RKO Bushwick Theatre
1396 Broadway,
Brooklyn,
NY
11221
1396 Broadway,
Brooklyn,
NY
11221
13 people
favorited this theater
Showing 376 - 400 of 418 comments
Thanks, Bway. I have read that Mae West was originally from Greenpoint, Brooklyn, lived in the Brooklyn Manor section of Richmond Hill, and used the Rockaway Line LIRR station of that name to get into Manhattan quickly. Also that she liked to eat at the Triangle Hofbrau in Richmond Hill.
“It’s not the men in my life, it’s the life in my men !”
“Hey, big boy, are ya glad ta see me, or is that just a pickle in your pocket ?”
My goodness, you guys are making me want to go back in time and really visit Broadway! The hamburgers sound so good.
Anyway, a little of trivia speaking of the RKO Bushwick and Mae West. Mae West is buried in the mausoleum in Cypress Hills Cemetery – Just down the J train from the RKO Bushwick….
“You can almost taste the hot dogs and french fries they sell … under the boardwalk …” (The Drifters)
Or, in this case, under the el …
Thanks again, Rose. My dad (born 1919)remembers the likes of Mae West and George Burns, and other live vaudeville, at the RKO Bushwick.
Apollo, I can taste the french fries now and the root beer. That place, across from the Bushwick had the best fries and hamburgers. I saw the Dave Clark Five when their movie Catch Us If You Can opened. it must have been 1964 or 65. I went with my aunt to see all the Jerry Lewis movies and of course the Ten Commandments.
The Bushwick sat vacant for years. It was also used for R&B concerts starring Jackie Wilson, George Clinton and Parliment and Joe Tex. Vandals and druggies killed it’s interior. It fell victim to fire and neglect. I passed this beauty weekly and hoped it would be resuced. I hoped a grant from some foundation would save it. Finally I discovered it was purchased. yes it’s a school. I wonder if the kids realize what really happened on this site. For years the ad promoting vaudeville was visible on the side of the building. In the high school directory it mentions that Mae West played here, maybe even George Burns. What history.
Rose
Apollo, thanks for posting all your great memories. Jackie Gleason was partly inspired by amateur nights at the Halsey Theater, 928 Halsey Street, between Saratoga Avenue and Broadway. I think he performed there on amateur nights also. I think the address on his mother’s death certificate was 357 Chauncey Street.
Bway, the Cinema Tour listing you sent me last April gives the address of the Monroe Theater as 4 Howard Avenue. It should be a simple matter to check what block that address is on.
Thanks Apollo of all the great comments about the area theaters. I believe the church that originally set up in the RKO Bushwick is the same organization that eventually moved into the Loews Gates when that theater became available. I forgot the reason, but think it was because the Loew’s Gates was either bigger, or because the Gates was in better shape at the time. A shame they didn’t stay in the RKO, as it was such an ornate theater, and it would still be preserved today. However, it may have been a sacrifice for the Gates, because that may be the theater that is gutted and a school now. Either way, I am happy that the Bushwick’s building still stands, even if the interior is gutted.
As for the Monroe, is the building I speculated to be the Monroe’s building (in the Monroe theatre section of this site) the Monroe theater?
I narrowed it down to the white building to the right of RKO Bushwick (with the tree up against it), next to the vacant lot with the cars in this photo I took from the Gates Ave el station back in 2003.
Here is the link to the photo I took of the Bushwick, with what I think is the monroe to the right of it, across the street.
I grew up going to the RKO Bushwick, Loews Gates and the Monroe. The RKO was exceptional with a huge spiral Marble stair case, dual Balconies and red velvet seats. I remember Jerry Lewis and the Three Stooges coming in person to open films at the Bushwick Theatre. The Monroe Theatre is closed, but the building is still there. I distinctly remember seeing the village of the damned at the Monroe. It was a spartan theatre. The cafeteria on the corner is now a junk yard.
There was an attempt to use the RKO as a church but it failed very quickly. I dont know the date the RKO closed, I was away at college. I was told buy Joseph Brooks of the New York Landmarks commission that Cary Grant was on a Vaudeville circuit that included the RKO, so there is a good chance he performed there asa juggler. I imagine Jackie Gleason probably performed there, he would dropp in on his old neighborhood from time to time. There was a pool hall a few blocks from there were he would occasionally play pool. He had some friends who became Policemen whom he would visit (81st precinct). I believe once he brought Frank Sinatra.
I found a 1937 program on line for the RKO Bushwick. The weekly door prize was $3,000.00 and Guy Lombardo was the main act.
The thing I remember the most about the Bushwick was Sloppy Joe’s across the street ,next to the toy store. It was great, you got a Root Beer, Hamburger and fries for forty cents. And on the way home we would stop at Cheap Charlies and buy nickel and penny toys.
Does that building that may have been the “Monroe Theater” still exist? I can’t remember if I ever had seen that building, and it looks too tall for me to have missed it.
