Benson Twins
2007-2009 86th Street,
Brooklyn,
NY
11214
2007-2009 86th Street,
Brooklyn,
NY
11214
7 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Fox Circuit, Randforce Amusement Corp., United Artists Theater Circuit Inc.
Architects: George W. Keister
Functions: Drugstore, Gymnasium
Previous Names: Benson Theatre
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Opened as the Benson Theatre on March 1, 1922 with Wesley Barry in “School Days” & Gus Edwards in “School Day Revue”. It was a 1,500 seat theatre, located in the shadows of the elevated subway in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn at 86th Street and 20th Avenue. Designed by architects George Keister & Libman. It was equipped with a Wurlitzer 2 manual, 6 ranks organ. It was run as a dollar theatre by the Golden Theatre chain before it was twinned by splitting it down the middle and renamed Benson Twins with seating for 588 and 400.
Subsequently, it became a first run house. In the final days, it was closed more than it was open, and was closed in 1988 for its current use as a drugstore. By 2015 part of the building had been converted into a gymnasium.
Contributed by
philipgoldberg
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Recent comments (view all 88 comments)
Would love to see an entire coffee table book of 86th street from the 50’s through the 80’s !
As a teenager I only went to the Benson once. My cousin from Bay Ridge and
his friends thought we could get a few laughs out of ‘Night of the Living Dead’.
It scared the#*@$ out of us! We were unimpressed with the theater. I lived in
Dyker Heights so I was more used to the RKO Dyker. My cousin was more
used to the Loew’s Alpine. We were spoiled and lucky to go into downtown
often to the Brooklyn Paramount (with parents), the Fox and the RKO Albee.
Don’t get me started on Radio City, either. The Loew’s Oriental made the
Benson look like a bare-bones, slipshod mistake!
1975 Twin PG pictures on one side,X-rated on the other,No place for a child.
Does anyone know if any of the theater ornamentation survives in this theater as the drug store, or is it all covered over/removed?
Above the entrance to the drug store there is still some ornamentaion near the top of the building. Nothing remains inside.
Bway, do you mean interior or exterior? The last time I was inside the Benson was in the early 80s, and there wasn’t much that was historically significant left in the interior.
I use to live in Bensonhurst from 1944 to 1951 and I remember going to the Benson to see Cinderella. They use to give out dishes to the women!! Such good memories!! I lived on 84th Street. There use to be trees on that street and now there is nothing.
I am interested in the magazine that is all about the movie theater industry…I am interested in some Brooklyn, NY theaters like the Williamsburg and Commodore.
Opened March 1st, 1922 per this article:
Benson theatre opening Thu, Mar 2, 1922 – 10 · The Standard Union (Brooklyn, New York) · Newspapers.com
Please update, total seats 988