RKO Jefferson Theatre

Here’s a very early photo of the Jefferson Theater:

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I’d love to have more information on the theater’s late vaudeville era in the 1940s and perhaps even in the early fifties if it was still happening.

Thanks.

This ad (bottom left) shows the Jefferson still open and showing porn in 1975.

Thanks to everyone who posted on the Jefferson Theater. I grew up in that neighborhood and was practically a weekly patron of that theater and others in that area. I attended many, many vaudeville shows on weekends that were performed after the movies were shown and I would sit right in front of the orchestra. It was absolutely stunning and unforgettable for a kid of 4â€"10 years. And all this for 25 cents! I saw fabulous acts that left indelible imprints in my mind and given me a profound love for live theater. The Academy of Music also had spectacular live shows which I attended.

I would like to know when the last vaudeville show

I came to this site because I’m contemplating producing vaudeville on a very small scale where I now live in Oregon and the authenticity I visualize comes primarily from my experiences at the Jefferson Theater. There are many talented people who, like in the old days, would like an opportunity to showcase their art. A live small orchestra/band with a minimum of piano, trombone, trumpet, drums and bass can pull it off.

Thanks again and keep the information flowing on this site that I’ve bookmarked.

Joe Solano

Sorry folks. Here it is.

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I believe this photo coincides with the ad post by RobertR on Jul 4, 2005 at 2:13pm

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Glad that the site has been put to such productive, high-valued-added use. It’ll probably sit empty for another five years, at least, in this economy. Wonder what the developer paid, what his mortgage is like and how much he’s shelling out to the city in the way of property taxes every 90 days. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Oh wait. I know. “NYU can bail me out…In fact, it’ll be able to use money from `the stimulus package' to erect yet another dormitory, with tax-free assistance from the New York State Dormitory Authority.” What a joke.

Probably. There could have been apartments or furnished rooms above the stores.

RKO didn’t exist in 1913. The Jefferson was built by B.S. Moss and Sol Brill, who had a license to present B.F. Keith vaudeville there. I don’t know what previously occupied the ground site, but I doubt if it was a theatre. The portion used for the auditorium was actually on 13th Street. There was only a narrow entrance and lobby on 14th Street. The 14th Street portion might have been stores previously, with residential space (flats or houses) on 13th Street.

Here’s a photograph of 14th Street looking west with the Jefferson Theatre on the left side of the street. This photo was printed from the original glass negative, which I have in my possession.

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Here’s a photo of the Jefferson’s facade taken in the late 1990s, plus two cropped close views, all viewable in very large sizes, posted by Flickr user amg2000.

Theatre entrances are often narrow, due to factors such as the high cost of real estate or already existing adjacent buildings. The most famous of all New York vaudeville theatres, the Palace, also had (and still does) a comparatively narrow entrance for its auditorium size.

And a cigarette ad, (Kents, perhaps), on the side of the side of the bus in the foreground.

The Jefferson in 1982