Kaufman Astoria Studios

The studio was originally constructed for Famous Players–Lasky in 1920 to provide the company with a facility close to the Broadway theater district.[3] Many features and short subjects were filmed there between 1920 and 1933. 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 first two films featuring the Marx Brothers, The Cocoanuts (1929) and Animal Crackers (1930), were shot at the Astoria Studio. It was also known as the Paramount Studio.

In 1932, after Paramount Pictures moved all studio operations to California, the Astoria location was turned over to independent producers, including Walter Wanger, whose films were released through Paramount[4] or other Hollywood film companies. All the films starring tango icon Carlos 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 autobiography Swanson on Swanson. In 1938, ...One Third of a Nation... was the last feature film to be shot there during that era.[3]

In 1942, the United States Army Signal Corps Army Pictorial Service took over the studio for the making of Army training films until 1971, including The Big Picture that was shown on American television as a network television series.

In 1975, the studio opened again for shooting on Thieves.[3]

In 1978, the property was designated a national historic district and added to the National 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 which Kenneth 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]

The former 36th Street, gated as a back lot since 2014

Kaufman Astoria Studios has seven sound stages including the new Stage K, designed by the Janson Design Group.[7]

In 2008, Martin P. Robinson, who plays Mr. Snuffleupagus, Telly Monster, and Slimey 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.[8]

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 announced plans to build a new 18,000-square-foot sound stage on its Astoria campus within two years.[9]

In 2020, Kaufman Astoria Studios announced a five-block redevelopment project around the studio, in conjunction with Larry 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 could begin in 2023.[12]

The walls of the studio are lined with signed images of the performers who have worked in the studios, including Milton 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, and Jerry Orbach.