Kings Theatre
1027 Flatbush Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11226
1027 Flatbush Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11226
86 people
favorited this theater
Showing 626 - 650 of 1,564 comments
Tom M: I was referring to the stage lifts. There being two that are controlled by ‘cork screws’ that are topped by pizza trays and gears that are connected to a motor. As far as the orchestra lift, there are two. One controlled the up and down direction of the house organ and the other allowed the lift to bring the orchestra from the basement up to stage/show level. If you were backstage and standing by the really ancient lighting board, you would see a vertical panel that has three buttons. UP, DOWN and Stage Level. From this position, the technician controlled the movement of the orchestra pit.
I have been down in the basement many times and once, I found that the orchestra pit’s two doors were locked from the inside. In the past, they were not locked. So who could have locked them from the inside—-other than the homeless crowd that made off with all the wall sconces and brass sink pipes!!!
The curbed.com site is a bit of a jumble but I found the blog entry you quoted. Doesn’t sound too “official” though. In a previous post I note that the LK project seems to have faded away as far as the slow poke NYCEDC is concerned.
View link
LuisV, do you have a link to the curbed.com story?
Some possible good news to report! I saw this article below on curbed.com (a major real estate news website in New York) commenting on a potential theater operator interested in The Kings. The source of the article is a local paper called The Brooklyn Junction. The source of the actual information is not provided though they say it is not the NYC Economic Development Authority. Please see below….
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Major theater operator expresses interest in Loew’s Kings Theater redevelopment
A ranking city official told Brooklyn Junction that he has personal knowledge of a “Major theater operator that has expressed interest in redeveloping the Loew’s Kings Theater.” The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the proceedings.
The source is not an employee of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC), the body which is in charge of reviewing responses to the RFEI (request for expressions of interest) the city put out on the Loew’s Kings back in September, 2006. He has, nonetheless, been privy to official conversations on the matter.
The “major theater operator” currently expressing interest has, according to the source, enlisted a marketing company to hold focus groups and to study what sort of programming could be supported at the theater.
The source suggested that the EDC, before announcing anything about this proposal, “is trying to put everything together—dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s—because of how previous proposals for the redevelopment of the theater have fallen apart in the past.”
Magic Johnson, the former NBA star, had a plan in 1999 to redevelop the theater as a multiplex. That proposal, which you can read about from the New York Times archives here, is probably the best known plan that fell apart at a late hour.
The estimated cost to physically renovate the theater, which has been lying dormant for approximately 30 years, and shows it in mold, dampness and other wear and tear, is in the neighborhood of 20-40 million dollars.
Brooklyn Junction was unable to independently confirm this report, and would therefore urge readers to consider it to be the reporting on one source’s information, credible though that source is.
If any readers can confirm, deny, add, subtract, or opine on this report, please do so in the comments.
Read some of my other posts on the subject
A&E Video on Loew’s Kings
Loew’s Kings, the plot thickens
Loew’s Kings Theater: Is there hope?
posted by Brooklyn Junction at 8:00 AM
Bruce,
Happy New Year to all. Since you were so kind to explain about the orchestra lifts I was wondering what you can tell us about the stage lifts? How far into the basement do they go? The pictures from the October ‘06 open house show what looks like a total collapse of the stage, or has a lift(s) been lowered?
I found an old NYCEDC press release from 2006, nothing more recent. Deadline for proposals was in late 2006. Looks like it’s a dead issue again.
NYCEDC press release, 2006
Similar item from Mayor’s Film office announcing RFP, 2006
I hate to be cynical but maybe at this point the city wants the Kings to become structurally unsound thus requiring demolition. If they wanted to fix the roof it would have been done years ago. It’s expensive but not prohibitive. The lack of interest shown by developers is a bad sign. The Loew’s Kings is sliding off of everyones radar. Markowitz tried but he’s only one person. The NYCEDC has never been know for it’s ability to get much done.
With the Kings gone the block could be redeveloped with modern buildings on the tax rolls. Cynical but not an impossible scenario.
Not much here either at the Bklyn Boro Pres site, this link brings up a page which references a dead link.
