This NY Times article is about an underground resurgent interest in the VHS format – particularly amongst enthusiasts of ultra-low budget and independent horror flicks of the 1980’s. The article mentions that several cinemas, including the Nitehawk, have taken to holding “VHS nights” – where programmes are presented exclusively in the old format.
Passed by again the other morning. They have begun to strip the Post Avenue facade of its Tudor-style elements. Several large portions of the upper floor have been stripped down to the wood studs. The lower floor and marquee remain more or less intact behind the scaffolding.
I haven’t been to this theater in at least 5 or 6 years, perhaps longer. Even when I lived in Bayside, I much preferred the stadium seating at the College Point Multiplex.
The caption on the photo states the year is 1953, during the engagement of “The Robe.” If you click on the “Photo” tab just above the image, you can page through all the images posted here for this theater. Click on the thumbnail image to open any photo full size and you will be able to read any accompanying captions or comments.
I would venture that the location of this theater was the east side of Bergen Avenue just south of the intersection with Westchester Avenue. A parking lot now occupies most of this block front from Westchester Avenue and down along Bergen approximately 2/3 of the way to the corner of E 149th Street. The E 149th Street corner is occupied by a vacant and overgrown lot. Department of Buildings records indicate a Certificate of Occupancy was issued on July 26, 1985, for a “public parking lot for 74 private passenger cars” at 570 Bergen Avenue.
The street view above faces the opposite side of Bergen Avenue, down the block near E 149th – south of the theater’s site. The correct view can be obtained by turning around to the right and heading north about half a block.
I repositioned the street view to the SW corner of Bergen Avenue and E 149th Street. The storefront nearest the corner with the blue signage is 416 E. 149th. The building certainly appears to date from the period when the cinema was in operation, and located just a block away from “the hub,” at the busy intersection of E 149th with Melrose and Third Avenues. “The hub” was a hugely prosperous shopping district that anchored the South Bronx and drew shoppers from around the borough. The original Alexanders department store was located there, as I’m sure where a number of first run cinemas and vaudeville houses.
I would wager that a good portion of the original seating count was lost with the modernization that occurred in 1958. The pic at the top, markp, is of the remodeled auditorium. The seat count at the very top is based on the original 1921 configuration. It’s likely that even more seats were lost when the auditorium was divided in the late 1960’s.
Hey AGRoura… why don’t you read the rules about posting that are listed just below. Maybe it is you who should get out of CT! David, please pay no mind to these rude and offensive comments. Things can get heated in these pages from time to time and I’ve gone at it with some people here myself. But I can’t recall another post that has made me angrier and embarrassed at a fellow CT member than the one above. Post your comments in whatever form you feel best and whenever you feel you’re ready. Many of us still look forward to reading them.
Seems to me that would make for an excellent “blog” entry, which, once posted, you could link to from a comment here. Still… I don’t believe there is a limit on the length of individual comments – I’ve seen some rather lengthy ones. And the memory would very much relate to this page. I look forward to reading it, in whatever form it winds up taking!
Seattle is a beautiful town – if you don’t mind the frequent grey skies. I enjoyed myself there on a couple of business trips a few years ago. I couldn’t make it this time around, but I most definitely plan on going back to the Emerald City to take in a bona fide three-strip Cinerama presentation one of these days. Catching a couple of 70mm presentations would be a nice bonus as well. Nice to read the reports from this year’s festival.
Robboehm… with traffic conditions what they are on this island of ours (which is to say, miserable!), I think there is ample room for multiple performance spaces. I think most people on the Island prefer to remain local for their entertainment, unless they are making a special trip to NYC for a show. The question really comes down to a matter of location. Will the local and neighboring communities be able/willing to support each theater? Of all the venues on Long Island (both large and small), I think only Nassau Coliseum, NYCB Theater at Westbury (the former Music Fair) and the ampitheater at Jones Beach really draw from the entirety of the Island (Brooklyn to Suffolk). Most of the others, I believe, draw largely from their immediate surrounding communities.
Hey saps! Sorry I kept you hanging on the wire here! Ha ha. I actually did drive by the Laurelton, not too long after my last post, but without camera in hand. I can report, however, that the theater building is very much still standing. The renovations planned by the church seem to have been completed, with radical changes to the entrance facade and storefronts along Merrick Boulevard. I’m sure the lobby area has been completely remodelled as well, but I can’t confirm that. I’ll have to see if I’m able to get inside at some point and then allowed to take photos to update the batch I posted from early 2006.
