RKO Greenpoint Theatre

Bway, I wish I had you for my buyer. I had to shell out $43 for the set.

While the Index does provide excellent reference materials, it, unfortunately, does not contain a large number of photos. There is a nice one of the Wagner that I have not seen before – although the one you posted is better – and a great shot looking up Graham Ave. that captures the old Folly Theatre. And there are a number of others. However, you should not buy the Index if you only want to look at the pictures.

Regarding your question of what became of the old Opera House, the record, at least to date, is pretty blank. Most of the western portion of the block, which abuts Lorimer St., is dominated by the Greenpoint YMCA. So, it is possible that this large building could have been constructed on the old theater’s site. However, the Index places it closer to the Manhattan Ave. corner, which is not occupied by any buildings of note. So, beyond sheer speculation, we really don’t know.

PS. Have a wonderful New Year!

Bway, you took the google street view of the Manhattan Ave./Meserole Street intersection, which is in Williamsburg. The old opera house was situated just west of the Manhattan/Meserole Avenue intersection, in Greenpoint. If you take this view from Manhattan Ave. looking west on Meserole, the opera house would have been situated on the right side of the street

Bway, at one time, I thought that the building you referenced might have been the old opera house, but I don’t think this is the case for at least two reasons. First, it is situated at the southwest corner of these two streets while the Index places it at or near the northwest corner. (Not an absolute disqualifier but still pretty significant.) Second – and more importantly – in checking some of the Building Dept. info for this site, I just do not think that the current building is that old.

With that said, I very fondly remember this building as the home of the New Garden Chinese Restaurant. It was, at the time – late 50’s/early 60’s – just about the only restaurant in Greenpoint that was not a diner. While, in retrospect, the quality of the food was pretty poor – their best dish was breaded veal cutlet, which was very tasty – we didn’t know the difference and thought it was a real classy place. The grand staircase leading to this second floor establishment made it seem almost regal!) At one time – before my time but well within my parants memory – this large restaurant hosted dance parties. This proved to be a harbinger for the future, since the place now hosts a Polish nightclub.

I think the old opera house was actually situated between the Greenpoint Y and Manhattan Ave. As a review of the goggle map indicates, nothing of interest currently exists in this area.

It’s amazing when you realize how many RKO and Loew’s theaters there were in so many local neighborhoods and basically they are all gone.

Hard to belive how times have changed.

Actually, TT, Greenpoint was named after the green shoreline that the initial Dutch explorers encountered near the south bank of the intersection of the East River and Newtown Creek. There was nothing “Irish” about it.

By the early 1950’s, Greenpoint had hosted a large Irish population for nearly a century. So, the vaudeville act you referenced must have had a wide following.