BRIC Arts Media House

647 Fulton Street,
Brooklyn, NY 11217

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Showing 26 - 50 of 53 comments

Goodheart
Goodheart on February 2, 2008 at 7:00 pm

Thanks JoeR. Now that I can post, I will go through my old newspapers for ads from various theaters, from New York of course.
The rest of the ad was cut off at the bottom of “Ten Cents a Dance” which included the names Jane Frazee and Jimmy Lloyd.
I check in on BB every so often and read some of the interesting posts, and look at the pictures. It’s a great site.

Joe B.

sasheegm
sasheegm on February 2, 2008 at 6:25 pm

Hi Joe: It came through fine…….The Co-Feature, Ten Cents A Dance—1945 was also a film-noir starring Jane Frazee———The Strand always seemed to book two films in the same genre———Haven’t seen you at BB lately———-JoeR

Goodheart
Goodheart on February 2, 2008 at 6:01 pm

I’m attempting to post a newspaper ad of the Strand Theater featuring the movie “Dillinger” (1945) with Lawrence Tierney.
If it does not post, I will continue to go for it.

View link

Joe B.

Goodheart
Goodheart on October 26, 2007 at 11:12 am

Ed, those are some great shots of the site where the Strand and Majestic Theaters once flourished.
I recall going to the Strand Theater in my youth. I believe I saw “Calamity Jane” there wih Doris Day, in the 1950s.
Thanks for sharing.

Joe B.

Ed Solero
Ed Solero on October 23, 2007 at 10:09 pm

I took these shots of the Strand building while strolling downtown Brooklyn this past weekend:

Strand & Majestic from Flatbush Ave
Facade full shot
25 cent parking
Sidewall view
Carpe Diem
Ars Longa

I’d say the numerous windows along the sidewall would confirm that the old auditorium has been gutted and converted to office/commercial space. The entrance to the BAM Harvey can be seen adjacent to the Strand’s corner entrance.

msmovies
msmovies on October 1, 2007 at 11:08 am

The link to the 1928 photo was incorrect. Here’s the photo that shows the signage:
View link

spectrum
spectrum on September 15, 2007 at 10:06 pm

According to the THS’s list of largest movie palaces, the Strand has been converted to offices; presumably gutted.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on September 16, 2006 at 2:08 pm

This 1928 photo shows signage for the Strand, the Majestic and the Orpheum:
http://tinyurl.com/qkuxr

sasheegm
sasheegm on August 17, 2006 at 12:08 pm

Thanks Bway, Ed, Lostmemory, Warren and all the regulars for the Photos and the memories…….The Co-Feature, by the way, is “Murder On The Yukon” and old 1940 Renfrew of the Royal Mounted film by Monogram———-available at Ebay if you are lucky enough to hit it right………Regards from Joe From Florida

Ed Solero
Ed Solero on August 17, 2006 at 11:19 am

It’s already here, Bway… posted on July 19th at 2:13pm – and dutifully poked fun at by Lost Memory by 4:53!

Bway
Bway on August 17, 2006 at 11:12 am

Here’s a photo of the Strand from just before they tore down the old Fulton St Elevated. Ed, perhaps you should post your aerial photo here too….

http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?52097

Ed Solero
Ed Solero on July 19, 2006 at 5:38 pm

Damn, I have to brush up on my html… But I’ll definitely keep that in mind, Lost!

Goodheart
Goodheart on July 19, 2006 at 2:35 pm

EdSolero, thanks a heap. It was most interesting, and nice to know that the building where the Strand Theatre was located in all it’s glory wasn’t destroyed. One of the films I saw there was “Calamity Jane” with Doris Day.
The Dollar Dreams store is a hoot and seems out of place there. Is it a store where everything is a dollar?

Thanks again,

JoeB.

Ed Solero
Ed Solero on July 19, 2006 at 2:13 pm

Just for you JoeB… I grabbed a snapshot of the webpage:

North side of Fulton between Rockwell and Ashland Places

The highlighter is a little something special for you, Lost. The entrance for BRIC studios must be that doorway you can see about halfway up the block near the sidewalk grating. Looks like one enters through one of the former rear orchestra exit doors.

Ed Solero
Ed Solero on July 19, 2006 at 1:56 pm

No. The building is across the street to the right from the Dollar Dreams store. The image should show you the north side of Fulton Street; the Dollar Dreams store is on the northwest corner of Fulton and Rockwell Place while the Strand entrance is on the northeast corner. Compare the photo at the top of this page (note the Ionic columns) with the corner facade of the building on the northeast corner. If you follow the building roof line up Rockwell Place, you will see where it increases in height for what must have been a grand foyer and you can also see the peak to the roof as well as the rectangular shape of the stage loft housing at the north end of the property. The BAM Harvey is a smaller building to the right of the Strand, with a lower profile but much more pronounced roof peak and stage loft.

Did that help you get your bearings?

Lovetheoldtheaters… If you have a Macintosh, the local.live site will not work. It is powered by Windows and only works on that system. Of course, if you have one of those awesome new dual-platform Macs, you should be in business if you switch over to the Windows side to view the site.

Goodheart
Goodheart on July 19, 2006 at 11:25 am

EdSolero, your picture is not coming through for me. It’s too bad since I wanted to get a look at it, especially since I am familiar with the area.

Thanks,

JoeB.