Hey Sailor… is the entirety of your post the title to a book or something? Ha. Just wondering about the Capitalization Of Every Word. Unless that’s just the way you like to communicate, which is fine by me… I just find it odd and maybe just a bit of a challenge to read through. Anyway… would love to see those pictures also!
The title on the marquee, which is a film that was actually titled just “Prophecy” (not “The…”), would date the photo to mid-1979. The film opened June 15th, that year.
Certainly Thomas Huang wasn’t within his rights as a property owner when he vandalize his own building, despite the landmark designation that forbade him to do so. I blame the current property owner for nothing beyond his ill-advised and insensitive plans for overdeveloping the site. I blame the municipality (administrations both past and present) for just about everything else that has gone wrong with the Keiths.
On my way to work yesterday morning, took a glance down Winthrop Street, which runs along the southern side of the theater where those huge cuts were made exposing the interior. They have framed out a rather large 2-story addition that runs almost the length of the auditorium side wall and looks like it will feature a peaked roof line. The Post Avenue facade and lobby/storefront structure remains untouched behind scaffolding.
Sometimes the answer to a question is hiding in plain sight. In this case, I would venture to guess that the Douglas Fairbanks ribbon cutting ceremony, referred to in my previous post, was for the premiere of his film “A Modern Musketeer,” which opened the Rivoli Theatre back in 1917 – as clearly stated in the opening paragraph to the introductory comments at the top of this page!
According to the September 14th, 1981, issue of New York Magazine, looks like the Rivoli closed on September 11 of that year, to begin work on dividing the theater into a twin. The last movie to play in the big single screen house was the gimmicky 3-D western pastiche “Coming At Ya!,” which opened on August 21st.
A week or so later, an article in the New York Times, dated September 19th, notes that the clock was turned back to the 1950’s near Broadway and 50th Street for the filming of the movie “My Favorite Year” – a movie inspired by Mel Brooks' memories of an appearance by Errol Flynn on Sid Ceasar’s Your Show of Shows. The article goes on to state: “To make it all look authentically 50’s in the 80’s, the marquee on the Rivoli Theater facing north within the camera angle read ‘'House of Wax’‘ – the very movie then playing; to the south, the marquee told the truth – the Rivoli is being converted into a twin-cinema house.”
There are no further listings for the Rivoli Theatre in New York Magazine until the December 14th, 1981, issue, which notes that the movies “Heartbeeps” (Andy Kauffman comedy about robots) and “Ghost Story” were opening, respectively, at the Rivoli #1 and #2 on December 16th.
Interesting factoid related to the movie “Ghost Story”: A December 17th, 1981, article in the Times mentions that one of the film’s stars, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., was asked to cut a ribbon at the theatre as part of a promotion for the film, which publicists told him echoed a similar ceremonial task his father, silent film star Douglas Fairbanks Sr., had performed for one of his own films. Per the article: “Mr. Fairbanks said he remembered nothing of that years-ago Rivoli event. ‘I presume they’re going to tell me about it,’ he said. ‘I guess I’ll have to pretend I do.’ ”
I wonder if the “Ghost Story” promotion was, in part, to mark the re-opening of the Rivoli as a twin cinema. No mention as to which Fairbanks Sr. movie was associated with that earlier ribbon cutting.
Agreed John. The only question that remains is just exactly what constitutes “some cinematic history.” I know that there was an argument about this very matter on one of the theater pages several years ago. In the end, either Patrick or Ross (I forget which) chimed in that even if the theater had but a single verified cinematic engagement, it should be considered for inclusion. Then we have to decide if a “single cinematic engagement” means a one-night only showing or an actual booked engagement, such as the lengthy road show run of “Gigi” at the Royale Theatre – an otherwise legitimate stage facility.
I, for one, think the Royale should be included on this site. However, I would not be as enthusiastic about including every playhouse that has held a single special event screening.
This NY Times article is about an underground resurgent interest in the VHS format – particularly amongst enthusiasts of ultra-low budget and independent horror flicks of the 1980’s. The article mentions that several cinemas, including the Nitehawk, have taken to holding “VHS nights” – where programmes are presented exclusively in the old format.
