Astoria, Queens is home to the largest American collection of artifacts related to the history of moving images. Founded in 1981 and opened in 1988, The Museum of the Moving Image has set out to preserve the cultural history and spread an understanding of film, television and digital media. It’s also the only museum of its kind in the U.S.

The museum is housed in one of the buildings which had been part of Paramount Pictures’ East Coast studios. Films were produced there dating back to the early silent film days. During World War II the U.S. Army took over the facility to produce training films. Some time after that, the facilities fell into disrepair. In 1977 the Astoria Motion Picture and Television Center Foundation was established in an effort to restore the facilities. By 1978 the facilities were being used for feature film productions.

Throughout the year the museum holds screenings of films ranging from European art house cinema to American slasher films, host discussions with major figures of the film and television communities as well as constantly update exhibitions which have covered subjects like video games and interactive media.

The museum is open every day but Mondays. Visit www.movingimage.us for more information