park richmond hill ridgewood rochdale village rockaway rockaway beach rockaway park rosedale roxbury st. albans seaside south jamaica springfield gardens sunnyside the hole whitestone willets point woodhaven woodside wyckoff heights community boards 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title kaufman astoria studios & oldid 735051183 categories historic districts in new york cityamerican film studiostelevision studios in the united statesastoria queensbuildings and structures in queens new yorkbuildings and structures completed in 1920buildings and structures on the national register of historic places in new york citynational register of historic places in queens county new yorklandmarks in queens new yorkentertainment companies based in new yorkhistoric american buildings survey in new yorkhidden categories coordinates on wikidatacommons category with local link same as on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version in other projects wikimedia commons languages fran aissimple english edit links this page was last 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