Imperial Theatre
157 Irving Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11237
157 Irving Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11237
3 people
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Showing 1 - 25 of 74 comments
This one opened on May 2, 1914.
Thanks for the update.
There is now a bar and a bike shop. They seem to be doing well. Two more business will be coming soon.
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.
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
A wine store open up on irving side today.
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.
Did you take any photos that you can add here?
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.
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.
That probably is the best explanation – but somebody still needs to check this out directly.
Possibly they were referring to interior demolition? The theatrical interior was probably gone long ago, but if the building is being renovated for retail space there was probably still a lot of later material to be hauled out.
Not sure, the post said demolition, but perhaps the person who posted it was mistaken.
But what exactly is happening at the old Imperial site. Given the amount of real loving care provided to restore it, it makes absolutely no sense to now demolish the place. A real on-site visit is certainly needed now.
So sorry for the confusion, but I meant Irving and DeKalb, not Knickerbocker. I can’t find the post anymore, but here’s a google streetview of the old theater building:
https://goo.gl/maps/aTYtL5TeYUM2
I had previously suggested the Willoughby, Starr and Park.
While I am somewhat flying blind on this, since my computer cannot access the Facebook photo, I would guess that the Willoughby Theater, situated at 260 Knickerbocker – or a few blocks west of DeKalb- would best fit the bill. The site is currently owned by a church, and they have sold it to a developer who will construct a much larger building here but leave the first floor for religious functions. I believe that the Brownstoner blog has discussed this item in prior posts.
Hopefully, this will help sort this out.
It did seem odd to me that if the building was going to be demolished it looked better in the Facebook photo than it did in the photos on our photo page. All those layers of paint have been stripped off of the brick. But I still can’t find a photo of a theater at DeKalb and Knickerbocker. There’s only one modern building at that intersection, and it looks several years old.
One other thing – I just viewed the Google satellite picture of this site and it clearly confirms that the building is being renovated – not demolished.
Bway, robboehm and Joe – These comments do not make sense – at least in terms of the imminent demolition of the old Imperial. As I previously noted, this former theater has been undergoing an extensive – and quite impressive – renovation and should be re-opening as retail space pretty soon. Unless something VERY radical has recently occurred here, the fact that the building will soon be demolished is just not credible. This really requires an on-site visit.
Yes, after it closed as a theater sometime in the 1940’s, this building did host a Robert Hall’s for a number of years.
Let’s see what happens here.
I’m with you, Joe. We’ll see if Bway weighs in on this.
robboehm: This photo is the only one I can find on the Ridgewood Facebook page of a theater about to be torn down, and it’s the Imperial. Comments say it used to be a Robert Hall. I think Bway might have been mistaken about the location being DeKalb and Knickerbocker.
The Starr, Willoughby and Park (aka Park Palace) were all on Knickerbocker in the DeKalb vicinity. Any clue what it’s use was before demolition to check back on CT?
Bway-None of the theaters on Cinema Treasures in Ridgewood have a DeKalb or Knickerbocker address. If it’s on CT it’s probably Brooklyn.
I tried to find the Facebook entry you refer to but was unsuccessful. How, exactly, did you access it?
John, on the if you lived in Ridgewood Facebook page, there’s a current photo of the theater at DeKalb and Knickerbocker being torn down, April 22, This building once housed Robert Hall. Do you remember what the name of that theater was, I can’t find it or remember.