Canarsie Theater
9310 Avenue L,
Brooklyn,
NY
11236
9310 Avenue L,
Brooklyn,
NY
11236
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Showing 26 - 50 of 51 comments
Fourteen Cents! That is what it cost me at a matinee on the day of the Big Blizzard in December of 1947! Had to walk back to the Projects at the bottom of Remsen Avenue. The snow was two feet already (drifts). I was 9 years old. We used to see a few cartoons, a 15 minute serial of which Dick Tracy was my favorite (had to come back the following week to see how Dick Tracy managed to save Tess from a “sure death”)!
and a double feature! All out of a quarter allowance, I was able to buy two candy bars (Bonanza Taffy and Good and Plenty).
Moved out to Hicksville (with six brothers, Mom and Dad) in 1950, but I made several trips back when I was 10 and 11 to hopefully see one of my old girlfriends; Jannet Rockerfeller, Chloe Hennessy, Josephine Engrasier or Beatrice Folley. I’m surprised I remembered their names after 55 years. Canarsie had a real impac on me, for sure. The Pier, “Bare Ass Creek” (Padegett Basin), P.S. 115! The Stables, and what was left of Golden Park, which Mom and Dad used to visit in the 30’s.
Last time in Canarsie was the June of ‘85. I took a picture of the Canarsie Theater Marque: 1. “A View To Kill”, 2. “Rambo”, and 3. “Perfect”. There are five guys hanging out on the corner in front of the candy store.
Feel free to contact me for more info, anytime:
I live in Clearwater, Florida now, which seems to be populated with half of Brooklyn. Well, the guys I know, anyway.
I really enjoyed this site and will come back often. Thanks
RonTownson
According to the June 30, 2005 Canarsie Courier article posted below (http://www.canarsiecourier.com/news/2005/0630/TopStories/016.html), the Canarsie Theater and the other properties within the bulding which houses it may become the new home of the Word Aflame Community Church…
Plans Set To Convert Canarsie Theater Into A Church
By Charles Rogers
If negotiations taking place within the next few weeks go as planned, the Canarsie Theater, with an exterior that has been in a rotting state for more than a year and a half â€" will be turned into a church by next spring.
Rev. Rudolph Mitchell, spiritual leader of the Word Aflame Community Church, at 9530 Avenue L, who recently met with contractors and principles, told the Canarsie Courier that a purchase â€" “in the $1 million range†â€" is currently in the works.
“We looked at renditions and blueprints for the building, including the group of stores that had been associated, and showed some of them to our congregation at last Sunday’s services,†said Rev. Mitchell, “and they were not only very receptive, but they were blown away!
“During our meetings with the other principles, many other facets of what the building would house came up,†he said. “For instance, the store that was on the corner of East 93rd Street will be utilized as a Community Resource Center, where there would be social services provided, including administration of after school programs, youth activities and perhaps a day camp facility.â€
The first phase of the construction, which would be completed by March, 2006, will include complete renovation of the front and side of the building. Within that phase, offices, a community day care and learning center and a sanctuary to seat 800 people will be constructed. A book store and community resource center will be completed by November, 2006. Other amenities will eventually be added, such as a banquet hall and conference rooms.
Rev. Mitchell said his wife, Dion, an assistant principal at Bushwick High School, is handling all the aspects of the learning center, including setting up the curriculum.
He said the Word Aflame Church is an Apostolic church and that the physical property of the church itself would be “medium-sized.â€
“We have the support of a bank that has given us tentative loan approval pending a few minor negotiations and we are asking our parishioners and others to offer their support,†he added. “We are extremely excited about the project.â€
While not an official landmark, the Canarsie Theater was once the center of community social life here. In recent years, however, it fell victim to a poor economy and falling patronage. The last feature movie, as emblazoned on its decaying marquee, was a remake of “Cheaper By The Dozen,†starring Steve Martin, which played there in December, 2003.
I spent my childhood going to the Saturday Kiddee Matinees at the Canarsie Theater almost every week from the mid fifties through mid sixties. The admission was 50 cents. I do recall the matrons patrolling the theater with their flashlights. We used to buy a roll of Necco candies for a nickel at the concession stand and stick them under the seats by licking them to make them sticky. I even recall seeing the Beatles first movie, A Hard Days Night, at the Canarsie. The girls were all screaming so loudly that nobody could hear the movie.
