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Sunnyside Arch
The Sunnyside Arch was built in 1983, south of Queens Boulevard at 46th Street. Covered with many tiny lights and created in the Art Deco[1] style, the Arch's purpose was to "revitalize a sagging commercial strip."[2] However, due to the difficulty of replacing its lights, the Arch was neglected once its lights burned out. Also, it has not been seen to benefit the surrounding area as the commercial strip in question contains mainly discount stores and "Chinese takeout restaurants"[3] and residents have observed "drunks and loiterers"[4] around the Arch.
Residents themselves are divided over the Arch. Mary Scarlos, a Sunnyside resident since 1942, states that she had "hated it from the day they put it up"[5] while Irving Rovin, part owner of Rovin Optics, states that "It's a landmark. People say to meet under the arch. It's pretty. It's nice. It's aesthetic."[6] In 2005, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and City Councilman Eric Gioia announced that they had set aside $450,000 in city funding for renovating the Arch and surrounding streets.[7] On April 21, 2009, Marshall and Gioia celebrated the restoration of the Sunnyside Arch. New trees, benches, lights, and bicycle racks were added, while the Arch was cleaned, painted, and modernized.[8]
Thalia Spanish Theatre
The Thalia Spanish Theatre is Queens' sole bilingual Hispanic theatre. It was established in Sunnyside in 1977 by actress/director Silvia Brito. The theater performs plays from Spain, Latin America, and recently the rest of the Americas; Folklore Shows of music and dance, which require no knowledge of Spanish; and zarzuelas, Spanish musical theater that mixes operatic singing with dialogue. It has become an important way for plays from Spain and Latin America to reach an audience beyond those places and hosts American or world premieres of plays from famous playwrights such as Antonio Gala and Jaime Salom.[9]
In 2001, it began to produce original productions about the Hispanic/Latino experience in the United States.[10]
Butcher Block
Famous for providing Sunnyside's Irish community with Irish sausages and other imports from Ireland as well as non-Irish goods, Butcher Block is an Irish grocery store that has become an enduring part of its neighborhood over the decade it has opened and performed business there. It survived a four-alarm fire in 2003 that swept across Queens Boulevard and destroyed many of the immigrant businesses on the block.[11]
Go to Testimonials.
References
- ↑ "Art Deco-inspired" - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/04/realestate/04livi.html?sq=sunnyside&st=cse&scp=1&pagewanted=print
- ↑ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E2D71F3CF930A35755C0A9679C8B63&scp=9&sq=sunnyside&st=cse
- ↑ "Chinese takeout restaurants" - http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E2D71F3CF930A35755C0A9679C8B63&scp=9&sq=sunnyside&st=cse
- ↑ http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18579661&BRD=2731&PAG=461&dept_id=574903&rfi=6
- ↑ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E2D71F3CF930A35755C0A9679C8B63&scp=9&sq=sunnyside&st=cse
- ↑ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A02E6D91138F930A15752C0A9639C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print
- ↑ http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18579661&BRD=2731&PAG=461&dept_id=574903&rfi=6
- ↑ http://www.qgazette.com/news/2009/0422/features/013.html
- ↑ http://www.thaliatheatre.org/pages/history.cfm
- ↑ http://www.thaliatheatre.org/pages/history.cfm
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/23/nyregion/a-little-united-nations-reduced-to-ashes.html?scp=17&sq=irish%20sunnyside&st=cse&pagewanted=print
This page was created by Amy Lu.