Robert, (or anyone), if you know anything at all about the Monroe Theater if it’s not listed here, it’s easy to add a listing to this site, just click “add theater”. All you really need is the address and name, but of course it’s nice if you know a little about it to put in the description, but not mandatory, people can just add stuff as we go along.
“I am not sure, but that might be the Monroe Theater, at 4 Howard Avenue, near the RKO Bushwick”
There is not a posting yet for the Monroe, I met the last owner of the theatre once. When he had it they were running porno.
Yup, the theater has really shaped up.
Images #3, 4, and 5 above are mine. I took them in the middle of July. The building has really shaped up quite nicely.
Small History:
3.Bushwick (sc.2,236)
1396 Broadway
opening date: September 11, 1911 by Percy Williams
B.F. Keiths Bushwick 1912-1930
R.K.O. Bushwick 1930-1969 (closed converted to church)
Vacant since 1973,interior demolished 2000 for school
Pictures of the complete facade restoration I have found:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Parts of the film “The Believers” with Martin Sheen and Robert Loggia were shot in the Bushwick.
I am not sure, but that might be the Monroe Theater, at 4 Howard Avenue, near the RKO Bushwick, in the upper right quadrant of image 2637, above the platform canopy, the near end of the silver train, and the person on the platform. I mean the long building with the peaked roof, two rows of windows, and a water tower at each end.
http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?2637
The RKO Bushwick itself is above the far (front) end of the departing silver train in this image.
The roofline of the Colonial Theater at 1746 Broadway, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY is also visible in these images near the vanishing point :
http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?26237
http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?26236
http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?26417
In image 26237 the roofline of the Colonial is visible between the top of the front of the train and the “square head and shoulders” apt. bldgs in the distance. It appears below these two apt. bldgs. in the other two images.
Thank you, Warren. Do you know of an outdoor theater nearby, consisting of a vacant lot or block, screen (perhaps a wall of the Colonial ?)and projectionist’s booth, that operated in the 1920’s and 1930’s ? My father, born 1919, grew up in the neighborhood, and remembers this.
The Decatur was an even smaller theater that once stood not far away at 1674 Broadway, near Decatur Street. I think it has since been demolished.
In Image 25755 it is just above the elevated J train, and in Image 2637 it is just above the far end of the silver QJ train.
The roofline of the Colonial Theater at 1746 Broadway, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY is visible in both of these images near the vanishing point. The Colonial once stood at Broadway and Rockaway Avenue, two el stations into the distance in the above two images. The building was still there as of April 30, 2004 when I last observed it. I do not know what it is now used for. A rectangular frieze surmounted by two stone lanterns remains atop the brick facade, visible above the
Rockaway Avenue end and exit of the Chauncey Street el station, and was probably once the entrance.
More images of the RKO Bushwick :
http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?25755
http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?2637
Here’s a more current photo of the RKO Bushwick Theater that I had taken last July from the rear of a J train at the Gates Ave station.
View link
I had just seen the interior of the Bushwick Theater in “The Believers”. It must have been filmed there in the mid to late 80’s. I recommend the movie to anyone who wants to see the interior, till some other photos are available. The theater appeared very intact in the late 80’s according to what it looked like in the movie, although of course in compelete shambles. In the movie some cult had preformed human sacrafices on the stage. It really is a good movie.
Wouldn’t it have been nice and ironic had they restored the theater to movies, and the first movie to be shown there was “The Believers”. Oh well, at least it is still standing, even if for a high school.
While it’s sad that the old Bushwick theater could not be preserved as a theater, and the interior was too far gone to have any relic remain, much thanks to “getz” and the city for at least preserving the exterior and the theater is not lost completely like so many others.
That would have been a disastor cutting up the Kings, I remember him saying he was also going to open a theatre in Jamaica which never haoppened until Redstone came in 2 years ago.
I think the Gates is still available and in alot better condition.
Can I ask you, what made you buy the building in the first place. Did you get for a steal?
I am sure you could have gotten Magic Johnson theaters to look at it and open a theater and renovate. He opens theaters in Black Neighborhoods like Harlem and South Central LA. But I guess it is too late for that.
I am leasing to the city. I do not have pictures of the interior prior to construction, as the interior was too dark to shoot. The ceiling did have a spectacular plaster winged angel that was too delicate to save. The rest was a soggy ruin. A photographer named Larry Racioppo may have interior shots. He can be contacted via the Brooklyn Public Library’s website, which describes a photography exhibit of his work last fall that included this building, among others. There ws unfortunately nothing of the old interior that could be incorporated into the school.
Getz,
You owned the building? Is the city renting from you? One of the men from the Mason hall gave me the info I posted, that the school opened this semester. Is the city renting the building from you or were you a victim of eminent domain?
Do you have pictures of the old interior that could be sent via e-mail. All of us on here would love to see them. Is there anything left of the interior incorporated into the school?
Adam
Adam