20th century The studio was originally constructed for
Famous Players–Lasky in 1920 to provide the company with a facility close to the
Broadway theater district. or other Hollywood film companies. All the films starring
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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.
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 short
Robert Benchley comedies released by Paramount between 1940 and 1942. 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, shown on American network television and later in syndication. In 1975, the studio opened again for shooting on
Thieves. In 1982, the property was taken over by real estate developer George S. Kaufman and renamed Kaufman Astoria Studios.
21st century Kaufman Astoria Studios has seven sound stages including the new Stage K, designed by the
Janson Design Group. 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. In February 2013, the studio announced plans to close off one block of 36th Street to make it into a
backlot. Work on the backlot started that July, and the backlot was dedicated on December 3, 2013, becoming the only studio backlot in New York City. In 2014, Kaufman Astoria Studios announced plans to build a new 18,000-square-foot soundstage on its Astoria campus within two years. 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, for shops and restaurants, and for creative industries. Construction was planned to begin in 2023. In 2022, the
New York City Council approved the Innovation QNS project, although local activists had opposed the plans. Construction was delayed in part because of the expiration of the
421-a tax exemption and the
2023 Writers Guild of America strike. Two of the buildings in the Innovation QNS site were sold in early 2025, and the project was canceled that August due to industry and tax-policy uncertainty.
Deutsche Bank, which held a mortgage loan on Kaufman Astoria Studios, sought to foreclose on the property by 2026. == Notable productions ==