Loew's Gates Theatre

Mike as stated above this theatre did not become a porno house it just showed a few x-rated films now and then,My Nashville LOEWS showed a couple of x-rated movies in my days but not what you would call triple xxx movies,in fact nowadays they would most likely be rated R.I know that the Cinema South a quad even showed a few X-rated movies beside the family movies in the same building.In the late 70s.I bet there were a few screen jumpers there.

Good photos and history.

While, as clearly demonstrated by the previous picture, the Gates did show porn movies – at least in the late 1960’s – I do not believe it ever became an exclusively adult theater for any extended period of time. In fact, at least two of the previous comments reference viewing mainstream films during the 1970’s. My guess is that porn was shown here on occasional dates but was never the dominant genre presented – if you call porn a genre.

While the movie theater’s “desertion” of the community in 1977 was certainly regrettable, having experienced first hand the dreadful looting and fires that followed the July 13 blackout, I can certainly understand why this occurred.

The Pilgrim Chuech – and its charismatic principal pastor, Roy Brown, has become a very substantial presence in Bushwick. One of their satellite churches, in fact, is situated in the former home of 14 Holy Martyr’s Catholic Church. It is also maintained beautifully.

Warren, I guess that means that the rumor that “Loew’s walked away from the Gates Theater after the 1977 riots” is untrue, as apparently it wasn’t operating the Gates by 1977, if it’s final years as a cinema were spent as porn. But then again, it may be a half truth, as if the operator that ran the porn there was a tenant, Loew’s could have still owned the place at the time of the 1977 blackout.
The Pilgrim Church that took over the Loews Gates (and is still there today) originally used the RKO Bushwick as their sanctuary but when the Loews Gates became available, they moved out of the Bushwick and into the Gates. The reason being that they may have been able to take ownership to the Gates if Loews walked away from it, wheras at the Bushwick they may have been a tenant.

My goodness, I never realized that the Gates went to porn before closing!! Thanks so much for posting that photo. AT the time, the Pilgrim Church was about to move into the RKO Bushwick Theater, and then when the Gates became available some time afterwords, moved into the Gates.
Some change that was….from porn to a church.
Today the Gates is beautifully restored, and used for the Pilgrim Church.

Here’s a google street view of the Gates:

Click Here for Link

I don’t know. Loews may have walked away from it. All I do know is that the Pilgrim Church that now occupies the Loews Gates originally was housed in the RKO Bushwick Theater after the Bushwick Theater closed. I don’t know when the Bushwick Theater closed though, but it was in the 70’s. For whatever reason, in a twist of fate, the Pilgrim Church moved out of the RKO Bushwick and into the Loews Gates when it became available. Perhaps the reason for this is the missing piece to the puzzle of why they did that, which you may have unearthed. Perhaps they were paying rent in the RKO Bushwick, but if Loews jsut waled away from the Gates, perhaps the Pilgrim Church had an easy way to obtain actual ownership of the Gates, instead of paying rent at the RKO Bushwick.
In any event, that move left the RKO Bushwick at the beginning of it’s almost 30 year fall into total shambles, as nothing ever occupied it again after the church, and was finally gutted and made into a school in 2004. At the same time, the Gates theater is now completely preserved and intact inside.

I know it was a long time ago, and I scanned thru all the above posts, perhaps I missed it, but isn’t this theatre one the few that Loew’s walked away from after the great blackout of 1977? As I remember reading, they just never showed up again after the power returned.

Local photographs and map

http://www.topix.net/city/brooklyn-ny

Thanks, Ken. I rode by Loew’s Gates on the B-52 bus this past Saturday, July 15th.

Thanks, Lost Memory. I’ve seen that vintage photo. It looks east on Gates Avenue from Ralph Avenue to Broadway.

It goes hand in hand with another old photo I’ve seen looking north on Ralph Avenue, from Gates Avenue to Broadway, showing the Empire Theater on the left, near the intersection of Ralph and Lexington Avenues and Broadway. That photo also shows the Lexington Avenue el turning out from the Bway el.

Bway, good question, as you have taken and posted some excellent photos of the exterior of Loews Gates as it is now.

August 1972 Cinerama Releasing had a huge run all over town of “Ben” and “Krakatoa East of Java”. In Brooklyn it was playing at Loews Gates, RKO Albee, Canarsie, Fortway, Graham, Loews Georgetown 2, RKO Madison and Midwood.

My Mother at age 15, in 1930, met Kate Smith & William (Hopalong Cassidy) Boyd at the Gates…….She never forgot how kind they were to her, may she rest in piece….I saw Red River with John Wayne there as a kid…..Joe From Florida