The Apollo Theater on 125th Street in Manhattan has had large amounts of money pumped into it and still requires more subsidy. It has a tremendous talent pool available and political support that the Kings can never hope to have.
The Kings requires an unbeliveable amount of BTU’s just to heat it in winter. Most folks have no idea what basic operating costs are for a barn like that. To be viable commercially you would have to fill it not only on weekends but have good numbers during the week from some activity or other. Do you know what it would cost in electricity today just to light up the marquee and vertical for a few hours at night ?
Brooklyn had many things in the past, from the Dodgers to trolley cars on Flatbush Avenue. It would be great to see them return, but as with the Kings, it is not probable.
Unfortunately, the Loews Kings is an artifact of a time and culture that is long past. The population it served is old and dying off and most have long since moved from the area.
The people living in the area today have little or no interest in something they never experienced. I say this by reading the postings on this site. Few if any give any indication of current residence in Flatbush.
Given the current needs of today’s residents and the growing economic downturn which is reducing tax revunes to NYC, it is not likely that tax money wll be spent on a nostalgia trip to restore the derilect “Wonder Theater” which can never be viable without constant subsidy.
The only hope would be for some millionaire to donate $50 million to restore it and another 20 million in an endowment to maintain it.
Here is a photo of Crandall’s Theater at 9th & E. St. in N.W., Washington, D.C.
mentioned above not listed as such on CT, but may exist under another name: View link
Note the adjacent Garden Theater in the photo, which I do not find listed on CT under that name but may be listed under a later name.
AKA/ Crandall’s Savoy. There was an outdoor venue adjacent to this theater, known as the Savoy Garden/ Savoy Park, used for the brutal summer months in D.C.
As per “stanton_square”, the Washington Post is cited to the effect:
On April 30, 1916 the Savoy Theater, Washington’s largest motion picture house, was sold by the Savoy Theater company to Harry M. Crandall for a cash payment of $75,000, bringing the Crandall circuit to four theaters, the other three of which are Crandall’s at the southeast corner of Ninth and E streets northwest, the Apollo, and the Avenue Grand.
“Astonishing scenes filmed among the savage Kia Kia head hunters of New Guinea are shown in an unusual photoplay attraction, "Shipwrecked Among Cannibals,” which will be shown at the Leader Theater this week commencing this afternoon. The film was made by two adventurous camera men shipwrecked off the coast of the territory occupied by the Kia Kia. The savage customs of the head hunters, their mode of life and the grewsome decorations of their homes are illustrated in the production."
Here is a photo showing the Loews Metropolitan taken on June 21, 1941 as they were tearing down the Fulton Street El, a year after service was ended on both the EL and Fulton Trolley Car line as NYC took over the BMT and eliminated major services. View link
Note the Nedick’s and other long gone Brooklyn icons.
On July 25, 1933, Sylvia Sidney was on screen in “Jenny Gerhardt” while on stage the West Virgina finals for the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City were being held.
Down the way, the RKO Orpheum was showing Jack Oakie in “Sailor Be Good”, A Radio Picture. The other theaters in the City had similar lack luster attractions.
On this date, July 14th, in 1933, the Robinson Grand announced that the new Western Electric sound on film system had been installed to supplement the Fox Movietone sound on records system which had been in place since 1928. Once again, this was a first for the state of West Virgina, confirming the first rate ststus of this theater.
The main feature this day was “When Ladies Meet” with Myrna Loy. Moore’s Opera House, the number two theater in Clarksburg, was featuring Hoot Gibson in “The Dude Bandit” and the Ritz had a double fature of “Bed of Roses” with Joel McCrea and “Professional Sweetheart” with Ginger Rogers.
Here is a photo circa 1925 showing Manhattan Avenue and an early marquee. It is summer time and the windows are out of convertible trolley cars, the fare is a nickel but the BRT is in receivership after the inflation of WW1 made it impossible to cover cost with the fixed fare.
I have come upon several photos of the City Hall Theater marquee which could not be used because of copyright issues, This is the best one i have seen and it is available thanks to Frank Pfuhler. Frank has kindly made vailable about 3000 photos from his collection of traction subjects on Webshots.
View link shows a TARS conduit streetcar on Park Row at City Hall from sometime between 1939 and 1947 as it waits to run back uptown. The City Hall Theater is in the background.
Perhaps someone can make out the movies ‘now showing" on the marquee.
The AOM was located near Union Square in Manhattan. A subject related to the movie business on Union Square, with a large photograph taken in 1917 of a WW1 recruiting center in the form of a mock “Battleship”, shows the “Automatic Vaudeville” Nickelodeon. Caption quote is “Sailors doing their laundry on the Navy’s pretend battleship moored at Union Square, used for recruiting during World War I. In back is the Automatic Vaudeville penny arcade, two of whose backers — Marcus Loew and Adolph Zukor — went on to found Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Paramount Pictures after a few years in the nickelodeon ”
The Apollo Theater on 125th Street in Manhattan has had large amounts of money pumped into it and still requires more subsidy. It has a tremendous talent pool available and political support that the Kings can never hope to have.
The Kings requires an unbeliveable amount of BTU’s just to heat it in winter. Most folks have no idea what basic operating costs are for a barn like that. To be viable commercially you would have to fill it not only on weekends but have good numbers during the week from some activity or other. Do you know what it would cost in electricity today just to light up the marquee and vertical for a few hours at night ?
Brooklyn had many things in the past, from the Dodgers to trolley cars on Flatbush Avenue. It would be great to see them return, but as with the Kings, it is not probable.
Circa 1941 photo of Apollo from west of 8th Avenue:
View link
Unfortunately, the Loews Kings is an artifact of a time and culture that is long past. The population it served is old and dying off and most have long since moved from the area.
