(Committee to Save the Trylon Theater)

More than 50 people gathered in front of the c. 1939 Trylon Theater in Queens, N.Y., yesterday to show their support for landmarking the building. They fear that the theater might not look much like the art deco beauty it once was after it is converted into a community center.

The theater closed in 1999, and the Educational Center for Russian Jewry purchased the building three years ago. Renovation of the c. 1939 Trylon Theater began in June 2004 but has taken a turn for the worse in recent months, particularly with the destruction of the entrance pavilion.

"They are modifying the theater completely and renovating it to resemble their culture," says Michael Perlman, founder of the Committee To Save the Trylon Theater, describing the theater's interior as "basically gutted." Perlman says some of the work was performed illegally after a stop work order was issued in April while ownership of the building was verified.

Perlman says his committee doesn't object to the group's use of the theater but wants it to maintain the building's architectural integrity. Many preservationists blame the theater's alteration on local councilwoman Melinda Katz's refusal to grant permission for the structure to be landmarked. (Katz did not return phone calls from Preservation Online.)

While the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission does not technically need her vote, landmarking would eventually have to be approved by the city council. "It's a question of city politics," says John Jurayj, co-chair of the Modern Architecture Working Group.

Designed by Joseph Unger, the theater's inspiration was the 1939 World's Fair, held in Queens. Named after a three-sided 710-foot spire built for the fair, the building featured mosaic tiles, hand-painted cloth murals, and a glass-block projection tower. "This is the last standing structure with cultural, architectural, and historical significance to the 1939 World's Fair," Perlman says.

Despite the extensive renovation work already done, preservationists haven't given up. "We're still hoping for the best," Perlman says.