Imperial Theatre
157 Irving Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11237
157 Irving Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11237
3 people
favorited this theater
Opened May 2, 1914, the Imperial Theatre was located on Irving Avenue between Dekalb Avenue and Stockholm Street in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn.
It was closed in 1940, and in 1945 was in use as a knitting factory. In later years it has become a storage facility for a mail order shipping company. In 2016 work began renovating the building and it opened as a wine store in summer of 2017. By early-2018 a bar and a bike shop were operating in the building.
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Lost Memory
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Recent comments (view all 74 comments)
Well, I was able to visit this site yesterday after work and have only good things to report. While there is scaffolding around the building, its purpose is to support the excellent façade restoration that is taking place – NOT to aide and abet a demolition! This work is proceeding nicely and also involves the installation of windows on what once were metal covered open holes. A good looking entrance is also being constructed on the Irving Ave. side of the building. All in all, the building should be ready for occupancy pretty soon. While it is still unclear what uses will be established here, they will have a very nice home to occupy.
The quality of the façade work needs to be recognized since it really captures the subtle changes in the brick colors along the wall as it restores the ornamentations that were created for the old theater.
I can’t wait to see it open.
I was able to visit the site yesterday. The renovation work is nearly complete and what I was able to glimpse of the interior seems pretty impressive. There is currently no indication of what establishments will eventually occupy the premises, though there was a sign noting the availability of retail space. Hopefully we will find out exactly what is in store for this very interesting building very soon.
Did you take any photos that you can add here?
Sorry, but I am not much of a picture taker. Anyhow, it probably would be best to wait until the renovations are complete and the site is actually operational. This should occur pretty soon.
A wine store open up on irving side today.
This article on the wine bar appeared recently in the Bushwick Daily blog.
http://bushwickdaily.com/bushwick/categories/food-and-drink/4820-irving-bottle-bushwick
Since I have not been able to get around due to poor health, I have not been able to re-visit the old Imperial and see if any more businesses have moved in. I know that the wine bar only occupies a small portion of this site and that attempts are being made to rent the rest of the building – including the area containing the theater itself. Has anything come to this and, if so, who are the new tenants? Thanks in advance.
There is now a bar and a bike shop. They seem to be doing well. Two more business will be coming soon.
Thanks for the update.
This one opened on May 2, 1914.