Rio Piedras Theatre

Here’s a stunning photo of the Broadway Theater from the 1940’s

http://nycma.lunaimaging.com/luna/servlet/detail/NYCMA~7~7~915237~749025?sort=borough%2Cblock%2Clot%2Czip_code

Somewhere out there are pictures of the theatre when it Rio Piedras, Spanish language programing in the 70’s

A very interesting page – and a wonderful picture, albeit the fact that, as previously noted, the elevated train line mysteriously disappears from the scene.

If I had not stumbled across this picture when viewing some of Jayar’s photos on the Bushwick RKO page, I would never have learned about this fascinating theater. Since I usually search theaters by zip code, the fact that it is not indicated at the top of the page means that I never found the Broadway during my previous searches. To address this, I hope that management will add the Broadway’s zip code – 11206 – to this page.

I was only in the Broadway Theater once, and don’t really remember too much about it, other than the fact that it was quite fancy. I think it must have been some time in the 40’s, and I agree it was a showplace.
I do however remember a lot about it from the outside. I lived over on Pilling St as a kid, and I would often go shopping with my mother on Knickerbocker Ave. We would take the Jamaica train to the Myrtle and Broadway elevated station, and get off and take the Myrtle El to Knickerbocker Ave. I remember always looking at the Broadway Theater as it towered above the station. So many memories. This was not far from the Rogers Theater down the street, which I also remember seeing the marquee from passing trains. But the two didn’t compare.
One of the first DVD’s I bought was the movie “Ghost”, because it was filmed in the neighborhood, and you can see this theater in that movie. I am 82 now, and a big fan of old movies. I know isn’t exactly an old movie, but for nostalgia, my daughter bought it for me. My daughter has slowly been helping me build my DVD collection.

So glad to have found this site.

If anyone has any memories to share, my email is

Saw a number of flms there from the 1940s through the 1950s—-It was a great showplace——Joe From Florida

I recall an article in the NY Daily News about this theater, which by then was a sorry sight. The theater was way beyond its prime. It was a sad site.
The article was about the theater’s dilapidated condition. It had become a haven for drug dealers, homeless, and other assorted characters. The politician made it clear that there was no way the theater would be renovated, which the communited was hoping for.

Thanks for the great picture.
Did this theater ever show porn? The titles, With Desires in my Fingers (roughly transalated from Spanish) seems odd.

I moved to Long Island in 1959 and only went back occasionally to take my Mother to Moore Street to buy Material as she was a dressmaker———-In the 60s I recall walking up to Broadway and looking at the old Rogers all boarded up with windows smashed and a poster in the small lobby blowing in the wind of a Durango Kid movie which used to be shown there almost every Saturday in the late 40s and early 50s———-It was sad for me indeed——-Take care JoeB

No Joe…..I don’t remember the Kismet as I seldom went past Stockton & Broadway up that way since I lived on Willoughy between Central & Evergreen in the other direction———-My Mother grew up on Marcy ave near Troop in the 1920s———Her Father was a fish peddler in the area who would cover most of Williamsburg——-He passed away in 1948 when I was seven years old——-Do you remember when they closed the Broadway to refurbish it in the 50s————When it was re-opened it looked like it was brand new…………………..My Mother used to take me there as a kid to see all of the MGM musicals in Color——-and when I left I had a number 5 Excedrin headache as I much prefered the old Rogers with their westerns & action flicks——Joe From Florida

Hi JoeB——Maybe you remember my Cousins——The Cosentino Family who lived on Stockton from the 1920s through the 1950s———They also went to the Broadway too——Just a ¼ of a block walk———Joe From Florida

Bway, thanks for the photo. I use to live at 178 Stockton St. and attended the Broadway Theater in my youth. Good memories.
It broke my heart when the theater was demolished.

Thanks,
Joe B.

Did they ever show porn at this theater? Did porn ever play in any of the theaters that were located on Broadway in Brooklyn?

Thanks, Warren and Lost Memory. This is all based on a lost memory of mine: in 1960 when I was 5 years old, my family was caught in a brutal rain/wind storm on the Belt Parkway, going from Canarsie to Hoboken NJ. I thought I remembered passing a drive-in that night which was showing “I Passed for White”. Must’ve gotten my memory wires crossed somewhere.