BAM Harvey Theater
651 Fulton Street,
Brooklyn,
NY
11217
651 Fulton Street,
Brooklyn,
NY
11217
8 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 41 of 41 comments
In 70 and 71 I spent some enjoyable Saturday afternoons watching triple features, mainly grindhouse horror movies. This section of Fulton street was already in severe decay. The Majestic at this point had the seedy, creepy atmosphere perfect for this kind of movie. Thanks to Lost Memory for the picture.
i actually lived ON Ashland Pl (the backside of Majestic as an adult. (1970’s) But..I remember as a kid going to this affordable/safe cinema..box of crackerjacks and hot dog..The Black Whip and Flash Gordon.. sat matinee man what more could a KID want..50’s..( lived on state. st. so this was a safe reachable haven for a kid on sat..(In the ‘70’s had a music group that rented a loft space on Ashland Pl that became my residence by default when the band broke up.. i remember making exploration to my old childhood haunt..got to go all way to the water tower on the roof .. found a trunk in a room on second fl landing backstage.. definetly left over from Vaudv"stage days.. costume. stuff but too moldy and destroyed over the years of abandonment..like the theatre..yes its basement was flooded and rancdid but the balconies were still cool to visit..found some old light scones..and visited the old offices over the marquee..not much to save unfortunately vandals had p[cked the old girl over wouldn’t be long before she would be torched &/ or demolished..glad they saved her..albeit the “trashed retro look”..
Photo above may be Momart.
This view shows Majestic, Strand and Orpheum in 1925 and right foreground may be Fox under construction.
http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?52096
Here is a photo showing a theater at Fulton St and Rockwell Place in 1940.I believe it is situated diagonally across from the Majestic . Can any one put a name to it?
http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?52097
It was not deliberately trashed. I saw a special either on Discovery or some other channel recently that showed the acquisition of this theatre. The special was mainly focused on BAM and then their acquisition of this gem, formerly the Majestic. They basically fixed what needed to be fixed and decided to leave everything as was with newer features like pictures and stuff on the walls. It was a deliberate attempt to keep it as is in a garbage-y anti-way. I kind of like the look of it. It’s strange, but innovative.
Here is a 1939 photo from the Brooklyn Public Library:
http://tinyurl.com/y5somx
I worked at BAM when the Majestic was being “renovated.†The roof was mostly gone; the seats were crumbling. It would have been somewhat dishonest and prohibitively expensive to turn it into a glitzy showcase. Instead the concept was to stabilize it while updating the technical facilities. The orchestra and first balcony were joined and the main playing area was moved in front of the proscenium â€" necessitating those “barber chairs†in the top balcony so you could still see the action. When the BAM Majestic reopened, it was widely-heralded as an innovative design. But young schoolchildren coming to morning School-Time shows were more likely to express fear that the building would collapse around them. The first production was Peter Brook’s marathon [i think it was 11 hours over three sittings] presentation of The Mahabarata. The first video shoot was an HBO Paul McCartney special.
I’ve seen several shows here since it reopened, and I like the faux distressed look. It’s also used to good effect at Roundabout Studio 54. And while I like the look at the Majestic, I find the seats uncomfortable.
I saw Cate Blanchet here in March 2005. She looked great, but the Brooklyn Academy of Music has done an awful hatchet job on this place, making it intentionally look like a bombed out wreck, with steel beams exposed, bare brick; i suppose they think it’s cute.
This movie house had degenerated into a pervert’s paradise before it closed, and I mean that in a nice way.
Patsy, I think Lucie probably means the Majestic Theater in Times Square where Phantom still is. My mother saw Ethel Barrymore in “The Corn Is Green” at the Brooklyn Majestic. That was the famous “subway circuit.” frankie from Brooklyn
I just attended the Lucy Festival in Jamestown NY and heard Lucie Arnaz speak. She mentioned having performed with her daughter, Kate at the Majestic Theatre in NYC so perhaps it was this one.
This photo from January 8,1928 shows Majestic, Strand amd Orpheum along with Fulton El. It was taken from a great height, perhaps the Fox Building?
Brooklyn Public Library
The engraved name “MAJESTIC” can still be seen above the entrance to the theater. Just look closely.
Thanks Orlando for your detailed comments. When I was a student at Brooklyn Tech in the mid 50’s, which is a few blocks from the Majestic, one of my teachers recalled seeing Houdini there. I assumed it was an appearance in vaudeville, but then it could have also been a touring show.
The Majestic was a legitimate playhouse when it opened. Out-of-town
try-outs, pre-openings prior to Broadway runs and shows that couldn’t be heldover on New York stages were held over at the Majestic in the first 15-20 years. I recently met a woman who was 94 years old that told me she remembers going to the Majestic Theatre when she was 7 or 8 years old and was scared to death by “ a scream from an actress in the performance”. Everytime she traveled with her father on the door to door milk wagon route along the cobblestone Fulton Street, she was frightened. So this makes it legitimate house before vaudeville which may have had a short run because once the Strand, Fox, Albee, Paramount and Metropolitan theatres opened they absorbed the best “vaudeville” being presentation houses. The Orpheum would have preceded the Albee with “vaudeville”. The Majestic was still open in 1972 on and off. I remeber seeing features on the marquee at that time. It then ran X-rated films and that continued until 1975 or so. The building had no maintenance over its 75 years not being a “chain house”. It was probably empty for 15 years prior to the BAM rescue. I’m alright with the faux-ruin look and the segregated staircase that leads to the third balcony that was reserved for “colored people” (also a seperate entrance to the right of the main entrance). It’s a greuling walk up and the “current” barbershop chairs in this balcony raise you up so that you have a better view of the stage proceeding. The theatre’s original lobby is only evident for a marble staircase that is not on a grand scale within unadorned walls so the theatres once beauty. I believe the plasterwork was far beyond repair so whatever was salvagable remained in place. The side boxes are there but are being used for today’s lighting and etc without seats. The original orchestra was sloped to meet the first balcony with the space below th balcony (rear orchestra used as extra stage rooms). I was there when BAM did Henry V with Liam Neeson. I thank “Harvey” for saving and putting the Majestic Theatre to use, however this will always be the Majestic Theatre to me. I believe the theatre’s name which was engraved on the exterior facade brickwork was cemented over once it became the BAM Harvey unless I am mistaken.