Alba Theatre
750 Flushing Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11206
750 Flushing Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11206
4 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 54 comments
Very nice chatting with you Sara……….Now its almost bedtime for me———-Going into the low 30s tonight———Crazy weather here in Florida——-Last week it was 86 degrees and we set a record for high temps————Tonight we will set a record for low temps———and you are right…..We came from a poor neighborhood, and we all knew right from wrong————Today things are much different——-Oh we if only had a Time Machine just for one day, and could go back just to see the old neighborhood as it used to be——Take care——-Joe From Florida——P.S I wish my Garndkids could experience an old time Saturday Matinee at the old neighborhood theaters with the Matrons—-Bon Bons and Rasinets——-Pop Corn?—they never had that!
I REMEMBER MR SKOLSKY HE WAS A NUT…LOL…IT DOES SEEM LIKE YESTERDAY…MY OLDEST BROTHER WHO WOULD OF BEEN 70 THIS YEAR ALWAYS WENT TO THE ROGERS,HE USE TO SPEND ALL DAY THERE ON SATURDAY…OH TO GO BACK TO THOSE DAYS.. WE DIDNT HAVE MUCH BUT WE WERE HAPPY..THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES…SARA
Mr Gannon was the Principal……..boy it seems like yesterday——-Mr Skolsky was the Science Teacher and he kept a hatchet on his desk…….When the kids would act up he would slam the hatchet into the desk———-He might have been sent to the Funny Farm by the time you got to the 8th grade——He was nuts!…….I didn’t go to the Alba that often since I lived on Willougby Ave between Central and Evergreen aves————The Rogers was my favorite as a kid——and the Alba I remember as being pitch black inside——-darker then the Rogers which was dark, but the Alba was much larger inside———-My Family and I moved to Long Island in 1959; but as a kid I went to all the theaters in the Bushwick, Ridgewood, & Williamsburg areas———-Joe From Florida
yes it was big,i remember Mrs Hitner,MR. GANNON MR. LOROCCA AND MR. COLONE OH HE CAME LOOKING FOR ME MANY TIMES HE WAS THE TRUNE OFFICER,I NEVER WENT TO SCHOOL…I BECAME GOOD FRIENDS WITH HIM I INVITED HIM TO MY WEDDING….SARAH
I also went to PS 145——I was born in 1941——I had Mrs Hitner for 8th grade; but the one thing I remember most about PS 145 was the wonderful Auditoreum————It was like a movie theater, and when they showed us kids films the screen was very large——-In fact I think that Auditoreum was twice the size of the old Rogers on Brodway under the El……Joe From Florida
i lived on bushwick ave near flushing ave i remember on my
way to and from school i use to stand by the window of
kirschs soda plant and watch the bottles as they were
filling up,every once in a while someone would come out and
bring me and my friends a bottle of soda,those were the days
and they were the best ,i went to ps24 and then to jhs145
Edward G. Robinson’s brother had a Dentist
Office next door from the albe theater i did use him a few times,that was back in the earley 60s,i do remember bushwick ave and flushing ave i was born there 1945 we were eight children,my oldest brother vincent use to shine shoes on flushing ave and broadway,right by the train station,i worked in woolworths in the 60s behind the cafe, from there i went to work in mets supermarket on flushing ave and garden st,on garden st there was a chicken market and my mom use to send me there to get fresh killed ckickens the man that owned it was angelo,there was a pool hall on flushing ave ,when i got married i lived on flushing ave right upstairs from linden store front and a barber shop,the albe theather use to have colering contest wich one of my sisters won it was a bike,Manhattan ave was the place to buy material,my mom always bought all her sewing needs there ,there was Bickford’s New Light Cafeteria ,white towers,i remember all of it,one of my fathers friend use to have a push cart on the corner of flushing and broadway and sell fruit,those were the good old days.
Was the Alba still showing movies when it was torn down, or was it already abandoned when Woodhull bought the property?
Hi Bill: Thanks for adding the info on the Rogers, my favorite place to watch westerns with my fellow childhood friends back in the late 1940s and early 1950s…..Joe From Florida—-P.S. I wish somebody could come up with a photo of the old Rogers, or any other of the old Movie Houses in the old neighborhood
Just to add to this board the Rogers Theatre which was about 2 blocks up from the Alba on Broadway was owned and operated by Jack and his wife. Jack also owned the Lindy on Graham Ave.& McKibbon St. Bill Erbis
Hi my name is Bill Erbis.. I lived about 3 blocks away from Alba.. Besides Bickford’s cafeteria across the street on Flushing & Broadway the other resturant was the New Light Cafeteria as I remember.
I think it was menioned that the Williamsburg had a few names over the years….I don;t remember the Aster, and I worked on Kent Ave from 1959 to 1960….and many times I would go to Bickfords for lunch, which was right there——Yet i do not recall it—-Joe From Florida—-sasheegm
That may have been the Williamsburg, which has its own listing.
Sunset Carson,Wow.I would have felt I went to heaven if I had ever met the likes of him or any of those Cowboy Hero’s.I loved them all.