The people living in the area today have little or no interest in something they never experienced. I say this by reading the postings on this site. Few if any give any indication of current residence in Flatbush.
Given the current needs of today’s residents and the growing economic downturn which is reducing tax revunes to NYC, it is not likely that tax money wll be spent on a nostalgia trip to restore the derilect “Wonder Theater” which can never be viable without constant subsidy.
The only hope would be for some millionaire to donate $50 million to restore it and another 20 million in an endowment to maintain it.
Here is a photo with Moore’s Garden Theater in background around 1921.
View link
Thanks Lost Memory !
Here is a photo of Crandall’s Theater at 9th & E. St. in N.W., Washington, D.C.
mentioned above not listed as such on CT, but may exist under another name:
View link
Note the adjacent Garden Theater in the photo, which I do not find listed on CT under that name but may be listed under a later name.
AKA/ Crandall’s Savoy. There was an outdoor venue adjacent to this theater, known as the Savoy Garden/ Savoy Park, used for the brutal summer months in D.C.
Photo and history of the Savoy at this URL:
http://www.shorpy.com/node/4141?size=_original
As per “stanton_square”, the Washington Post is cited to the effect:
On April 30, 1916 the Savoy Theater, Washington’s largest motion picture house, was sold by the Savoy Theater company to Harry M. Crandall for a cash payment of $75,000, bringing the Crandall circuit to four theaters, the other three of which are Crandall’s at the southeast corner of Ninth and E streets northwest, the Apollo, and the Avenue Grand.
“Direct from the Astor Theater in New York” and now playing at the the Leader Theater in D.C.
http://www.shorpy.com/node/4142?size=_original
From the Washington Post, Jan 9, 1921:
“Astonishing scenes filmed among the savage Kia Kia head hunters of New Guinea are shown in an unusual photoplay attraction, "Shipwrecked Among Cannibals,” which will be shown at the Leader Theater this week commencing this afternoon. The film was made by two adventurous camera men shipwrecked off the coast of the territory occupied by the Kia Kia. The savage customs of the head hunters, their mode of life and the grewsome decorations of their homes are illustrated in the production."
Really enjoyed the two new photo postings above. Those are really magnificent Warren !
Another classic photo:
http://www.shorpy.com/node/4136?size=_original
Photo taken about 1921.
Here is a night view, the feature is “Boulder Dam”. Circa 1936.
View link
It is an E-bay sale image and may not be at this URL for long.
Here are two photos from January 1921.
http://www.shorpy.com/node/4107?size=_original
http://www.shorpy.com/node/4102?size=_original
Here is a photo showing the Loews Metropolitan taken on June 21, 1941 as they were tearing down the Fulton Street El, a year after service was ended on both the EL and Fulton Trolley Car line as NYC took over the BMT and eliminated major services.
View link
Note the Nedick’s and other long gone Brooklyn icons.
This link may be good for but a short time; shows in large detail the Astor entry under marquee in 1933.
View link
Thanks for post Lost Memory !
Here is another great photo:
http://www.shorpy.com/node/4006?size=_original
On July 25, 1933, Sylvia Sidney was on screen in “Jenny Gerhardt” while on stage the West Virgina finals for the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City were being held.
Down the way, the RKO Orpheum was showing Jack Oakie in “Sailor Be Good”, A Radio Picture. The other theaters in the City had similar lack luster attractions.
On this date, July 14th, in 1933, the Robinson Grand announced that the new Western Electric sound on film system had been installed to supplement the Fox Movietone sound on records system which had been in place since 1928. Once again, this was a first for the state of West Virgina, confirming the first rate ststus of this theater.
The main feature this day was “When Ladies Meet” with Myrna Loy. Moore’s Opera House, the number two theater in Clarksburg, was featuring Hoot Gibson in “The Dude Bandit” and the Ritz had a double fature of “Bed of Roses” with Joel McCrea and “Professional Sweetheart” with Ginger Rogers.
Here is a 1920s era photo showing Vertical and street scene:
View link
Here is a photo with a Bill for the Orpheum on August 13, 1935.
View link
Sorry for bad link. Try this one:
View link
Here is a photo circa 1925 showing Manhattan Avenue and an early marquee. It is summer time and the windows are out of convertible trolley cars, the fare is a nickel but the BRT is in receivership after the inflation of WW1 made it impossible to cover cost with the fixed fare.
View link
Photo coutesy of Fran Pfuhler’s Webshots trolley picture collection.
Here is a 1938 photo of the Fox marquee as viewed from the Fulton Street “L"
View link
The “L” passing in front of the Flatbush Avenue Fox marquee is of the 5th Avenue BMT Line.
Photo from Frank Pfuhler Webshot collection.
I have come upon several photos of the City Hall Theater marquee which could not be used because of copyright issues, This is the best one i have seen and it is available thanks to Frank Pfuhler. Frank has kindly made vailable about 3000 photos from his collection of traction subjects on Webshots.
View link shows a TARS conduit streetcar on Park Row at City Hall from sometime between 1939 and 1947 as it waits to run back uptown. The City Hall Theater is in the background.
Perhaps someone can make out the movies ‘now showing" on the marquee.
The AOM was located near Union Square in Manhattan. A subject related to the movie business on Union Square, with a large photograph taken in 1917 of a WW1 recruiting center in the form of a mock “Battleship”, shows the “Automatic Vaudeville” Nickelodeon. Caption quote is “Sailors doing their laundry on the Navy’s pretend battleship moored at Union Square, used for recruiting during World War I. In back is the Automatic Vaudeville penny arcade, two of whose backers — Marcus Loew and Adolph Zukor — went on to found Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Paramount Pictures after a few years in the nickelodeon ”
Photo link: http://www.shorpy.com/node/3656?size=_original