RKO Bushwick Theatre
1396 Broadway,
Brooklyn,
NY
11221
1396 Broadway,
Brooklyn,
NY
11221
13 people
favorited this theater
Showing 351 - 375 of 418 comments
The bushwick? It looks entirely intact except for the circle on the point and the brick. I wonder why they got rid of that seal.
The photos of this former theatre are fascinating! It had such an ornate facade that has all been removed or covered today!
I was born on Bushwick Ave in 1948. Went to PS24 on Beaver Street.
I also remember seeing House on Haunted Hill at the Bushwick Theater.
I remember when the skeleton came across the theater on the wire all you would hear is paper clips and Red Devil candy bouncing off it.
We would also frequent the Loews (then pronounced Loweees)Gates.
There was also the RKO Madison further down B'way and still further,
right on my corner was the Rogers Theater. Anyone remember that
place? Park Ave and Broadway.
Percy Williams and William McElfatrick built the Bushwick.
My e-amil address is
By the way, does anyone have any old shots of the RKO Bushwick besides the ones already seen on this site? (perhaps from the 60s, ‘70s, 80s) Any photos would really by a delight to see.
I don’t think that was the same marquee the theatre had until it was closed. I have lived in Bushwick all my life (I’m only 24), so I obviously was not around when the RKO was open. But I remember this building and its' marquee, thinking the marquee would fall at any moment. That’s how messed up it looked. I do remember that the marquee was somewhat smaller, a while before the theatre was turned into a high school. It was also ruined through the wear and tear and neglect through the years. From what I can recall the marquee had the RKO sign on both sides of it. The RKO sign was formed out of light bulbs, forming the signs. I remember seeing garbage atop of the marquee from the J train EL and from the street level as well. This is probably going back to around 1992-93, from what I can remember. I also recall seeing the theatre in a movie called “The Believers”. The inside was shown as well as the outside of it. I would like to see that film again just to see the theatre somewhat intact. My mom went to that theatre around the late ‘60s and said it was very nice looking inside. She also mentioned the Loews Gates being one of the other theatres in the area she’d go to. If anyone is interested I have a crazy, spooky looking picture of the RKO Bushwick at night being renovated around 2002, 2003 during the
winter that I can share.
Hi everyone here is a little story i will pass on the my fellow rko bushwick lovers.Back in the early 60’s i lived on harmon and centeral ave although just a youngster i use to go to the rko bushwick with my cousins that lived in the same tenament as me.
One time when i was suppose to be watching the movie i snuck way up into the very heart of the movie theatre friends i had made a pilgrimage to the “projection booth"well i was simply stunned i remember at the time i was in awe as to what i was seeing!Hoping i wouldn’t be discovered i keept still as i watched the movies reels go round and round all of a sudden i heard some one say Hi may i help you i knew i had been discovered.Well i went back to the movie i remember it was house on haunted hill and i remember thay had rigged up a dummy skeleton and it was a guide wire and it flew from the front of the theater to the rear and everyone was screeming,how funny it seems now.Well as time passed i was always fasinated as to what i had seen in that projection booth so many years before that later on in life about when i made it to high school i knew that thats what i wanted to do and to day at 51 yrs old i have been a projectionist for the last 30 years.So the RKO Bushwick was a very special for me and in my heart.I am going to try and see if i can find any of the union projectionists that werked that theatre in the 60’s with some luck mybe thay might share some storys and history not redaly known,and mybe some cool pics
joe matteo
This marquee was so unusual the way it protruded from the corner of the building. Was this the same one the theatre had until it closed?
View link
This page of Forgotten New York features a shot of the RKO Bushwick with its marquee intact.
The Empire does indeed still exist, see the Empire’s section for a photo taken yesterday:
/theaters/7294/
There have been recent comments by “Apollo” on this site about the Empire, at Ralph and Lexington Avenues and Broadway, still being there, now in use as a church.
The Halsey is gone, I think the Empire is gone too. The Halsey was knocked over in the fifties unless I’m mistaken.
Ah, my photos seem to be back up again. The webmasters said they may go on and off for a bit, but as of now they are working.
Anyway, I may get over to Bushwick some time in October, so I’ll keep you posted the current shots of theaters I forgot the last time, like the Empire and the Halsey, etc.
Yes, how things DO change with time, sometimes even for the better !
Thanks for posting that.
Thanks for the heads-up on the site your recent photos are on. I’m glad I printed them when I did. My dad very much enjoyed them.
When can we expect an image of the Halsey Theater as it is now ?
Oh by the way, the site I put all my photos on of the various Bushwick and Ridgewood Theaters last week is having technical difficulties, so if you click on any of my photos, they will not come up. The webmasters claim they will be up again shortly, so please try again later if you have problems with my Sept 22 or Sept 24 link above, or any of the other theaters I added photo links on this site to.
Wow, what a difference a few years makes, I found this photo on the web. I don’t know how old the photo is:
Click here, you won’t believe it
Thanks, Bway. I had the same thought about the golden arches being in the way. But thanks for posting your rationale for that photo’s vantage point !
Hi Neo, the only reason I took that photo with the arches is beacause I was taking the photo as an “after” shot to compare to a “before” shot that a friend of mine has from the 70’s when the building where Mc Donalds is now still took up that corner, right up the the sidewalk. I am standing in the exact spot the 1970’s photo was taken from, and wow, what a difference. Garbage, graffiti, refrigerators, and abandoned cars are everywhere in the 70’s photo, and the boarded up building to the right too….
Here’s a current photo without the arches:
Click here for photo
nice pic, except for those 2 golden arches!
Here’s a current view of the old RKO Bushwick Theatre taken today.
Click Here for Link
The theater is now gutted for a school as you all know, but is in excellent condition.
Thanks, Rose. The latest comments on the RKO Madison Theater page are about Mae West once having performed at a theater at Bushwick and Euclid Avenues, which makes no sense.
Peter, I’m not sure but I’ll try to find out. Any excuse is good for me to do research.
Rose
Rose, do you know where on Bushwick Avenue Mae West once lived ? My dad once lived at 1454 Bushwick, between Chauncey and Pilling Streets, in 1945.
Peter K.
Before I go I have to tell you all that Mae West is one of my favorites. She also lived on Bushwick Ave. I went to L.A. this summer, yes I’m star struck and I took this trip to pay my respects to Jack Benny, Lucy, Mae West and Laurel and Hardy. I tracked down Mae’s apartment in the Ravenswood Apartments in Hancock Park. I kept thinking about a Brooklyn girl doing her thing back in the days. I plan to visit her in Cypress Hills too! Just a little aside.
Rose