RKO Albee Theatre

Erwin, it was called the RCA Synchro-Screen. According to a write-up in the 1952 Film Daily Year Book, the screen had side wings and a top panel which picked up and reflected diffused light from the picture, imparting a new sense of realism by making the action on the screen appear to occupy a larger portion of the patron’s field of vision. It was invented by theatre architect Ben Schlanger and his associate, William Hoffberg, and marketed by RCA. The snowwhite screen fabric was made from heavyweight Firestone “Velon” plastic…If I recall correctly, some of the top RKO theatres had them. The circuit might have had an exclusive for the Greater New York area. I recall going to the RKO Keith’s in Flushing to see one and left disappointed. I was expecting more of a 3-D effect from publicity that I’d read. I believe that they were all scrapped by 1953 because they were incompatible with the new wide screen projection systems.

The End. Photo link:

Brooklyn Public Library link

I still remember all the neon and marquees lit up during the Christmas holiday season shopping trips to all the major shopping stores. This would have been between 1959 and 1972. I also remember the Fox being torn down and the Nevins Street entrance to train under scaffolding for some time. I was to young (thank God!) to feel the impact older generations might have had. The Albee’s marquee was the best since I can’t remember the Paramount’s.

The Albee was always considered one of the most important and beautiful theatres in Brooklyn. In its first years, it played two-a-day vaudeville exclusively, but finally had to give into the competition by adding a feature movie and shifting to continuous performances. Vaudeville was finally dropped in 1934-35 when it became economically unfeasible due to the Depression. As the RKO Albee, it was exclusive first-run for all of Brooklyn, getting the movies direct from their Broadway premiere engagements. However, due to the product “split” between three other downtown Brooklyn palaces— the Fox, Metropolitan, and Paramount— the Albee played mainly 20th Century-Fox and RKO releases. This meant, as it did with the other three theatres, that the double-feature programs usually had to be “held-over” for at least one extra week, which was not rewarding except in the cases of the biggest hit movies. Because of its size, the Albee suffered when the New York area switched to the “Premiere Showcase” type of saturation release and the theatre lost its exclusive status. Due to a simultaneous decline in downtown Brooklyn’s shopping district, the Albee’s demolition seemed inevitable as the community tried to save itself with new construction projects.

A description of the theater as it was when opened is in the book “Mr. Bojangles”, by Haskins and Mitgang.

Theatre was in the beaux arts style. Architect Thomas Lamb. Opened January 25, 1925 and demolished in November 1978. Prime Brooklyn RKO house.