This is a great discussion about the DeKalb/Casino theatre. I hope I can add some personal memory thoughts of the years when, as a youngster back in the 1930s and 40’s, I lived in Bushwick, at the corner of DeKalb and Evergreen Avenues, two blocks away from the theatre.
In those days the neighborhood theatres of choice for our family were primarily the Lowe’s Gates and RKO Bushwick on Broadway and the Rivoli on Myrtle Avenue along with the occasional visits to theatres along Fulton Street and in Manhattan. We went to see movies frequently and caught most of the classics that were being produced during that era.
When I was about 10 or 11 years old, I got the bright idea that I ought to go to a movie without my parents tagging along. They weren’t too keen on the suggestion, but I pestered and they finally consented with the proviso that it would have to be to the theatre nearest to our home rather than to any of the ones I had in mind.
Ergo, my introduction on a cold Saturday afternoon to DeKalb/Casino. The theatre looked old and dingy, nothing like I was used to. There was no concession area, hardly any audience and the interior was bitter cold with old radiators against the wall sputtering and whooshing out wet steam to no effect. But I was there on my own and for a young kid on a solo adventure, it was a “big deal†as I sat there munching on a package of Yankee Doodles my mother had packed for me and watched on the big screen, Frank Capra’s 1937 classic, “Lost Horizon,†starring Ronald Coleman. Even though it was the first and last time I would sit in that theatre, the experience would leave a lifelong positive impression.
Coincidentally, about 4 or 5 years ago in relating this story to one of the Brooklyn Board’s memory threads I had to confess to the fact I could not remember the theatre’s name. Next day, Warren, a great movie historian, e-mailed me and clued me in to the name changes. I thank him for that and for directing me to this website.
Now fast-forward to the present and let me recall things about that theatre experience that may relate to some of the points and questions raised in the current thread:
For sure, the two photos of the theatre building that “Bway†recently posted resemble the theatre building I knew in 1940. I remember entering the theatre through the large entrance on the left as you face the building, which at that time was covered by a marquee that extended out over the sidewalk area to the curbstone. In addition, I’m pretty sure the there was also a sign, a long, vertical, impressive looking sign that rose up to the roof line typical of what you often see attached to the side of theatre buildings. I don’t remember if the sign was mounted over the marquee or at some other point along the front of the building. I suppose that both the marquee and the sign may have displayed the name “Casino†based on what has been said on this thread about the name changes. But once again, I’m just not sure.
The brick building on the right side of the theater I recall as an automobile garage that rented parking space and provided auto serviceâ€"tires, gas, oil, repairs, etc. I believe it was called “The New Deal Garage.†My father, who used to jokingly call it “Used Deal Garage†serviced his used 1934 Chevrolet there but paid to park his car in an open lot either next to the garage or down the street away.
Now, on the matter of the building site on which the theatre is located and other interesting data about it. I have excerpted some information from an article from the microfilm file of the New York Times of March 5, 1911 stating that work was to begin on what would be the “Largest Theatre in Brooklyn,†that it would be known as the “DeKalb†and that it would “occupy a plot 180 by 170 feet on the north side of DeKalb Avenue about 200 feet east of Broadway.†The article went on to say that the architecture would be “Italian Renaissance†and that the front would be of “white glazed terra-cotta†and that there would only be “one balcony†but that there would be a “row of fourteen boxes, seating twelve persons each†and that the “total seating capacity will be 2,500.†It stated that the theatre was to be erected by the “Thomas A. Clarke Company, the builders of the Shubert Theatre†and that the building cost would be “about $500,000.â€
I hope I’m not posting facts you already know. If not and if these figures hold true for the present structure, then they might answer some questions about how the building may or may not have been used in recent years.
The discussion about the traffic direction on Dekalb Avenue puzzled me. I believe that in the 1930s and 40s, DeKalb Avenue carried 2-way auto and trolley traffic over its entire route including the portion on which the theatre was located.
Like some other correspondents, I also attended PS 68 (through 6th grade) and PS 74 (grades 7-8). When the war began in 1941 our family moved to Stockholm Street near Central Avenue. I graduated from Grover Cleveland HS in 1948 and entered military service. I have not been back to the neighborhood since that time so I look forward for some interesting memory trips on this web site that will takes us back to the “good old days.â€
This is a great discussion about the DeKalb/Casino theatre. I hope I can add some personal memory thoughts of the years when, as a youngster back in the 1930s and 40’s, I lived in Bushwick, at the corner of DeKalb and Evergreen Avenues, two blocks away from the theatre.
