Photograph of Kaufman Astoria Studios — Photograph by Jim.henderson, Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Paramount Studios Complex

Built in 1921. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. 15 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1891.

From the record

“The Kaufman Astoria Studios, known historically as the Paramount Studios Complex, is a film studio located in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens in New York City. The studio was constructed for Famous Players-Lasky in 1920, since it was close to Manhattan's Theater District.”
Wikipedia article Kaufman Astoria Studios, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 108 National Register listings published here for Queens County · listed in 1978 · category: District · built in 1921, by multiple.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

Address. 35th Ave., 35th, 36th, and 37th Sts., New York, 11106
When was it listed? November 1978
Category. district
Borough. Queens
When was it built? 1921
Architect. multiple
National Register reference number. 78001897 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1891 to 1995

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 104 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Paramount Studios Complex, surveyed 1995

Topographic sheet covering Paramount Studios Complex, surveyed 1891

Fires near this property

2,009 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2,009 fires within 5 miles of Paramount Studios Complex between 1995 and 2020, burning about 538 acres in total. 133 started naturally. 126 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1330
Smoking	141
Natural	133
Arson/incendiarism	126
Equipment and vehicle use	86
Misuse of fire by a minor	77
Debris and open burning	62
Recreation and ceremony	29
Fireworks	9
Power generation/transmission/distribution	8
Railroad operations and maintenance	6
Other causes	2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
9 September 2016	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	N/A
9 September 2015	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	NA
9 September 2015	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	NA
9 September 2014	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
9 September 2005	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
9 September 2005	Smoking	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
9 September 2005	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
8 September 2020	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	NA

Every fire recorded in Queens County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 11 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Paramount Studios Complex: 8 occurrences, 3 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Garnet, Gemstone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
102nd St & 4th Ave Garnet Deposit	Garnet, Gemstone	Occurrence
49th St & 1st Ave Beryl Deposit	Beryllium	Occurrence
64th St & 10th Ave Stilbite Deposit	Zeolites	Occurrence
69th/70th Sts & 2nd Ave Deposit	Iron, Garnet, Titanium	Occurrence
Manhattan Island Occurrence	Molybdenum	Occurrence
National Gypsum/ Bronx Mill	Gypsum-Anhydrite	Past Producer
John S. Lane and Son's Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	1897
Week's Trap Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	1898
2nd St & 4th Ave Siderite Deposit	Iron	Occurrence
55th/56th Sts & 3rd Ave Deposit	Iron	Occurrence

Every working recorded in Queens County

Maps showing this location

15 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the middle of the area the National Park Service maps for this listing, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

1891 USGS Harlem quadrangle1:62500
1897 USGS Harlem quadrangle1:62500 - 4 printings
1898 USGS Harlem quadrangle1:62500
1900 USGS Harlem quadrangle1:62500 - 16 printings
1947 USGS Central Park quadrangle1:24000
1949 USGS New York quadrangle1:250000
1954 USGS New York quadrangle1:250000 - 2 printings
1956 USGS Central Park quadrangle1:24000 - 2 printings
1957 USGS New York quadrangle1:250000
1958 USGS New York quadrangle1:250000 - 3 printings
1960 USGS New York quadrangle1:250000 - 2 printings
1966 USGS Central Park quadrangle1:24000 - 4 printings
1969 USGS New York quadrangle1:250000
1984 USGS Long Island West quadrangle1:100000 - 2 printings
1995 USGS Central Park quadrangle1:24000

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Trinity Lutheran Church	0.6 miles	2008
Sunnyside Gardens Historic District	0.8 miles	1984
Astoria Center of Israel	1.0 miles	2009
Sohmer and Company Piano Factory	1.1 miles	2014
Bohemian Hall and Park	1.2 miles	2001
Long Island City Courthouse Complex	1.2 miles	1983

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 78001897 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Queens County	All 108 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.