The basement commissary of a 1920 Paramount Pictures studio where Rudolph Valentino, the Marx Brothers, and Gloria Swanson filmed — the restaurant that occupied it closed permanently in 2019, but the studio complex remains active and draws ghost tours.
35-11 35th Avenue, Astoria, NY 11106
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Ghost tour of Astoria operated by Boroughs of the Dead; see boroughsofthedead.com for current pricing. The restaurant at this address is permanently closed.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Urban street-level location
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1920 · Kaufman Astoria Studios established 1920 by Famous Players-Lasky (Paramount) · Rudolph Valentino filmed Monsieur Beaucaire here, 1924 · Marx Brothers filmed The Cocoanuts (1929) and Animal Crackers (1930) · Restaurant in historic commissary closed permanently May 2019
Kaufman Astoria Studios was established in 1920 by Famous Players-Lasky on 35th Avenue in Astoria, Queens. The facility was built to provide Paramount Pictures with production space convenient to Manhattan's theater district and its pool of stage actors. Early productions included W.C. Fields vehicles and silent films featuring the studio era's major stars.
Rudolph Valentino filmed Monsieur Beaucaire at the studio in 1924, working in the commissary and on the production floors. A photograph from that period, showing Valentino and his co-stars in costume, hung in the restaurant that later occupied the commissary space. The Marx Brothers made their first two talking pictures at the studio — The Cocoanuts (1929) and Animal Crackers (1930). Paramount relocated California operations in 1932 and theatrical film production at the Astoria facility largely ceased by 1938.
The studios were acquired in 1982 by developer George S. Kaufman and renamed Kaufman Astoria Studios. The facility hosted modern productions including Goodfellas, The Wiz, Sesame Street, and Succession.
A restaurant called the Astor Room opened in the historic basement commissary, preserving the 1920s tilework and decorating with period film photographs. It became a Boroughs of the Dead ghost tour stop. In March 2018 the restaurant was renamed George's at Kaufman Astoria Studios in honor of the late George Kaufman. It closed permanently in May 2019.
Sources
The ghost tour narrative associated with the Astor Room centers on Rudolph Valentino, the Italian-born silent film star who filmed at Kaufman Astoria Studios in 1924 during the production of Monsieur Beaucaire. Valentino died on August 23, 1926, at Polyclinic Hospital in Midtown Manhattan, from pleuritis and peritonitis — he was 31 years old.
Boroughs of the Dead's Astoria tour included the Astor Room as a stop, with the narrative that Valentino's spirit lingered in the commissary space where he had eaten during production. Tour guide accounts describe reports of Valentino sightings at the bar and apparitions captured in photographs.
The restaurant closed permanently in May 2019. The ghost tour operation, Boroughs of the Dead, continues to operate in other New York neighborhoods; their Astoria tour schedule should be confirmed directly with the operator. A photograph of Valentino eating at the studio commissary hung in the restaurant and is documented in the 2016 QNS article about the tour.
Note: The restaurant at this address is no longer operating. This entry documents the site's documented dark-tourism history but cannot be visited as a dining experience.
Notable Entities
Boroughs of the Dead operates a walking ghost tour of Astoria that includes the exterior of the Kaufman Astoria Studios site and discusses the Valentino connection. Tours depart from the Museum of the Moving Image. The Astor Room building itself is not interior-accessible on the tour.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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