I was a Geene Autry fan but came to respect and admire Roy Rogers.
A real wonderful person just as Autry was.Straight-Shooters.
You know I just did a search of a movie house that I couldn’t find on here. It was called the Playhouse and it was on Broadway near the Bridge Plaza.The next block up from the Marcy Theater.I saw Disney's
Pinocchio there.My Dad was taking my Momand I to the Marcy and I
believe that Bogart was playing there.They admission was .25 cents.
and Dad got upset because they wanted to charge me for going in.
I had to be around 5 years old.We walked across the street to the
Playhouse Theater and seeing Pinocchio was great for me.Wonder if
anyone remembers the movie house I’m stating?
Hi JoeS & cjdv: The RKO Albee was in downtown Brooklyn on Dekalb Ave & Fulton Street……..The Albee would receive its films on 2nd run from the RKO-Palace on Broadway in Manhattan most of the time; but in the 50s, when RKO was staring to go belly-up, it started showing many other companies films…..One wild Double feature I saw there around 1955/56(not sure about the year) were two Italian Imports with subtitles——“The Iron Crown”-1941 with Gino Cervi & “La Lupa”-1950 i believe with Kerima & May Britt——-It was advertised as “Adults Only” 18 and over because of subject matter & some partial nudity……I was only 14 or 15 at the time, but i grew a foot when i was 12 to 13,(went from the front of the line to the rear in one year—lol) so I could pass for an 18 year old easily as I was 6 ft tall…….Don’t know about Edw.G’s Brother, but Roy Rogers also made another all star cast western called Trail of Robin Hood-1950——I had both titles on 16mm years ago——-but the one most people remember most fondly was “The Bells of Rosarita”…….I knew Sunset Carson pretty well in his latter days—-We met at a Convention in 1980 in Charlotte, N.C. and stayed in touch from that time until his death in 1990…..I was 6ft tall, and Sunset made me look like a Dwarf——lol——he was 6 ft 6 inches—-add his jeweled cowboy boots with those 3 inch heels, and he towered over everyone——-Joe From Florida
In the Weekly Chat, October 11th, 1929, there is an ad for the “Fox Alba”—
Excerpts from the ad:
“Celebrating Fox Jubilee"
"Now Open!"
"New Palace of Amusement in Williamsburgh Added to the vast Fox chain of Theatres"
"Presenting the pick of talking pictures"
"Equipped with Famous Western Electric Sound Apparatus”.
Showing Oct. 14th-15th is “The Green Murder Case” with William Powell
(“All Talking”)
“Continious performance 1 to 11pm”.
Joe S.
The film you could be thinking of is the Bells of Rosarita starring Roy Rodgers with cameo appearances by all the Republic Studios cowboy stars minus John Wayne. One of my favorite “B” westerns.
I was always under the impresion that the Alba Theater was the
RKO Alba.I could be wrong on this but it’s what I always thought
of it as being.It’s possible it wasn’t because I don’t know of
Charles Sandblom building an RKO Theater.
I was also told that Edward G. Robinson’s brother had a Dentist
Office next door.Also don’t know if that is true or not.His last
name was Goldenberg.
I found an address online of a Physician at the address in 1873.
1873 BROOKLYN CITY BUSINESS DIRECTORY
Kappot J.C..Physician 750 Flushing Ave.
I also have a photo taken at that address in 1883 of children
dressed in what appears to be Halloween costumes.
Photographs of children in two different sets of costumes in a single backyard in Brooklyn, New York. Writing below picture says:“George, Adolf, Julia”. Writing on back side of photo says: “Backyard – 750 Flushing Ave. Brooklyn, N.Y. circa 1883
The photo was on ebay.
I remember being taken to the Alba as a child and seeing a movie
with all the famous cowboys of that era in it.I don’t know the
name of the movie and it was a cameo type of film.This was in the
forties.
Thanks BWAY: I’ll be dreaming of those stations which I passed so many times…….Incidently a few years back, A&E ran a special on the NY Subway system, and one of the old wooden gate cars was shown——-what a rattle-trap those where……..The platforms were much thinner at Central & the rest of those stops at the metropolitan line………I believe they were narrowed to accomodate the wider Chambers St trains, as I remember to get into the narrow wooden cars, there was about one foot of space between the platform and the old cars——-Conductors would scream out—“WATCH YOUR STEP”——then when everyone was aboard, even with passengers riding on the outside platforms with the cars full, the Conductor in the last two cars would pull his cord and a bell would signal the next conductor, until it reached the engineer——-I can imagine the foul-ups with that system…..when the bigger & wider Chambers trains arrived, it was a perfect fit…..no space between Platform & train……Also at the end of line at Metropolitan Ave, there used to be the Old Farmers Oval Baseball Stadium where the three-i league of minor league baseball teams would play…..The Glendale Tigers were a farm club for the Brooklyn Dodgers——the St.Josephs was a farm team for the NY Giants(and Farmers Oval was their home field)…….They were there since the late 1800s playing ball…..and one of the most famous Free-Lance teams would also play their games there—-The House of David——-I will have many pleasant dreams tonight….Thanks BWAY—think I’ll call it a night Ciao, Joe From Florida—-sasheegm—-P.S. have other theaters to comment on and list from Brevard County, here in Florida—-and possibly more in Manhattan around the lower East Side(my old stomping grounds)—-cannot recall the names, but it will come back to me!
