Prior to becoming a church site, the current St. Sebastian Roman Catholic Church was the former location of
Loew's Woodside Theatre, a movie theatre that opened on September 27, 1926, and designed by
Herbert J. Krapp. It had the capacity to seat 2,000 people. On its opening night, it once screened a pre-release version of
Buster Keaton's comedy film, the
Battling Butler. Later in 1955, it was sold to the St. Sebastian Roman Catholic parish in order to found a chapel which was transformed into a church building. The construction of the church began with the demolition of the entrance and lobby of the theatre, where a
Romanesque bell tower was erected. The theatre's original auditorium decor was kept and restored, along with "the domed ceiling, 40 columns along the side walls that were returned to their original marble with gold leaf capitals". Formally founded as a parish in 1894, St. Sebastian Roman Catholic parish was originally intended to provide religious services to
German factory workers and immigrants of Queens County. Afterwards, it became the religious center of immigrants from Ireland. As of 2014,
Sunday Mass attendees include those of
Hispanic (45%),
Irish (25%),
Filipino (25%), and
Korean (5%) descent; which in total averages 4,000 people. Masses are celebrated primarily in English, but also in Spanish, and occasionally in
Tagalog and
Korean as well. The New York City Organ Project has documented the musical
organs used or formerly used by the St. Sebastian Catholic Church, namely the III/Rodgers Instruments electronic organ, the II/Midmer-Losh Organ Company organ in 1930, and the I/6 Geo. Jardine & Son organ in 1878 for the church proper, and the II/Rodgers Instruments organ for its chapel. The parish complex includes a
convent, a
rectory, a parish center (with a fitness center). In 1926, the
parish school, St. Sebastian School, was founded. It transitioned to St. Sebastian Catholic Academy in 2015. The rectory is located at 39-63 57th Street. ==References==