Ed Solero
Ed Solero on July 19, 2006 at 11:13 am

Here’s an aerial view from local.live.com showing the Strand and the Majestic (now BAM Harvey) theaters sitting side by side – albeit off center from each other due to the block’s trapezoidal shape:

Fulton Street view to North

Close out the white “Welcome” box on the left and maximize the window so you can take in the full image. The Strand is the large theater on the left with the Ionic façade and entrance on the rounded corner of Fulton Avenue and Rockwell Place. I guess the BAM Harvey entrance is through the archway that is adjacent to the right of the Strand. That structure seems barely attached to the auditorium behind it. It looks like there would be an entrance closer to the Harvey auditorium on the side street (Ashland Place) but an alternate angle view of that façade doesn’t show any signs of such an entrance. BAM flies advertising banners between the Strand’s columns â€" two of which can be seen in the image above. Not being familiar with either theater when I passed by sometime last year, I just assumed that the Strand building was where the Harvey was located. I didn’t realize there was another auditorium that ran parallel along Ashland Place. You can make out how impressive the stage housing is for the Harvey compared to its size â€" it looks at least the same size as that of the Strand and perhaps even bigger, which probably made it attractive to BAM as a performance space. You can also see how much more lobby and foyer space the Strand appears to have (logically so, given its nearly 3000 seat capacity).

Does anyone know the status of the interior or about its future prospects? Does BAM own this as well? How much damage would have been done in a conversion to a bowling alley? I cringe at the thought, but perhaps its not as invasive as I’m imagining.

sasheegm
sasheegm on March 9, 2006 at 7:59 pm

I had my own group called “The Kents”…we had a song I wrote out in May 1958 called “The Happy Beat”…..and who knows, we might have both been at the Bklyn Paramount that day, as i went to a few in 1957, then appeared in some smaller events….and a big fund raiser on the Lower East Side of NY and a bunch of Proms and High Schools and other R&R shows in NJ………Back to the theaters——-The Strand was on the other side, and as you said, sort of hidden away from the Fox…..JoeB, I could talk all day about the old days, but I take some heavy duty meds and at this time, I am zonked….so I have to hit the hay……During the daytime or early evenings, I am in much more alert status—So I will say Buona Notte for now——-JoeR from Florida

Goodheart
Goodheart on March 9, 2006 at 7:50 pm

JoeR, my memory ain’t in such great shape either. If the Strand Theatre was closer to the Fox, it had to be on the other side of Flatbush Ave., hidden away from the main drag on Fulton St.
I also went to the R&R shows at the Paramount. I recall seeing Mickey & Sylvia singing “Love Is Strange” and The Skyliners doing “Since I Don’t Have You”, and when the lead Jimmy Beaumont couldn’t hit the high notes the audience laughed.
Did you ever hear of The Passions? They came from my neighorhood of Red Hook in Brooklyn.
Those were the days.
JoeB.

sasheegm
sasheegm on March 9, 2006 at 5:17 am

Hello JoeB: I kind of remember it being across from the Brooklyn Fox; but the old memory can play tricks……..I only went to the Strand and the Fox 2 or 3 times, as when I went down town with my Father or Mother we would either go to the RKO-Albee or Loews-Metropolitan……..The Brooklyn Paramount was the mid 1950s & the Allan Freed R&R shows……I remember seeing “Bambi” & “Three Cabeleros” at the Loews Met…..“Them” at the Fox……and I always recall the two War films at the Strand with the Manager selling War Bonds in the lobby——I mentioned the titles of the films up top——joeR

Goodheart
Goodheart on March 8, 2006 at 8:16 pm

I recall the Strand Theatre, which was sort of hidden, away from the Fox, RKO Albee, and nearest to the Paramount in downtown Brooklyn.
I believe that’s where I saw “Calamity Jane” with Doris Day.
I also remember on the side street of the theatre where the exit fire doors were located, there was wino’s unsually hanging around with their bottle of hooch in paper bags, sitting against the wall.
In any event it was a handsome showplace, sadly overshadowed by the other theatre’s in the area.

sasheegm
sasheegm on August 18, 2005 at 4:01 pm

Great clip Warren——-I wonder what Misca Auer’s stage routine was like?——I have Clyde McCoy’s Album, and a Ralph Bellamy Ellery Queen on dvd——-William Gargan replaced Bellamy as Queen at Columbia’s B-Unit——-The films seldom ran more then 70 minutes…….Joe From Florida—-sasheegm-user id

sasheegm
sasheegm on June 23, 2005 at 6:35 pm

Hello Lostmemory: Nice article for somebody like me that collects Classic Films on Video and DVD……….and it hits home when you read about all of the lost films from those Golden Years………Most of my 500 plus titles are 1930s titles……The others, films i saw at the Theaters we talk about here!……….I wonder sometimes, what would have happened to the Library of films in the Huge MGM library, had Ted Turner not purchased them………He immediatly set out to restore many of them, and they became the Corner-Stone of his Turner Classic Movie Channel………One would hope that when he is no longer in the picture, Time_Warner will continue to rejuvenate what still amounts to thousands of titles waiting to be restored……and that someday, MCA/Universal which owns all of the pre-1954 Paramount titles plus Universal, will do the same thing——-They are only marginally involved at this point in Restoration and showing of the Huge Paramount Library——At this point, thousands of titles just sit in their warehouses collecting dust———-Great Article Lost-One——-Joe From Florida—-sasheegm

sasheegm
sasheegm on June 10, 2005 at 8:07 am

Around 1951 I believe, with the Korean War going hot and heavy, a friend and i took the Myrtle Ave El and went to the Strand……The double feature we saw was “two WW2 movies” Gung Ho & Spitfire…….and afterwards the theater was selling more war bonds in the Lobby…….I was 10 years old and remember at the end of both features there were add ons to Buy War Bonds and keep America Free……..Joe From Florida, sasheegm…..

Mark1
Mark1 on July 26, 2004 at 2:51 pm

Long before its bad days, the Strand even had a “ballet-master” (Sonia Serova). This was around 1918. Ray Bolger appeared at this time as one of the dancers long before his later fame.