Passed by again the other morning. They have begun to strip the Post Avenue facade of its Tudor-style elements. Several large portions of the upper floor have been stripped down to the wood studs. The lower floor and marquee remain more or less intact behind the scaffolding.
I haven’t been to this theater in at least 5 or 6 years, perhaps longer. Even when I lived in Bayside, I much preferred the stadium seating at the College Point Multiplex.
The caption on the photo states the year is 1953, during the engagement of “The Robe.” If you click on the “Photo” tab just above the image, you can page through all the images posted here for this theater. Click on the thumbnail image to open any photo full size and you will be able to read any accompanying captions or comments.
I would venture that the location of this theater was the east side of Bergen Avenue just south of the intersection with Westchester Avenue. A parking lot now occupies most of this block front from Westchester Avenue and down along Bergen approximately 2/3 of the way to the corner of E 149th Street. The E 149th Street corner is occupied by a vacant and overgrown lot. Department of Buildings records indicate a Certificate of Occupancy was issued on July 26, 1985, for a “public parking lot for 74 private passenger cars” at 570 Bergen Avenue.
The street view above faces the opposite side of Bergen Avenue, down the block near E 149th – south of the theater’s site. The correct view can be obtained by turning around to the right and heading north about half a block.
I repositioned the street view to the SW corner of Bergen Avenue and E 149th Street. The storefront nearest the corner with the blue signage is 416 E. 149th. The building certainly appears to date from the period when the cinema was in operation, and located just a block away from “the hub,” at the busy intersection of E 149th with Melrose and Third Avenues. “The hub” was a hugely prosperous shopping district that anchored the South Bronx and drew shoppers from around the borough. The original Alexanders department store was located there, as I’m sure where a number of first run cinemas and vaudeville houses.
I don’t know why the link would have disappeared, but uploading the photo to CT may have been in some sort of copyright violation.
I would wager that a good portion of the original seating count was lost with the modernization that occurred in 1958. The pic at the top, markp, is of the remodeled auditorium. The seat count at the very top is based on the original 1921 configuration. It’s likely that even more seats were lost when the auditorium was divided in the late 1960’s.
Hey AGRoura… why don’t you read the rules about posting that are listed just below. Maybe it is you who should get out of CT! David, please pay no mind to these rude and offensive comments. Things can get heated in these pages from time to time and I’ve gone at it with some people here myself. But I can’t recall another post that has made me angrier and embarrassed at a fellow CT member than the one above. Post your comments in whatever form you feel best and whenever you feel you’re ready. Many of us still look forward to reading them.
I’ve seen the trailer for that film, Gary, and it looks amazing. I look forward to seeing it.
Seems to me that would make for an excellent “blog” entry, which, once posted, you could link to from a comment here. Still… I don’t believe there is a limit on the length of individual comments – I’ve seen some rather lengthy ones. And the memory would very much relate to this page. I look forward to reading it, in whatever form it winds up taking!
Seattle is a beautiful town – if you don’t mind the frequent grey skies. I enjoyed myself there on a couple of business trips a few years ago. I couldn’t make it this time around, but I most definitely plan on going back to the Emerald City to take in a bona fide three-strip Cinerama presentation one of these days. Catching a couple of 70mm presentations would be a nice bonus as well. Nice to read the reports from this year’s festival.
Robboehm… with traffic conditions what they are on this island of ours (which is to say, miserable!), I think there is ample room for multiple performance spaces. I think most people on the Island prefer to remain local for their entertainment, unless they are making a special trip to NYC for a show. The question really comes down to a matter of location. Will the local and neighboring communities be able/willing to support each theater? Of all the venues on Long Island (both large and small), I think only Nassau Coliseum, NYCB Theater at Westbury (the former Music Fair) and the ampitheater at Jones Beach really draw from the entirety of the Island (Brooklyn to Suffolk). Most of the others, I believe, draw largely from their immediate surrounding communities.
Hey saps! Sorry I kept you hanging on the wire here! Ha ha. I actually did drive by the Laurelton, not too long after my last post, but without camera in hand. I can report, however, that the theater building is very much still standing. The renovations planned by the church seem to have been completed, with radical changes to the entrance facade and storefronts along Merrick Boulevard. I’m sure the lobby area has been completely remodelled as well, but I can’t confirm that. I’ll have to see if I’m able to get inside at some point and then allowed to take photos to update the batch I posted from early 2006.
