Olympic Theater Concert Hall

new website of the olympic theater
www.theolympictheater.com
no more .tv

Funny, yesterday I was reminiscing about my childhood in the South Bronx in the 60s and 70s when I left a comment for the President Theater of Westchester Avenue. So of course I did a search for my beloved Prospect Theater on this site, as I'd done many times before, and once again come up empty -handed. I never dreamed it had been restored and renamed! When I searched on the Web, I was directed back to this page, and got a big surprise. I immediately recognized the interior, especially the big double columns on either side of the stage. I remember vividly keeping one eye on the screen and the other on the door situated behind the columns because I knew that at a certain point one of the uniformed ushers would emerge with a stack of ice cream cups (remember the little wooden spoons?) to sell to the kiddies from the sidelines, while the film was in progress. In retrospect it was a smart thing for the management to do; it kept us quiet as we licked away!

I lived in the McKinley Houses on Tinton Avenue a few blocks north of the theater; the Prospect was definitely my household's social hub. There was a time in the late 60s when it seemed we were at the theater every Sunday to catch the latest Mexican mariachi western starring the great Antonio Aguilar, or Jorge Negrete, or Luis Aguilar (relation to Antonio?) who in particular had a gift for comedy as well as being a a romantic lead, and of course, being mariachis they could all sing their hearts out besides being great horsemen and two-fisted champions of good. We were Puerto Rican but I always felt my dad had a Mexican soul; he loved those movies so. My mom went for the romantic comedies and dramas starring the latest Latino pop idols: Raphael, Sandro, and later Julio Iglesias. Ialso remember seeing movie treatments of popular Latino soap operas. Unlike their American counterparts, these soaps were more like long-running miniseries, structured like novels with beginnings, middles, and endings. Of course, my brother and I loved best the masked Mexican wrestlers, who fought in the ring by day and battled master criminals, zombies, Aztec mummies and vampires by night (El Santo, the Silver-masked One, even had a secret laboratory and hot convertible sportscar, kind of like a south-of-the-border Batman). So while we went further afield (Fordham Road, Eastside Manhattan, Times Square) to catch the Hollywood blockbusters, we were nurtured by the Prospect, now the Olympic, on a week to week basis. Needless to say I'm going to have to come visit the old neighborhood after nearly 30 years to pay my respects and relive old times.

To view interesting "then" and "now" images of the Prospect Theatre, click here:
http://kraybill.home.mindspring.com/40/40theatres.html

Take note of how those rooftop water tanks have survived for nearly a century.

A recent color photo showing the marquee of the Olympic Theater can be seen on page B1 of The New York Times of Friday, October 23, 2004. An adjoining article tells of the neighborhood's current "revival."

New e-mail olympictheater@earthlink.net

Glad to know that the old Prospect is alive and well. In the late '50's my family would travel from B'klyn to the So. Bronx to visit relatives and frequently would catch a Spanish language movie at the Prospect. The theatre also presented live stage shows with mariachi bands and stars of the Mexican movies. Too bad that the Loews Paradise, the Loews Kings or even the DeMille have not enjoyed a similar restoration.

For sale at http://listing.loopnet.com/14211693 for $3,300,000.

Robin Williams is filming feture film "August Rush" in this theater all week.

Here is a photo of the Olympic Theater Concert Hall.

Six photographs of the former Prospect Theatre that I took in June 2005:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/226276891/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/226277509/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/226278151/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/226278889/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/226280422/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/226281083/

In September, 1933, this was known as Jennie Goldstein's Prospect Theatre, and presented stage plays starring the great Yiddish actress. I don't know how long her leasehold lasted:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/bxpro.jpg

Is the status of this theatre still "open," as mentioned in the introduction? I tried connecting to the official website, but got only a "this page cannot be displayed" message. The "for sale" listing mentioned by Roger Katz on 5/24/05 is also no longer displayed. Perhaps someone purchased the property but has not yet revealed their plans for it?

851 Prospect Avenue, Bronx, New York 10459 was sold in 2005:

Sold by Papaioannou, Vasilios A
Bought by 851 Prospect Avenue, Llc.
Date sale recorded Sep 16, 2005
Sale Price $1,261,990

Current use is not given.

It appears that the Olympic Theater is for sale again. This website has the information and a recent photo. The Status above should be changed to closed.

It looks like hell on the outside.

Here is a photo taken during a filming of a movie called "August Rush". The Olympic theater became the Fillmore East in the movie.

I went to the Bronx Zoo on Saturday and I took the #2 train. While looking out the window I noticed the "Olympic Concert Hall" aka "Prospect Theater" looking very dilapidated and with a "for sale" sign on the marquee. It was disconcerting since the rest of the neighborhood looks like it's in the middle of a building boom and, per above postings, had been recently renovated.

I was born in the Bronx and I asked my mom if she had gone to the Prospect way back when. She said it was one of her favorite theaters, but that she usually went to The Freeman on Southern Blvd. As a matter of fact, she went into labor (with me) while she was attending some Spanish language movie on November 23, 1959!

I love the fact that I decided to come into the world while I was actually IN a theater!

Here's some hot news on the Prospect Theatre. I noticed last week that the sign that had been hanging over the marquee for the last year - saying the building was for lease or sale by owner - was taken down. Uh oh, I thought, the Prospect has changed hands again, and who knows what's in store for it now. Please God, don't let it be torn down or subdivided into retail outlets. And please allow those amazing rooftop water towers (surviving almost 100 years of Bronx trials and tribulations) to remain just where they are.