View link
Point(s) well taken. I’ve heard there already has been testing as far as asbestos, mold, etc. and all came up low or within limits. Even if it had to be repeated, it is still cheaper to find out just what you’re looking at in terms of short and long term renovations. The overwhelming fact is that nothing is being done and the building just sits there rotting away. Since ownership resides with the City, they are the ones who have to take the lead.
The original C of O is very clear and states the seat count at 3,692. During the 60’s Loew’s wanted to increase the leg room of the orchestra and reduced the number of seats.
To my knowledge, the leaking roof was fixed properly. The separate roof that covered the old store
fronts (once used by Flatbush Development Corporation) totally collapsed and all remains of the old stores has been removed. Therefore, we have a chain linked fence and an empty lot to the right of the theater entrance.
As far as Tom’s suggestions, they seem logical to me and I would suggest such ideas be sent to the Brooklyn Borough President. (.gov)
Nostalgia Department:
Back in the early 60s, two robbers forced the Assistant Manager into the theater’s safe. The lady manager had already left for the evening and she was the only one with the combination. When
she arrived and opened the safe, the AM was gasping for air. She promptly suggested that they
install a phone inside the safe, to which the AM replied: ‘Thanks a lot!’
Also in the late 60s a film entitled ‘Bob and Ted, Carol and Alice’ that starred Robert Culp and Elliot
Gould (at the time, spouse of Streisand) Natalie Wood and Dyan Cannon. The theater manager, that
incredibly creative Dorothy Solomon Panzica (now 90 years young) came up with a promotion idea. She convinced a furniture store across from the theater to put a bed in the window with four naked mannequins and combined this with a contest to win free tickets. What the heck? She had 3,192
seats!! Brooklyn Boy: Paul Mizursky wrote the film!
Yet another fix-up cost to consider:
Due to the ravages of weather and time, large sections of the theatre have suffered severe water damage. Obviously, repairing and/or replacing the roof may stop it from continuing further, but what about the lingering effects?
Before sending ANYONE in there to begin repair work, the entire place would first require thorough mold and mildew abatement and clean up, a VERY expensive process usually undertaken by specially trained and equipped professionals. It is well known and documented that long-term exposure to such (especially without proper protection or ventilation) poses health risks.
Furthermore, the NYC Departments of Health and Environmental Protection, along with OSHA, would probably require air quality testing and monitoring, before and after, to determine the potential for such risks. This would cost even more time and money.
It would become a liability issue to allow volunteers, contractors and others to perform thousands of hours of extensive labor in a setting that many would consider to be “bio-hazardousâ€. The last thing the City wants (or needs) is another “Ground-Zeroâ€-type scenario on its hands.
Sorry, the main plaster damage, by most pictures I’ve seen, is on the right side of the auditorium.
Bruce – I am enjoying your behind the scenes info on the theater. Please keep it coming. I know most on this list would like to see the theater totally restored and indeed that would be the best situation but I still think that having local politicians try and find funding to fix the roof which, even though it was replaced some years back, still leaks. Also get at least the air handlers working to keep fresh air circulating. Then enlist volunteers, as a not for profit entity, to slowly clean and get the place back. Of course this wouldn’t fix the major water damage on house left of the auditorium, but it would help. It sounds crazy I know but that is probably a lot more feasible than trying to find the deep pockets necessary to do a total restoration for a fraction of the return on investment.
In Bruce1’s post on December 7, he says the original C of O seating was 3,692, reduced to 3,192 in the sixties. Is it likely that the 3,692 figure was a typo or misreading from long ago, and that the theater always had 3,192 seats?
Shortly after the Kings closed in 1979, a local organization, The Flatbush Development Corporation was given custodial control. At which time, they produced a fund raiser show on stage. Each of the participants wore a straw hat and after all these years, those hats remain backstage. Unfortunately, their show was interrupted by a spotlight in the booth which caught fire.
Through the years, thieves have walked off with wall sconces, brass railings and even copper pipes from the bathrooms! Unfortunately, what you might call ‘security’ hasn’t been very successful.
Down in the basement, there remains a projection/screening room where films were shown. Also, the stage lift mechanicals remain. One motor is covered with a white banner with gold tassel and a slogan suggesting ‘Buy War Bonds’. This dates back to WWII.