The on-site construction crew I think, Bway, was/is responsible for most of the rubble…
Wow, thanks so much. I really enjoyed the canarsie Courier photo. How could the theater have deteriorated with all that rubble so quickly if it just recently closed last year!
Also, wonder what happened to those plans to convert the space into a banquet hall – and what might become of (or is becoming of) that space…
Thanks for posting the links to those photos, lostmemory. The lobby, at least, of the Canarsie, looked to be somewhat impressive, even amid all that rubble and dirt; guess the auditoriums and other parts of the theatre, based on the descriptions in some of the above posts, were something less than attractive. Too bad this theatre didn’t get more TLC over the years – and too bad as well what’s currently being done to it.
In Jan 1957, I had a Rock N'Roll Group called The Kents…we travelled with a band called the Vandels——We appeared in a R&R show there( a one nighter ) with a few of the groups from the area including The Elegants, The Fascinators etc…..The Elegants followed us, and since we had to leave by the front of the Theater, we were almost torn apart by the girls in the audience…….It was a wild time, and as I remember, a dark theater…..Joe From Florida—-sasheegm—-P>S> We were also appearing at the China Lantern Nightclub at the same time in Canarsie
I passed by tonight and the marquee is still up and still listed the same movies as mentioned above.
It’s a shame one of the last neighborhood houses could not have been kept up and survived. Does anyone know who operated it?
I started going to the Canarsie Theater in the early 1960’s. There were elderly ladies called “Matrons” who carried flashlights and tried to keep the kids in order. It was a fairly large theater with a very wide screen and a deep bass sound system, which was impressive, considering that Canarsie was a small town in Brooklyn back then. It was the entertainment center of the neighborhood and everyone went, realizing there were no VCR’s or cable TV at the time.
Back in the early 90’s me and my friends from our local chapter of B'nai Brith Youth Organization over at Temple Emmanuel (where are ya Rabbi Bloch?) would all get together and see movies at The Canarsie Triplex..I rememember it being a huge auditorium divided into 3 sections…one for each theatre.
The mens bathroom always hada flood at the urinals and a constant stream of putrid dis-colored vileness flowing towards the doorway.The sinks drain was stuffed with popcorn or jollyranchers, so would ultimately overflow and mix in with the urinal mess.
Now I never got mugged or felt threatened there, but it was just horrifically unsanitary.
But I never have to worry about going there again (if it was still open) since my friends from B'nai Brith all moved out to the island and we now frequent the Roosevelt Raceway theatre.
A partial, pre-renovation image of the Canarsie Theater, accompanied by an article about the unfortunate safety hazard its presumably since-removed marquee was beginning to pose, can be found by clicking on the following link: View link
As of yesterday, It was being gutted for it’s new life as a catering/wedding hall.
I have been here, and it had that dark, old-fashioned movie house smell, and not the good kind. More like a classic itch. I went by again on Saturday night, 11:00pm, 6/5/04. The marquee was lighted, but the place was closed. On the Marquee was “Lord of the Rings” “Cheaper by the Dozen” “Baby Daddy” and “Torque.” And a sign that matinees were $3.50, evenings $5.50. Anyone know why it closed or what the plans are? I guess they left the lights on by accident!
Sheepshead Bay is no bargain by any means for multiple reasons. Brooklyn can support more theatres that are clean and well kept.
The Canarsie was an Interboro Theatre.
Sheepshead Bay now has a multiplex… this theater was dark, dingy and the neighborhood was changing….my neice and nephew used to go to the Canarsie since they lived nearby..
This is one of those theaters that lasted way beyond its use because there were no other competing theaters nearby. The Seaview, Loews Georgetown, the Brook were the closest — and all have been gone for years. Now residents in this area will have to travel to Kings Plaza or the Linden Blvd. Multiplex.
yeah it was. dark, forboding, sometimes dangerous.
Wow was it that bad?
I am suprised this dump lasted as long as it did.
I remember a projectionist Lester Prager telling me when it was a single screen it had an awesome CinemaScope screen with a very deep curve.
i think it just close down, i seen no showtimes in the ny papers
The Canarsie theatre is still open, is it the same one?