Sheepshead Theatre

After Century closed the theater, it became a roller rink.

To elaborate, it became the Sheepshead Bay Roller Palace in the height of the disco era.

I waited online on Sheepshead Bay Road to get into this theatre as a kid.

Once inside, the auditorium was gutted and there was a wood floor for skating. the DJ booth was up a ladder, probably where the projection booth once was.

The skate rental was at the candy counter most likely. And the entrance was in an added part which was newer next to the entrace (or could have been renovated but it was not under where the marquee was).

There was a horrible acoustic echo as the sound bounced all over.

Mike

the floor was made of a poly resin not wood the DJ were on Left an right sides of Rink access, where the candy booth was was a skate shop. smaniac BROOKLYN SKATERS

MANIACSSBS@AOL.COM

This was one of the nicer Bally's around. They did not do much to disguise the interior as being once a movie theater so it was kind of surreal. The ceiling was painted a bright blue and you could easily make out the old ornamentation. Where the stage was, they had aerobics classes. The arch was still there and all.

This was back in the early 90's. I know it's still a Bally's but I don't know how well they've maintained the place. I would assume it's OK because the area is still nice.

The gym was HUGE so the theater itself must've been also.

I have a memory that in the early '50s this theatre went down a nickel to 20 cents for afternoon kids, while the Oceana (Brighton Beach) stayed at 25 cents? Any confirmation of this?

Photo 1960: http://brooklynpix.com/photo1/S/sbay52.jpg

The building as it looks today.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisanne001/2144220767/in/set-72157601183840020/

The Sheepshead Theater was built by A.H. Schwartz in the late 1920s, became a Century property and, on May 15, 1977, opened as Roll-A-Palace. Prior to the Sheepshead, the Shelton Theater at 1648 Sheepshead Bay Road, built in the 1920s, was a vaudeville house owned by a Mr. Brown. The name may have been changed to the Sommer Theater late in the decade.

The Sommer Theater sounds very familiar, but I am unable to find any information on it. I shall check my local history resources to see if anything shows up.

According to Brian Merlis, et al, in "Brooklyn's Gold Coast: the Sheepshead Bay Communities" the theater was known as the Shelton, was built in 1920, and possibly known at some period during the 20s as the Sommer.

Here's an ultra-rare view of the Sheepshead Theatre's auditorium. Enroute to Coney Island on the Belt Parkway, I always noticed the enormous roof and wondered what the interior looked like. Now I know: http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/sheepsbay.jpg

Yep, that's what it looked like even in the sixties.

The Sheepshead Theatre apparently opened in 1931, and not in the 1920s. A short real estate article in The New York Times of April 19, 1931, describes it as "the new Sheepshead Theatre," and credits its opening with attracting more people to Sheepshead Bay's main shopping district. The community and adjacent Manhattan Beach had surged in population in recent years due to many new apartment buildings as well as private homes, the NYT reported.

My guess is that it opened sometime in late 1930. In April of '31 the theater would still be considered new, but would have been around long enough so that a claim could be made about it's positive effect on neighboring businesses. Also, consider that this is real estate news. The surge in population in Sheepshead Bay started in 22' and probably peaked by 26'. Much of the building after that date was commercial. Streets filled with homes built in the 1890s became shopping avenues.

A recent view of the building can be seen about midway through this article about the area: http://www.forgotten-ny.com/SLICES/sheepshead.bay.rd/sheepshead.bay.html