Loew's Metropolitan Theatre
392 Fulton Street,
Brooklyn,
NY
11201
392 Fulton Street,
Brooklyn,
NY
11201
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Showing 126 - 139 of 139 comments
Below is a slightly edited version of this discussion that has been on the Brooklyn Paramount page:
*‘Loew’s Metropolitan’ was originally a department store. posted by Bruce1 on May 2, 2005 at 9:59pm
*I don’t think Loew’s Metropolitan was ever a department store.
posted by saps on May 3, 2005 at 7:40pm
*I have added details on the Loew’s Metropolitan page.
posted by KenRoe on May 4, 2005 at 6:36am
*I spent a lot of time with the architect hired by the last owners of the Loew’s Metropolitan as they prepared to correct the sight lines for the multiplex. While doing her research, she could not find the ‘original blueprints’ filed by Thomas Lamb. By the way, Lamb signed his name bigger than any signer of the Constitution.
She literally haunted the Municipal Archives till they discovered the blueprints under ‘revisions’. The Loew’s Met was originally built around 1914, but at that time it was positively a department store! posted by Bruce1 on May 4, 2005 at 9:02am
*Loew’s Metropolitan occupied the site of a department store, but it was not a conversion. The department store was totally demolished, and then the theatre was built on the underlying ground.
posted by Warren on May 4, 2005 at 9:34am
*That may be, but all the blueprints were missing when the search was made under ‘new’ construction and were later found under an earlier date, referencing the original construction.
posted by Bruce1 on May 11, 2005 at 8:24am
Dear Lostmemory,
If you check the message board for the Loew’s Kings, you might want to join our efforts to Save The Kings. Obviously, you know how to check NYC real estate records as to lot and block number .. and with your co-operation, we could discover WHO is buying up all the property AROUND the Loew’s Kings.
My research has shown which property has been recently bought, but I need your help in finding who did the buying! Having this information will help our group in seeking the cooperation of a developer willing to restore the Loew’s Kings as the Kings County Center for the Performing Arts.
Bruce1 –
No, the Fulton Street entrance is still used when the church has ‘busy’ services. Plus, with a capacity of over 3,500 I would think that the authorities would never allow for exits to be removed.
lostmemory;
The address used today as the main entrance to the church at 17 Smith Street is what I believe was originally an additional entrance/exit which originally served the rear orchestra level of the theatre. It is around the corner to the original main entrance on Fulton Street and retains its original decorations.
The main original entrance to the theatre at 392 Fulton Street (now I believe known as Fulton Mall)serves today as a supplementary entrance/exit. For some reason the original facade on this entrance was taken down and rebuilt to a simpler design and the marquee removed when the theatre was being transformed into the Tabernacle Church. If memory serves me right there is a low one storey retail building adjacent to this entrance which could be the current #392 you describe in the property report above.
wow! That was a great conversion who would ever thought in those days that you could convert an old department store an excisting structure into a movie palace.
The Loew’s Metropolitan Theatre opened on 15th September 1918. It was not a ‘new build’, but a conversion by Thomas Lamb of the old Matthew’s Department Store that takes up virtually an entire city block. At the time of opening it was the largest theatre in Brooklyn (3,580 seats).
There is a huge Regal multiplex that opened in the area.
With all the office workers in the Metroplex office complex adjacent to the downtown Brooklyn pedestrian mall it is a shame that downtown Brooklyn has declined. Gage & Tollner, a classic NYC restaurant, couldn’t make a go of it and closed its doors not all that long ago.
I remember walking around downtown Brooklyn in the eighties and there was another theater that may or may not have even been open in downtown Brooklyn on one of the side streets over near the Albee Square Mall. It might have been a single-screen theatre. What was the name of that theatre?
The Metropolitan ended its days as a movie house just prior to Memorial Day weekend, 1996.
Does anyone know what movie played at the Loew’s Metropolitan theater in Brooklyn, N.Y. on December 1, 1943? It was my parent’s first date and they can’t remember what movie they saw.
Here is some information on the seating capacity for each of the Metropolitan’s auditoriums. Theatre 1: 676 seats, Theatre 2: 698 seats, Theatre 3: 600 seats, Theatre 4: 599 seats.
I remeber seeing such classics as “Ghostbusters”, “Purple Rain” and “Back to the Future” here before they closed down in the late 80’s. I remeber my Mom and my sisters waiting in line to see “Blazing Saddles” in 1975 and by the time we got to the window the tickets were sold out and we came home dissapointed. Alot of violence helped close down the theater.
the theatre was quadded in the late 70’s while still a loew’s house it only closed for a couple of months when Cineplex Odeon merged with Loew’s it then was remodeled and outfitted it’s marquee from Loew’s to Cineplex Odeon signage. I wathed the remodeling from my classroom window as they had the exit doors open during construction this occured in 1988. when the church that now operates the building took over they also gutted my school building which was around the corner, although long closed after I graduated in 1989 they incorparated it into the theatre building and is now the Jay street entrance of the building.
The old Metropolitan Theater, built in 1917 for vaudeville and designed by Thomas Lamb, has been restored to its former glory by The Brooklyn Tabernacle, a nondenominational church.
The church opened its doors for its first worship service in May, 2002 and currently holds three worship services every Sunday, in addition to its Tuesday night prayer service, to a maximum capacity crowd (approx. 4,000 seats). A new entrance to the theater is located at 17 Smith Street, just off Fulton Street. The Fulton Street entrance is still in use however, the marquis has been removed. The original facade of the building has been replaced. Extensive work has been performed on the sound and electrical systems to meet the demands of the large congregation and the 5 time Grammy award winning choir. Monitors have been installed throughout the auditorium for a more intimate worship experience. Contruction continues with the addition of another building which stands on Livingston Street.
This theatre dates back to early 1900’s as a Vaudeville house and has an extensive back stage area with dressing rooms and floors for talent agent offices. As a Loews house it was first outside Manhattan run for major films and included a stage show until the mid-fifties. In the late eighties it was taken over by Cineplex Odeon after being closed for a few years and split into four screens. Plaster walls in the lobby cover water features and mirrors that were NOT destroyed during the remodel. Cost of heating and cooling the extensive building and neighborhood violence lead to closing in the nineties when it failed to draw from nearby Brooklyn Heights.