Just uploaded a few pics of the recent progress along the rear and southern side of the building.
Hey Sailor… is the entirety of your post the title to a book or something? Ha. Just wondering about the Capitalization Of Every Word. Unless that’s just the way you like to communicate, which is fine by me… I just find it odd and maybe just a bit of a challenge to read through. Anyway… would love to see those pictures also!
The title on the marquee, which is a film that was actually titled just “Prophecy” (not “The…”), would date the photo to mid-1979. The film opened June 15th, that year.
Was this still open in 1985? That’s when I moved to Bay Shore for a few years and I don’t recall this theater at all.
Certainly Thomas Huang wasn’t within his rights as a property owner when he vandalize his own building, despite the landmark designation that forbade him to do so. I blame the current property owner for nothing beyond his ill-advised and insensitive plans for overdeveloping the site. I blame the municipality (administrations both past and present) for just about everything else that has gone wrong with the Keiths.
On my way to work yesterday morning, took a glance down Winthrop Street, which runs along the southern side of the theater where those huge cuts were made exposing the interior. They have framed out a rather large 2-story addition that runs almost the length of the auditorium side wall and looks like it will feature a peaked roof line. The Post Avenue facade and lobby/storefront structure remains untouched behind scaffolding.
Where’s the damn “like” button?!
Sometimes the answer to a question is hiding in plain sight. In this case, I would venture to guess that the Douglas Fairbanks ribbon cutting ceremony, referred to in my previous post, was for the premiere of his film “A Modern Musketeer,” which opened the Rivoli Theatre back in 1917 – as clearly stated in the opening paragraph to the introductory comments at the top of this page!
RichD… posted some info that might interest you over on the Rivoli Theatre page.
According to the September 14th, 1981, issue of New York Magazine, looks like the Rivoli closed on September 11 of that year, to begin work on dividing the theater into a twin. The last movie to play in the big single screen house was the gimmicky 3-D western pastiche “Coming At Ya!,” which opened on August 21st.
A week or so later, an article in the New York Times, dated September 19th, notes that the clock was turned back to the 1950’s near Broadway and 50th Street for the filming of the movie “My Favorite Year” – a movie inspired by Mel Brooks' memories of an appearance by Errol Flynn on Sid Ceasar’s Your Show of Shows. The article goes on to state: “To make it all look authentically 50’s in the 80’s, the marquee on the Rivoli Theater facing north within the camera angle read ‘'House of Wax’‘ – the very movie then playing; to the south, the marquee told the truth – the Rivoli is being converted into a twin-cinema house.”
There are no further listings for the Rivoli Theatre in New York Magazine until the December 14th, 1981, issue, which notes that the movies “Heartbeeps” (Andy Kauffman comedy about robots) and “Ghost Story” were opening, respectively, at the Rivoli #1 and #2 on December 16th.
Interesting factoid related to the movie “Ghost Story”: A December 17th, 1981, article in the Times mentions that one of the film’s stars, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., was asked to cut a ribbon at the theatre as part of a promotion for the film, which publicists told him echoed a similar ceremonial task his father, silent film star Douglas Fairbanks Sr., had performed for one of his own films. Per the article: “Mr. Fairbanks said he remembered nothing of that years-ago Rivoli event. ‘I presume they’re going to tell me about it,’ he said. ‘I guess I’ll have to pretend I do.’ ”
I wonder if the “Ghost Story” promotion was, in part, to mark the re-opening of the Rivoli as a twin cinema. No mention as to which Fairbanks Sr. movie was associated with that earlier ribbon cutting.
Agreed John. The only question that remains is just exactly what constitutes “some cinematic history.” I know that there was an argument about this very matter on one of the theater pages several years ago. In the end, either Patrick or Ross (I forget which) chimed in that even if the theater had but a single verified cinematic engagement, it should be considered for inclusion. Then we have to decide if a “single cinematic engagement” means a one-night only showing or an actual booked engagement, such as the lengthy road show run of “Gigi” at the Royale Theatre – an otherwise legitimate stage facility.
I, for one, think the Royale should be included on this site. However, I would not be as enthusiastic about including every playhouse that has held a single special event screening.