Sheepshead Theatre

1722 Sheepshead Bay Road,
Brooklyn, NY 11235

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Century Theaters, Rugoff & Becker

Architects: R. Thomas Short

Functions: Furniture Showroom, Gymnasium

Styles: Art Deco

Nearby Theaters

Proscenium stage and ladies cosmetics room in the Sheepshead Theatre, Brooklyn, New York in 1929

Built by the Century Theaters chain and opened on July 12, 1929. It was equipped with a Kimball theatre organ and had a Western Electric sound system. By 1943 and into the late-1950’s it was operated by Rugoff & Becker. The Sheepshead Theatre was taken over by Century Theatres in the late-1950’s and closed in 1970.

The theatre now houses a furniture store and a Bally’s health club.

Contributed by Doug Douglass

Recent comments (view all 23 comments)

robboehm
robboehm on April 28, 2011 at 12:39 pm

I thought this was a Loew’s theatre at some point before it finished life as a Century. I remember when Loew’s had to divest itself of theatre properties the Sheepshead, Tuxedo and Oceana in Brooklyn and the Prospect and the Plaza reverted to Century. My assumption was all had been Loew’s. In the case of the Prospect, it was built by Century and leased to Loew’s, It would appear from a reference above that this might have also been the case with the Sheepshead.

robboehm
robboehm on April 28, 2011 at 8:15 pm

Tinseltoes, I knew of the swap you mentioned. It just seemed more than coincidental that the Sheepshead came back into the Century circuit at the time some of the divested Loew’s did.

albangin
albangin on July 1, 2011 at 7:29 pm

The sheepshead was also the “Roller palace” in the late 70’s – 80"s, part of Brooklyn’s disco culture.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on August 19, 2013 at 8:48 pm

Thomas R. Short was the architect of the Sheepshead Theatre, according to an article in the February 1, 1930, issue of Motion Picture News.

DJM78
DJM78 on March 30, 2015 at 4:38 pm

When did it close as a theater?

theatrefan
theatrefan on March 31, 2015 at 10:30 am

The Sheepshead Theatre closed as a movie theatre in 1970, approximately 17 years before the UA Movies @ Sheepshead Bay would open for business.

twin
twin on July 30, 2015 at 10:57 pm

looking at the Sheepshead Theatre..store on the right side was SEYMOURS DRESS SHOP..STORE ON THE LEFT SIDE WAS EMMA’S DINNER..

robboehm
robboehm on August 28, 2019 at 7:12 pm

Uploaded a 1930 Century ad showing the Sheepshead.

hondo
hondo on March 8, 2022 at 7:05 pm

It is easily seen from the Belt Parkway.

jbltraveler
jbltraveler on November 20, 2024 at 1:40 pm

My late father, Sam Lesiger, worked for Rugoff & Becker throughout the 1950s, until they sold their three Brooklyn theaters in the late 1950s to Century. Compared to the Oceana and Tuxedo, both of which he managed during that same period, the Sheepshead was the largest and most luxurious of the three.

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