Kings Theatre

That’s nice.

The thought of fluorescent colors, flowers and who knows what other grafitti in a Rapp & Rapp designed house absolutely boggles the mind. Also, I can’t visualize Kmart being in the theater business. They have a hard enough time competing in the retail business as it is.

Oh, my gosh. Those pics are absolutely Fab!!!
I so, hope that they fix this place up. I’ll be like the first fashionably late person to make my entrance at the opening gala.
My girlfriends and I were volunteer painters with with this urban youth group that my Dad sponsored and we bought these color coordinated painting outfits that match each other (in different colors) to paint flowers and rainbows over grafitti in a Long Island elementary school playground. So since then we havent even used the outfits and I think that it is time for my friends and I to do some good deeds again. We would love to get our hands dirty.
Keep us posted and let us know when its time to roll!

Hopefully I will be able to get in touch with the person who wants this on Tuesday. We may have some Professors from Stony Brook University, where I am a returning student, interested.

GOOD NEWS, THE ROOF WAS REPAIRED! In other words, it’s no longer raining inside the theater. The building is owned by the city, who wants it restored if they can get the money. The land is owned by Sears, which has a store behind the theater. They want to change the name to the Sears Center for the Performing Arts.

Ziggy, I’ll be happy to offer any advice I can via e-mail. But, my days of volunteering and working in old theaters are far behind me!

Letters of support will accomplish a few things: good PR, and you can read them at council meetings and send them to local papers. That’s about it. We had several high profile ones for Loew’s Jersey (Jerry Lewis, Leonard Maltin, etc.) but they don’t save the theater. It certainly wouldn’t hurt Ms. Streisand to write one.

I hate to sound like Pollyanna you guys, and I know that all the objections brought up are reasonable ones. I’m not concerned about getting dirty, I even enjoy it if I have something to show for it. I’m familiar with the need for politicians to aggrandize themselves at the expense of the public which they “serve”, and also their complete willingness to stab anyone in the back. I know the Jersey had a huge advantage in two ways: 1)no hole in the roof 2)near a major transportation hub. But let’s not compare to the Jersey. Let’s take the Kings for what it is, a wreck, but still a salvageable one (though perhaps not much longer). The city may be willing to sell to a non-profit because, even if it’s not on the tax rolls, it would eventually become an asset to the neighborhood. A quick aside to Bob Furmanek and CConolly….would you two be interested in corresponding via email? You sound like an interesting couple of people to know.

One of the key factors in saving the Jersey was creating public awareness of what’s there. When we began doing film shows in the lobby, the exterior looked horrendous. The marquee was full of broken glass; the underside was covered with peeling paint, and the entrance was completely boarded up. People had to enter the outer lobby through a small entry door. But, once inside, the lobby astounded them. (At that time, the auditorium was divided into 3 and looked terrible!) We presented 16mm film shows in the lobby space and got people back to the theater and to Journal Square again. Many people commented on the fact that they had no idea what a magnificent showplace existed beyond that decrepit exterior. The momentum built, petitions were signed, council meetings were attended, and the theater was saved. But, I’ve got to be honest, it was a LOT of very, very hard work.

Something should be done to increase awareness of the Kings, but I don’t know if the lobby is even usable at this point.

It’s one thing to sit at a computer and type messages on how important the Kings is, etc. It’s another thing to get down there and become involved. Be prepared to give up all of your free time, and (if you’re lucky to gain access) to work in a dirty, cold, decaying building with no running water. And, it’s going to take years to make even a little bit of progress. Ask any of the long-term volunteers at the Jersey. Also, be prepared for seedy officials and politicians who will say and do things behind your back to make themselves look better. Again, it’s all happened at the Jersey.

While it may sound fun and exciting, the concept of saving and restoring a movie palace is no easy task! I wish anyone involved with Loew’s Kings all the very best of luck.