Hi Joe, I have been enjoying a lot of your memories at many of the Brooklyn Theaters.
I don’t know, but if a theater existed before 1888, obviously if couldn’t have been a movie theaterm when built…..
Anyway, as for the Bway or Myrtle els, here are two links you may find interesting….for more memories for yourself….it gives a station by station account of the Jamaica and Myrtle lines and current and old photos:
http://www.nycsubway.org/bmt/jamaica/
http://www.nycsubway.org/bmt/myrtle/
Hi BWAY: First; Being a newbie here, I’d like to thank you and the other members for your excellent posts at this website——Usually I only post occasionally at the Classic Cinema sites helping folks find copies of their old-time movie favorites……….Is it possible that this small theater was built prior to 1888?…….I recall that it had an ornate curved marque overhang, which went to the curb, with only maybe 2 feet clearance for the El…..Very small compared to other marques(sorry if I miss-spelled)…..and you had to step up to go inside the theater, with the box office window facing outside under the marque….as a kid, I would have to reach up to pay my 10 cents or 11 cents the cost of admission———-On another note, I remember the Loews Broadway at the corner of Stocton closing down in the mid-50s for renovation———It had a sign outside asking patrons to go to the Gates further up on Broadway…..when it re-opened, they had all new seats & bathrooms—-very plush for a neighborhood theater, and much more modern then the Lowes Gates……Interesting about the Broadway El…..My station was one up from the Myrtle Ave stop, at Central Ave & Wilson——-On those tracks ran the BMT’s Chamber St/Metropolitan line, along with the older wooden gate cars, that were elctric-ized——-they had one sliding door on each end, and then the platform with a Conductor to open the gates to let passengers out———When those old cars ran at rush hour from Metropolitan to Jay St & Fulton, they huffed & puffed to make it up the incline above the Broadway Jamaica stop ay Myrtle——there you could change trains……Heck, for a nickel, you could travel all over the city by transferring from one train to a trolley——and the Broadway & Chambers trains went over the Williamsburg Bridge along with the Trolley that ended its run at Essex St………What a dark and dingy station that was and big since you had both subway trains & the trolleys stopping there——Sorry to get off subject, but memories come back——The Classic film “Naked City”-1948, had some nice shots of the Bridge, the FDR Hwy & its Tennis Courts and the old steel subway cars…..I worked at Domino Sugar from 1959 until 1960….and the memories abound——driving in from Roosevelt, LI was no fun at 5am….many times i would take the LIRR and then switch to the Jamiaca line when my 53 Mercury was laid up——-Thanks for the info BWAY…Too bad we cannot find out when the old Rogers was built———Joe From Floria—-sasheegm—–
Well, While the Broadway El was rebuilt to heavier standards (for steal subway trains)and to fit three tracks instead of two in 1914, the original Broadway El was built in 1888, so an el has been above Broadway quite a while….
I remember a cafeteria there……After we moved to LI in 1959, I would take my Mother to Manhattan Ave to buy material, since she was a custom dressmaker( they had everything there )…and I would walk over to Broadway to see what was left—this is in the 60s….and the Rogers, at the time was closed with a torn poster from a Durango Kid western in its very small lobby………I remember the raised platform in the Alba and wondered how many people fell since you could not see your hand in front of you…..Both the Rogers & Alba were very old in the 50s, so i could only guess as to when they were built——especially the Rogers since the sound-proofing was non-existant, and when the El went by or stopped, you could hear it inside……Plus they had wooden floors & chairs……The concession at the Roers included an old guy selling Ice Cream bars out of a lift freezer & a nickel candy machine…….and why would anyone build a theater right under the El??…..So I would not be suprised if the Rogers was built before the El was——-Oh yes, and both Theaters had pianos just collecting dust in front of their stages……Joe From Florida——sasheegm
Yes Joe, I suspect that there was a cafeteria on the corner of Flushing and B'way, across the street from Woolworths. Around the corner on B'way was the Hoi Sang Chinese Restaurant, a great place to stop after the movies.
Astyanax: Your correct……It was not a corner Theater……and probably the darkest theater inside that I ever went to……..In the 1950s, it seemed very old……………I remember seeing “The Old Dark House” with Boris Karloff there…..and the setting in that theater was perfect, as you could not see anything around you but the screen…..Joe From Florida—-sasheegm
The building with the eagle on top is actually on B'way at the corner of Sumner Ave. It was formerly an ornate and lovely Manuyfacturers Hanover Bank and should itself be considered for preservation. At last sighting it had become a Big Daddy’s retail store. The Alba was one block west, fronting on Flushing Ave.