You’re right. I searched the site and only found a December 2006 issue of NYCVision that made mention of the Kings. Other than that, there is nothing.
Maybe one of you will have better luck than me, but I can’t find any mention of the Loew’s Kings on the NYCEDC website:
NYCEDC Projects
At this point, there will not be any opportunity of getting into the Kings for a photo opportunity. However, if I hear of any such future event—certainly, I will alert you.
I knew about the orchestra pit-lift and the separate organ lift, but was not aware of the piano's
own lift. The piano now sits backstage, but on two legs. The screen has been slashed and has
been raised along with the asbestos curtain and the ‘birds’. There are two more stage lifts that
were used to raise scenery and performers.
Let’s not lose hope! Many of us have waited this long and maybe the situation will improve??
Just by coincidence I was going through my copy of “The Best Remaining Seats” by Ben M Hall again and spotted the photo reported to have been taken just prior to the opening of Loew’s Kings in 1929. The photo shows the following, all on separate lifts in the pit; orchestra on one lift, the organ console on it’s lift and grand piano on it’s lift. These could be raised or lowered individually to various levels; e.g. movie, overture or stage height. On the stage was a band car, capable of holding the entire orchestra on yet another lift, plus another full width lift upstage from that. That’s a lot of machinery.
One door for the orchestra and the other for the organ. Jeez you’re really whetting my appetite. Are there any stage elevators or trap doors? Is there a possibility to get in to get pictures????
Wait! Here’s another curiosity!! If you go into the basement you will find the dual entrances to the orchestra pit. The pit is encased in a ‘box’ that served as an elevator to raise the musicians up and
put them in position. Then backstage next to the lighting board, you would find a primitive control panel that would control this elevator. The doors to the ‘elevator’ were always open, but one time,
I found them CLOSED. What was strange, they were locked from the inside. This led me to believe
that this was done by homeless folk who had taken up residence inside the orchestra pit.
Here’s another little known story about the Loew’s Kings. If you go backstage and look on the back wall, you’ll see iron doors that slide open. These doors lead to the dressing room floors, however
there is no staircase leading to these doors! So how were they used? Steamer trunks and luggage
were lifted and pulled to safety by the back stage crew. There was no elevator and this was the best way of getting the vaudeville stars suitcases up to their dressing rooms.
In fact, there is one dressing room that looks different from the rest. The walls were painted black
along with a refrigerator. Then over the paint job, there were glitter decals. Obviously this was not
done during the vaudeville era. We can only assume that the decorative touches were added during
the 60’s or 70’s.
I think you should all know, and I don’t know if it’s mentioned here, that there is a documentary on the Loew’s Kings on you tube.
Bruce – I know you have been to the theater numerous times. What you describe about the A/C system are just the kinds of things I am interested in. I want to see the stage rigging, the lifts, basement, attic, etc. Those are the things that interest me the most in these old theaters. It would be great to get in there and really document not just what theatergoers saw years ago but what they didn’t. I work in television and have a good DVCAM camera and a nice digital SLR. If you can ever get in for a good amount of time, please let me know I would love to shoot it all. Maybe we could do a piece similar to what A&E did but much more in depth.
Wow Bruce, what a great story! I’m always on the lookout for what might have been former theaters. Whenever I see one I look on this site to see what info is available. Many of the theaters of my youth have been converted into other uses. The Lefferts, Casino, RKO Alden, Crossbay, and many others. The buildings are still there. From what I’ve read on many other theater sites on CT, there are quite a few retail spaces where, if you know where to look or who to ask, you can see parts of the theater that are not being used for retail. I believe this applies to Loew’s Canal and RKO Alden among others.
I don’t think any experience though will surpass the one I had when I toured The Kings last year when the EDC had their tour. It was an experience I’ll never forget. I never attended the Kings when it was showing films as I was only 17 at the time and lived in Queens. Back then, there was no way I would ever go to Brooklyn to attend a movie. I would have considered it way to dangerous. Times have changed!
Tomorrow, I’m attending a show for the first time at The St. George in Staten Island. I’m very excited about it. I hope one day to be able to say “I’m going to see a show at The Kings!”