Astor Theatre
927 Flatbush Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11226
927 Flatbush Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11226
3 people
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Brandt Theaters, Cinema Circuit Corp., Trans-Lux Movies Corp.
Architects: Thomas White Lamb
Functions: Retail
Previous Names: Trans-Lux Theatre
Nearby Theaters
This very small Flatbush Avenue cinema stood within blocks of the Albermarle Theatre, the Loew’s Kings Theatre, the RKO Kenmore Theatre and the Rialto Theatre. It was opened as the Trans-Lux Theatre in 1933. It became an art house, at one time operated by the Cinema 5 chain and Cinema Circuit Corp.
It closed in 1977, never reopened, and was gutted and retro-fitted for retail space.
Contributed by
philipgoldberg
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Recent comments (view all 16 comments)
I often used to go with my Dad when I was very young to the Astor. I remember seeing a British film about a boy piano prodogy who is kidnapped. I am not positive of the title
I adored this place. Saw some of the best American and foreign films there as a child. Remember it well. We used to take two buses from Crown Heights to get there, the only place in the area where films like “La Strada” and “Member of the Wedding” were shown.
As a teenager in the 1970s, I can tell you that Astor was “the place” to see Kung Fu movies along Flatbush Avenue. It also had a few foreign films. If I remember right, the Kenmore and the Lowes Kings got all the big budget, first run movies and the others on Flatbush had to differentiate themselves. The Albemarle was the place to go to see sci-fi, horror and thrillers (it had “Star Wars” all to itself the summer of ‘77). The Rialto focused on comedies, especially teen movies like “Kentucky Fried Movie.”
Wonderful photo. Thanks!
Terrific photos (except for the demolition one of course). Hard to imagine that outside of Manhattan, outer boroughs such as the Bronx & Brooklyn once supported art cinema and foreign films.
Nice photos.
Three photos of the Trans-Lux Theatre illustrate this article in the June 1, 1935, issue of Motion Picture Herald.
This was right down the block from Erasmus Hall High School, and played all the foreign (read “adult”) movies of the day when I was a teenager in the 1960s. There was also a kosher pizza place nearby, the first time I ate falafel, as I recall. A small theatre, nothing like the other movie palaces in the area, but charming, and remembered fondly.
Uploaded a picture of the facade as the Trans Lux.
Interior pics from the Motion Picture Herald added in photos