So today I was strolling down Prospect Avenue, as I do on a regular basis these days, and noticed that the front door to the theatre was open, with an elderly gentleman standing inside. So I engaged him in conversation and found out that indeed the theatre has been bought, and will soon become the new home of the Abundant Life Tabernacle (currently located on Third Avenue and 143rd Street). This is great news, in my opinion, because it means, not only will the building be preserved, but the auditorium space will retain its integrity as a gathering space for people. It also means that anyone who wants to visit the old Prospect and absorb its ancient theatrical vibes will be able to do so, on any Sunday morning (as long as they are willing to sit through a religious service). It may take a while before the Abundant Life group makes their move, but I will keep this site posted on progress. Selah.

Thanks Charlie for the info! While I am always disappointed to find out that a theater is taken out of "service" to the public I am always gratified when the alternate function is that of a church. Over the years, more theaters have been (pardon the pun) faithfully preserved by religious orders than any other alternate use. I hope they prove to be great stewards of this theater and, someday, I hope to pop in to the theater that my parents went to so many years ago (though I will most defintely NOT stay for the service.

It would also be nice to see some interior shots once if the church allows it. I haven't seen any interiors posted previously.

Here is a vintage photo of the Prospect Theater.

Hey Charlie,
Love your commentary and insight, your one of those OGs (Original Gangstas, as we say- different meaning of Gangsta of course) that I love to run into in the park or walking the street in the summer time. Provide history and wisdom about our community (Bronx, NYC).
Question: is your site down or what - I can never see the page when I click the link.

Hi In Charge,

Yes, my site is down, and may never get back up. Earthlink unplugged me due to a billing dispute (about which I'm still really steamed). One of their "call center representatives" gave me some bad info earlier this year, resulting in overcharges I refused to pay. Fortunately, I saved the theater pics to my hard drive. Unfortunately, the links in my post no longer work, and I feel bad about that. I'd be happy to send any of my pics via e-mail to anyone who asks. E-mail me at: carlosnycity@gmail.com

Charlie I'm sending you an email from my personal hotmail account. Definitely would like to view them.
Thanks again.

I haven't seen the film AUGUST RUSH, but I'm curious how the Fillmore East was depicted in the film. I understand that both interiors and exteriors of this theatre were used to stand in for the Fillmore in the flick. I see they dressed up the Olympic's marquee to look like the Fillmore East, but the facade bears absolutely NO resemblance to the fabled concert hall's edifice. Did they use CGI to complete the illusion, or did they leave the Olympic's facade as-is to depict the theatre as a long vacant site?

Hey to those wanting to know more about the current status of the theater, just check out http://www.alttabernacle.org/properties/complete.html

This is the church that purchased the building and on the website are a few pictures of what their plans are. Very nice!
God Bless!

Well, considering that it sounds like they want to strip the place, I have to respectfully disagree on the "Very nice!" comment.

Normally, 'church use' for a former theatre is considered a good and caring use, and great care is taken to retain the historic elements. There is only one word to describe the plans for the Olympic Theater....'Gutted'.

Here is a photo of the Prospect Theater from the 1930s.

Ugh!!!! This is disgusting! I agree with KenRoe that many chrches have made adaptive reuse of theaters in a way respectful of the original architecture and history of the building. Paramount among these are Reverend Ike's Loews's 175th Street theater, The Tabernacle of Prayer's Loew's Valencia in Jamaica, Queens and The Rock Fellowships Loew's Elmwood in Elmhurst, Queens. There are several excellent examples in Brooklyn as well, but this is a travesty. I can only hope that YngBronxite was being sarcastic with his "very nice" comment.

I understand that not every theater can be saved and that not all purchasers of historic theaters will have the will (or the money) to restore them. This will be one of the theaters that should be marked pretty much as demolished as virtually nothing but the overall shape of the old structure will be preserved.

This is an updated link for the photo posted on Jun 3, 2008 at 9:37am.

They have begun to ravage the building:

http://www.alttabernacle.org/properties/complete.html

Scroll through the photo sequence and you'll see what I am talking about.

Forgive me for saying so, but I think anyone who believes "the Lord" would want them to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars destroying an attractive and recently-renovated historical building doesn't understand the concept of religion. Think of all the outreach ministries they could have sponsored with that money.

Passed by there yesterday and it's still abandoned. Looks nothing like the renderings featured on the tabernacle website. Pretty sad seeing it like that.

So, has the church finished "Raping" the old Prospect Theatre?

Hopefully, they ran out of money before too much damage could be done.

The exterior of the Prospect can be seen in the 1982 Italian slasher classic NEW YORK RIPPER. There's a quick shot at night with the marquee lit up, and a shot in the day where a character comes down the elevated train stairs and walks by the theater and then around the corner. If I can pull a still from the DVD I'll try to post it.

The church web site is no longer completely functional. It would appear that they gutted the theatre, than stopped upon realizing they did not have the funds to carry out their urban paradise concept. At least the group working on the Elmwood had the money to follow through on their grand designs.

This a text book case of grandiosity, short-sightedness and poor planning. They could've been holding services in the auditorium. Now, perhaps, they are running from unpaid contractors.

Actually, when I click on a link from the April 08 comment I can get to all areas of the church web site. For some reason my December comment takes me to a bunch of dead links. But, they still don't have any mention of the theatre project linked to the main ministry site. This would seem to suggest the project has stalled.

here's a picture i took of it last week:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/awertz/3963814745/


thanks for all the great history and old photos!

Hard to believe that after all the effort that was made to restore this theatre that it remains shuttered. Granted that it sits in a hard-scrabble community, but where is the wide-visioned impressario who can make a venue like this or the Paradise successful. The Loews 175th St. in Washington Heights is now attracting top tier talent such as the Allman Brothers & Bob Dylan. Is no one willing to perform in the Bronx?