In those days the neighborhood theatres of choice for our family were primarily the Lowe’s Gates and RKO Bushwick on Broadway and the Rivoli on Myrtle Avenue along with the occasional visits to theatres along Fulton Street and in Manhattan. We went to see movies frequently and caught most of the classics that were being produced during that era.
When I was about 10 or 11 years old, I got the bright idea that I ought to go to a movie without my parents tagging along. They weren’t too keen on the suggestion, but I pestered and they finally consented with the proviso that it would have to be to the theatre nearest to our home rather than to any of the ones I had in mind.
Ergo, my introduction on a cold Saturday afternoon to DeKalb/Casino. The theatre looked old and dingy, nothing like I was used to. There was no concession area, hardly any audience and the interior was bitter cold with old radiators against the wall sputtering and whooshing out wet steam to no effect. But I was there on my own and for a young kid on a solo adventure, it was a “big deal†as I sat there munching on a package of Yankee Doodles my mother had packed for me and watched on the big screen, Frank Capra’s 1937 classic, “Lost Horizon,†starring Ronald Coleman. Even though it was the first and last time I would sit in that theatre, the experience would leave a lifelong positive impression.
Coincidentally, about 4 or 5 years ago in relating this story to one of the Brooklyn Board’s memory threads I had to confess to the fact I could not remember the theatre’s name. Next day, Warren, a great movie historian, e-mailed me and clued me in to the name changes. I thank him for that and for directing me to this website.
Now fast-forward to the present and let me recall things about that theatre experience that may relate to some of the points and questions raised in the current thread:
For sure, the two photos of the theatre building that “Bway†recently posted resemble the theatre building I knew in 1940. I remember entering the theatre through the large entrance on the left as you face the building, which at that time was covered by a marquee that extended out over the sidewalk area to the curbstone. In addition, I’m pretty sure the there was also a sign, a long, vertical, impressive looking sign that rose up to the roof line typical of what you often see attached to the side of theatre buildings. I don’t remember if the sign was mounted over the marquee or at some other point along the front of the building. I suppose that both the marquee and the sign may have displayed the name “Casino†based on what has been said on this thread about the name changes. But once again, I’m just not sure.
The brick building on the right side of the theater I recall as an automobile garage that rented parking space and provided auto serviceâ€"tires, gas, oil, repairs, etc. I believe it was called “The New Deal Garage.†My father, who used to jokingly call it “Used Deal Garage†serviced his used 1934 Chevrolet there but paid to park his car in an open lot either next to the garage or down the street away.
Now, on the matter of the building site on which the theatre is located and other interesting data about it. I have excerpted some information from an article from the microfilm file of the New York Times of March 5, 1911 stating that work was to begin on what would be the “Largest Theatre in Brooklyn,†that it would be known as the “DeKalb†and that it would “occupy a plot 180 by 170 feet on the north side of DeKalb Avenue about 200 feet east of Broadway.†The article went on to say that the architecture would be “Italian Renaissance†and that the front would be of “white glazed terra-cotta†and that there would only be “one balcony†but that there would be a “row of fourteen boxes, seating twelve persons each†and that the “total seating capacity will be 2,500.†It stated that the theatre was to be erected by the “Thomas A. Clarke Company, the builders of the Shubert Theatre†and that the building cost would be “about $500,000.â€
I hope I’m not posting facts you already know. If not and if these figures hold true for the present structure, then they might answer some questions about how the building may or may not have been used in recent years.
The discussion about the traffic direction on Dekalb Avenue puzzled me. I believe that in the 1930s and 40s, DeKalb Avenue carried 2-way auto and trolley traffic over its entire route including the portion on which the theatre was located.
Like some other correspondents, I also attended PS 68 (through 6th grade) and PS 74 (grades 7-8). When the war began in 1941 our family moved to Stockholm Street near Central Avenue. I graduated from Grover Cleveland HS in 1948 and entered military service. I have not been back to the neighborhood since that time so I look forward for some interesting memory trips on this web site that will takes us back to the “good old days.â€