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Farewell to The Commodore Theater
posted by
Scholes188
on
February 19, 2007 at 5:00 am
BROOKLYN, NY — After suriving the turmoils of the 1970’s; blackout of 1977, loss of hundreds of manufacturing jobs, and White flight, Brooklyn’s Commodore Theater is being demolished.
It was at this theater that I saw one of the scariest movie ever made, “The Exorcist” with Linda Blair. And later grooved to the music of the Bee Gees in “Saturday Night Fever” with John Travolta.
The Williamsburg area is undergoing gentrification and there is no room for a grand dame like the Commodore. It’s out with the old and in with the bland and boring. The last movie I saw there was “Out of Sight” starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez. The movie was playing in cinema 2 and you could hear the rumbling of the J train that is next to the theater.
Unlike the newer modern ‘movie theaters,’ the Commodore had seen better days. For the price of admission though, $6.00, you got a great bargain and helped to keep a neighborhood landmark operating.
So tip your hat to the Commodore for standing grand right up to the bitter end.
For a picture of the Commodore, go to Photo Bucket.
Comments (4)
I am evidently much older than you. I go back to the 50s and 60s at the Commodore. She was already a bit tarnished, but boy did we kids love to go there and eat jujubeans (??) and popcorn. I saw such gems as JOAN OF ARC — two versions, the great one with Ingrid Bergman and the later one with Jean Seberg. I saw the first 3-D presentation of HOUSE OF WAX there, with our two-color glasses, and losts of screams in the house.
Yeah, the yuppies and developers aren’t happy enough that they’ve taken EVERYTHING of interest, joy and happiness/uniqueness out of manhattan, now they’re going to destroy the boroughs. What a horrible pity. And after it’s all over, finally people might realize what they’ve lost — when it’s too late. I hope they enjoy their i-pods and latte (grande, of course) from the ubiquitous starbucks — it’s about all they have. they can’t even imagine what they’re missing.
I am evidently much older than you. I go back to the 50s and 60s at the Commodore. She was already a bit tarnished, but boy did we kids love to go there and eat jujubeans (??) and popcorn. I saw such gems as JOAN OF ARC — two versions, the great one with Ingrid Bergman and the later one with Jean Seberg. I saw the first 3-D presentation of HOUSE OF WAX there, with our two-color glasses, and losts of screams in the house.
Yeah, the yuppies and developers aren’t happy enough that they’ve taken EVERYTHING of interest, joy and happiness/uniqueness out of manhattan, now they’re going to destroy the boroughs. What a horrible pity. And after it’s all over, finally people might realize what they’ve lost — when it’s too late. I hope they enjoy their i-pods and latte (grande, of course) from the ubiquitous starbucks — it’s about all they have. they can’t even imagine what they’re missing.
Yes, those yuppies think that they are living in the greatest era of the human race. Perhaps that is being over dramatic but since this is all they know I guess we have to be a bit understanding.
Manhattan has become a giant amusement park with little character.
Thank God for memories.
The demolition of the Commodore is bittersweet for me. I lived in Williamsburg for five years with my girlfriend whom I married. She wanted to see Ghost in 1990 so badly she suggested we go to The Com for my first and only visit. It was a comfortable and friendly atmosphere to say the least. And I remember its modest admission fee.
Sadly my wife died in 1992, and I moved back to my native Queens. But the movie Ghost and the Commodore have a place in my heart and memory.On a recent trip with my sister in law I drove past the Com, to see its roof destroyed, and a bulldozer parked nearby. Its was a sad sight indeed, and cringed upon seeing it