I’ve just posted something on the board for the Hudson Theater on W. 44th Street in NYC. I had heard about this theater and how it is incorporated into the Millenium Hotel but got a chance to look at it today. The hotel has probably the most ridiculous LACK of security I’ve ever seen. One can walk straight through the lobby and over to the Hudson Theater space.

What an ingenius use of the space, though. Not only is it beautifully restored but it’s in amazing shape. And what’s even better is that it’s being USED. They were setting up a conference in the space and no one seemed to care that I was just looking around.

This could be a model for what developers COULD do, if they’re willing, to a space like the Kings.

It is nice of ‘Ziggy’ and others to be so concerned about the grandiose KINGS to be willing to move there, and Bob Furmanek is to be praised for venturing up on a marquee to work on it when he is afraid of heights, but I am afraid, folks, that, at the risk of being called a naysayer, I must point out that some MAJOR hurdles confront anyone interested in this particular theatre. Not only is it HUGE, but it is not owned by anyone who apparently has any real interest in preserving it. I am afraid that Warren is evidently right: the city is waiting for it to either be bought by some multi-millionaire or to get to the point of rationalized demolition— a cost they do not want to bear since it would be in the millions just for that. Look too at the fight the JERSEY had in getting the city to buy it, then getting them to have authority to restore and operate it. It does not seem that Brooklyn is any more willing to turn over real estate to a non-profit than was Jersey City. After all, if a non-profit runs a property, it seems that it will not pay taxes in future, and I hardly need remind anyone that taxes are what allow city officials to live in their fine homes. Then there is local politics. Does anyone in political power care about the KINGS? Is it the tradition there to ‘grease’ the palms of the local politicos to get things like this done? If so, who is wealthy enough to ‘grease’ enough palms?

Finally we come to the practical matters of restoration IF the ‘committee’ of whomever does get ownership or control. Once a building reaches the state that it is raining and snowing inside, there are then serious structural problems. No, the huge steel by which the building stands will not collapse any time soon, but lesser structure CAN collapse upon anyone without warning. For example, the plaster that makes up the walls, ceilings, and ornaments in there is NOT waterproof; it will crumble and fail as the steel mesh lath which supports it rusts and both fall, as has happened to large portions already (which is why the city is reluctant about tours = insurance liability). Sure, such plaster and lath can be repaired, but what about the roof above that is leaking and would ruin new plaster? Such roofs cannot be just re-tarred; the structure of the roof deck is far beyond that by now. Can we expect the ladies and a few men on the committee to climb upon a pitched roof some 5 floors high that is dangerous to even walk upon, to demolish the old, rotten decking and dispose of it (fees) and then to haul up there the new (heavy!) decking and professionally anchor it in place? Many professional roofers will turn down such a job due to safety and practicality concerns. Does this all mean that it cannot be saved? No. But is does mean that the city that owns it can rightly expect that any new owner/renter/operator will contract for all such dangerous and code-compliant work (electrical, HVAC, etc. etc.) and that it must and WILL be done according to legal standards. By all means, form a committee of concerned citizens and as Porter Faulkner says: “raise the consciousness” of the locals, but do not dream that un-licensed non-professionals can do all that needs to be done aside from minor interior work. Anyone that can restore a pipe organ is to be admired, but that is a far cry from having both the skills and the tools to do major structural work. Professionals will have to be found and hired, and they cost BIG BUCKS. Such a job cannot, nor should be, done on the cheap. Long live the once glorious KINGS, if an ‘angel’ with mega bucks can be found!

I’ll even consider moving to Brooklyn if necessary

I honestly don’t know if you’re right or wrong Warren, but you did say almost the same thing about the Paradise too. Anyway, can someone out there tell me how to join this committee that has been mentioned previously?

I know some people that did a walk through in the building a few years ago. There was so much water damage to the stage, they couldn’t safely walk on it. The stage roof was wide open to the elements, and rain/snow had been pouring in for years. The place was a mess.