Burnside Theatre

This theatre was part of the Loew's chain.

According to a story in the Bronx Home News, the Burnside first opened on January 31st, 1924, and was the 40th Loew's theatre in the Greater New York area and the circuit's 100th throughout the USA. Marcus Loew himself attended the opening night festivities, accompanied by Pearl White, Eddie Cantor, Olga Petrova, Faye Marbe, Monty Banks, and many other celebrities of the era, plus a contingent of showgirls from the Ziegfeld Follies. The movie shown was "Thy Name Is Woman," directed by Fred Niblo, who was in the audience and stepped on stage at the end to thunderous applause.

A 1940s image of the theatre can be found here:
http://bronxblotter.home.mindspring.com/old/burnside_old.jpg

Not demolished, according to these photos. The auditorium structure appears to still exist and the lobby is home to a Rite Aid Pharmacy:
http://kraybill4.home.mindspring.com/46theatres/eburnside57_2003apr12.jpg
http://kraybill4.home.mindspring.com/46theatres/eburnside57_2003apr12_det1.jpg
http://kraybill4.home.mindspring.com/46theatres/eburnside57_2003apr12_det2.jpg

Thanks again to Damien Farley for posting links to my pics of this huge old theatre building. To see the web page from which the pics were taken, click here:
http://kraybill.home.mindspring.com/46/46theatres.html

A Moller organ Opus 3773 Size 3/28 was installed in Loew's Burnside Theater in 1923 at a cost of $17500.00.

Three photographs of the Burnside Theatre that I took in June 2005:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/226531803/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/226532395/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/226533379/

Ken, it looks like the Rite Aid store is separate from the Burnside's auditorium. What, if anything, is the auditorium used for?

I went inside the Rite Aid store and it uses all the former foyer space and could well extend a little into the rear orchestra area of the auditorium (but certainly not too far in). Unfortunately, the roller shutter was down on the stage end of the auditorium, as can be seen on the third photo, so I have no idea what that huge 'hulk' is being used for. Maybe storage?

Some old and shuttered theatres in the Bronx have been used for illegal fighting matches between roosters or dogs. Now and then they get raided by the police, but, unfortunately, the matches still continue.

Here is a circa 1948 photo of the Loew's Burnside.

And here are lots more theatre photos, thanks to the sterling efforts of the owners of the Back in the Bronx website:http://www.backinthebronx.com/movies.php?prod=portable001

More lame comments by "Warren". Thats all that you seem to post lately.

This is an updated link for the photo posted on Jun 3, 2008 at 7:16pm.

Here is an excerpt from a NYT article dated 9/2/61:

BRONX LANDMARK TO BE DEMOLISHED; Burnside Theatre Site to Get Apartment House

September 2, 1961, Saturday

The property at the northeast corner of East Burnside and Walton Avenues, the Bronx, which contains Loew's Burnside Theatre and five stores, has been sold by the theatre chain. Title has been taken by the buyer in the name of the Burnside Realty Company, representing Joseph S. Rosenblum, a realty investor and builder, and Fechter, Schneider and Spector.

How could it be demolished if it is now a drugstore?

Apparently it wasn't.

Ever wonder why I didn't post that article? I skip over stories like that.