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Bayside gets its closeup

Bayside gets its closeup
Courtesy Bayside Historical Society
By Steve Barnes

Back in the earliest days of the movies Queens was one of the capitals of filmmaking, and Bayside was a place where many of the industry’s biggest stars could regularly be seen. The story of that commmunity of celebrities will be told in an exhibit opening Thursday at the Bayside Historical Society. “Bayside: The Actors’ Enclave” includes photographs, newspapers and many other artifacts that document a glamorous side of life in the neighborhood in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

From silent-film star Pearl White, who would drive down Bell Boulevard with her pet pig, to Oscar-winning actress Marie Dressler and W.C. Fields, the cast of characters who populate the exhibit could fill a DeMille spectacular—with the proverbial cast of thousands to spare.

With the nearby Vitagraph Studios going full steam,“there were rumors that a studio would be built in Bayside,” says Eileen Cotoggio of the Bayside Historical Society, which led many actors to the neighborhood. “They loved to come here,” she adds, noting that the pages of the Bayside Bugle, a newspaper of the time, were often devoted to recording their activities.

Visitors to “Bayside: The Actors’ Enclave” will be able to see more than memorabilia about the stars. The BHS is in the process of putting together a map showing the homes and hangouts of such notables as Gloria Swanson and Theda Bara, giving a rare glimpse of both movie history and the past of Bayside itself.

The Bayside Historical Society is open from Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call (718) 352-1548 or go to baysidehistorical.org