New Boro Park Theatre
5102 New Utrecht Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11219
5102 New Utrecht Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11219
8 people
favorited this theater
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Grand opening ad posted
Thanks for the photo, HomecrestGuy. I just noticed, as the picture shows, that this theater featured an Amateur Night. I just wonder what that was like and how widespread – or not – these events were in other theaters at that time. This was a bit more ambitious than Dish Night.
Photo with marquee added to Gallery.
HI Everyone
I’m new to this site and was just looking at movie theaters I use to attend as a kid living in Boro Park. Also use to go to: Lowe’s 46th St. Theater under the El on New Utrecht Ave. GOD its such a long time ago. Speaking of a long time ago I wonder if any you seniors out there remember a Boxing Gym right across the street from the Boro Park Theater ~ upstairs its name was: THE LIGHTER BOXING GYM. It was over a lamp store. I use to do some boxing there under the sponsorship of LightWeight Campion: Paddy DeMarco. Do any you guys/gals have any memories or info on this ?
GOD bless you ALL
Ray M.
The photo should be taken from New Utrecht Avenue as that is where the marquee was.
I can see the “GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER” one sheet on the poster frame clearly. Wish i had it.
To bad there are no shots from the LOEWS days.
The building in Lost Memory’s 1968 photo is the Blythborne post office. Enjoyed jloew’s informative post. I didn’t realize the organ was still there at that time. Like so many theatres, what a shame it is gone, a sign of the “modern” times.
This ugly building appears to have replaced the Boro Hall. What a downgrade from the photo Lost Memory lined to…
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In my first NYC trip in 1971, I got a tour of the BP from the son of one of the owners. It was closed and lit with only emergency power
as I recall. The owners had not known the Estey organ was in their theatre as two large boxes sat on each side of the pit—-the one on the left was hiding the console. With flashlights, we crawled up to
organ chambers on a steel ladder. There was grill work at the top.
The instrument had been vandalized as had the console. A friend brought one or two ranks out to San Francisco not long after. Still have a “Smoking in Balcony Only” sign from the BP. Loaned my color
interior shots to my host—-and never again saw them. Someone had tried to jazz up the interior by outlining things in bright orange paint which really didn’t help.
WOW I almost forgot abouit the Boro Park. I forgot what movies I saw in there. Prior to it turning in to a porn Palace my friend who lived in Boro Park used to take in movies at the BP as well as the 46th st. Of course bening around13 at the time and money was a problem we found ways to sneak in or we would go for the Sat or Sun Matinee’s that were half price and one of us would pay and then find an exit door and slip the other one in. Those were the days. I had said on another page if I win a Powerball or Mega Miollions jackpot over $100 million I will buy out the furnature store and see what I can do to renovate the 46th street and see what I can do with the Kings
Still hoping someone can come up with a photo of the theatre’s interior.
The West end elevated structure was already there when the Boro Park theatre was built in 1921. That is why a curved entrance was designed for the corner of fifty-first street.
Thanks, Bway.
There had been railroad tracks on the street level of New Utrect Ave since 1894. The Brooklyn Rapid Transit company took over those tracks and operated at street level on New Utrect Ave starting in 1901. The current Elevated structure was built in 1917. I don’t know when the older photo was taken, as I don’t know when the Boro Park Theatre was built.
Thanks for posting the picture, Warren. I hope someone can find an interior picture of the auditorium.
Thanks, Warren. I saw some of that PBS documentary this past Saturday night around 11:30 PM, but missed the exterior photo of B.F. Keith’s Boro Park. It’s good to know it’s in that program, though.
There was a Chinese restaurant across the street call Young’s. They had great food and old style Chinese ambiance. I hope someone can find some photo’s of the Boro Park Theater!
The Boro Park’s box seats, a few feet above orchestra level,(front decorated with marble)were on each side of the proscenium. The design was neo classic. (Ex. the decorative colums, the dome, etc.)
Beautiful theaters- both of them. The 46th. St was designed in a combination combining neo classical elements with “movie palace gothic' styles of the era. The Boro Park, wich was older took a classical European approach. It resembled an Opera house that one would see in Italy, Paris or Vienna. Those box seats at orchestra level not too far behind the screen gave it that look. Though much more conservatively styled than the 46th. St, it was a beautiful theater just the same. The real tragedy is that it was leveled to build a post office. The balcony of the 46th. St still survives intact, but the ultra Hassidic manager of the furniture store absolutely will not let ANYBODY in to see it.The mosque, wich has been there for years is not in the theater proper. It is on a top story of one of the businesses that was incorporated into the fascade of the theater.
Starting in the late 1940’s the Boro Park began showing first run films. This is a quote from Warren’s informative April 30th 2004 post:“ The RKO "arrangement” came circa 1949-50, when clearances changed as a result of the Federal anti-trust action against the major companies that owned both studios and theatres. Prior to that, Loew’s Boro Park played split weeks of double features that had already played at Loew’s 46th Street and the nearest RKO that was first-run for that area.“ I personally remember most of my friends and I who lived in Boro Park went equally to the 46th Street and Boro Park. Both theatres had live presentations at times. Both theatres, different in styles, were beautiful and unique.
If you wanted to see the first-run pictures, you went to the Loew’s 46th. The Boro Park rarely had them, but once and a while it was worth seeing something there. Third-rate movies (and pre-teen all day adventures) were at the Normandy and the Ritz (if you wanted to go all the way to 8th Avenue). When we got a little older, the Normandy was handy because there was a pool room above it. Really third-rate films were at the Garden (the New Garden after a roof was put on). I think the only decent picture I ever saw playing at the Garden was “Wilson”. The seats weren’t fastened to the floor and I recall entire rows falling over. I worked at the Loew’s 46th as an usher for a while, and got to inspect the interior when the lights were on. There was a beautiful ballroom behind the balcony seats. I think the real resemblance between the Loew’s Boro Park and the RKO Bushwick was that they were both under el train tracks. I own the painting “RKO Bushwick” by Arthur Coppedge, and it’s real nostalgia.
ERD, sorry to hear about your aunt’s photos. I’m sure many of us have instances of old photos, documents, etc. that we thought were safe and sound and suddenly finding otherwise, though I doubt they were as great a loss, on both personal and historical reasons, as your aunt’s photos. At least we still have our memories. Or some of them, anyway.
ERD, what a shame about your aunt’s photos being lost.
Bkj, when my Aunt closed her studio all of her photographic equipment, negatives and copies were stored in the celler of that building since she lived on the second floor. Shortly afterwards, the basement flooded and everything left down there was destroyed.