Loew's Kameo Theatre

The terra cotta banding is very special, an impressive structure overall, if the exterior is a clue to what treasures may be inside, this could contain a lot of promise for visitors

The Loews Kameo Theatre is located 530 Eastern Parkway and it seated 1486 people.

I saw the interior about five years ago and was quite amazed by its condition. It was mostly intact and fairly well-preserved by the church that runs it. Unlike most churches, the services are on Saturday, when visitors are welcome. The architect was probably Thomas Lamb or his disciple, Eugene DeRosa. It was a typical medium-sized movie palace of the early 1920s, with a domed ceiling in the auditorium. If I recall correctly, it had a raised section of seats at the rear, rather than an overhanging balcony. The theatre was a Loew's acquisition and not built by them. It originally had an outdoor roof theatre as well, which was used until the advent of talkies.

Loew's Kameo opened as the Cameo Theatre a few years before Loew's came in and changed the "C" to a "K". A staircase now closed off on the left side lobby entrance led to the roof-top theatre or an elevator in the inner lobby. The roof-top theatre was operating into the late 1940's. A patron at one of my slide lectures told me that she and her husband saw a movie on the roof-top as late as 1948. She remembered it distinctly with her husband who was also in attendance.
The other three rooftops in the borough were the Carlton, Congress and the Rugby. All these theatres have remnants of the former rooftop
movie days to this day.

According to the files of Theatre Historical Society of America, the theatre's architect was Harrison J. Wiseman, and not Thomas Lamb. It first opened as the Cameo in November, 1923, with Herman Weingarten as owner-builder, who later sold it to Loew's. In 1933, Thomas Lamb drew plans for a modernization of the roof garden, but they were never executed due to the depressed economic conditions of the time. The main auditorium had one floor, with a stadium section of seats at the rear. The roof garden could seat 1,000. The Kameo closed in 1973, by which time management had shifted from Loew's to the Brandt Circuit.

The former CAMEO Theatre became the LOEW'S KAMEO in 1925 after two years of opening. Loew's operated th theatre until April of 1964 and then LEASED it to the Brandt Organization for another 10 years. Brandt's did not continue beyond 1974. The last double feature was "COTTON COMES TO HARLEM" and associate feature. The film played the first time around in 1970 (it's release year) for 5 WEEKS! (a record) with a co-feature of "Gaily, Gaily". "COTTON" played here several times before its' last showing. In 1974, there was a shooting in the theatre "over seats", it made the Daily News and that was it. A guard was on duty in the closed theatre for three years according to the payrolls of the LOEW'S KINGS Theatre which payed the salary on thier payroll under the notation "Guard for the Kameo Theatre. The facade deserves landmark status for its' detailing and is worth the walk if you are at the Brooklyn Museum. It is similar to the now painted facade of Loew's Oriental.

Since this theater was known as Loew's Kameo for almost 40 years, then owned by Loew's until it closed, maybe it should be listed as Loew's Kameo.

I remember being driven past this jewel on Eastern Parkway when I was a boy, and it seemed that "I, A Woman" played here for a long time. (It's funny how my childhood theatre memories are; see Loew's Hillside listing for my burlesque memories.)

I remember seeing asian kung fu films 1972 - 1974. Those were the good ol' days. I saw the Exorcist there. Wow!!! I miss the real cinema days. The building is beyond mesmerizing. God bless its foundation!!!

Kameo was a hangout as a child growing up in early 1970s Brooklyn. The Kung fu films and Black Exploitation films dominated the screen. It was a reflection of that era. Unfortunately, the Kameo was a victim of urban decay. Kameo will always be a part of me. I don't understand why "people" allow neighborhoods rot and grandiose buildings like "Kameo" fall into ruin. There is nothing unique about cineplexes. No intimacy. May God bless us!

It is sad when people allow a neighborhood to fall into disrepair. It mirrors their own dispair. Once upon a time 'certain' people could only dream of living in neighborhoods like Carnesie. And once they moved in the decline set in.

I laughed when I read the post above about "I A Woman" playing here forever. The owner of the Polk told me he ran that film almost a year and it payed for his house outright. Those early porno days when they were real films made alot of people rich.

The architectural style of the Loew's Kameo Theatre is Egyptian.

I was a constant visitor during the 50's and 60's. The screen was not very big. I recall that the Cinemascope films used to be shown on the sides of the curtain as the screen was too small. They showed mostly MGM films. I remember seeing "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers","Kismet" and other MGM films there. Later, they showed films from other studios. The last film I saw there was "Hawaii" with Julie Andrews. I have nice memories of this theatre. I am pleased it was not demolished.

I remember the Kameo Theatre very well since I lived around the corner from it. I remember in the late 50's when Jerry Lewis performed there on stage. I attended The Kameo weekly. At the time it was a beautiful theatre.

The Kameo was still open in 1974
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a13/ChmnofBrd/Coffy.jpg

On November 14th 1975 Loews Theatres Inc. transferred ownership of the Loew's Kameo from itself to the Philadelphia - The Church Of Universal Brotherhood (Seven Day Adventist).

This website has a photo of the Church (The Philadelphia Sabbath Cathedral) that is now located in this former theater.

Conceived by architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in 1866, Eastern Parkway was built in the 1870s expressly for "pleasure-riding and driving," and as access to scenic Prospect Park. (They had designed that, plus Fort Greene Park in downtown Brooklyn, and Central Park in Manhattan was their crowning achievement.) Years later, as a thoroughfare for autos, Eastern Parkway boasted six lanes across (3 in each direction), plus two side streets, one in each direction. The Loew's Kameo overlooked this massive parkway.

I "discovered" it in 1959, upon attending high school at Brooklyn Prep in Crown Heights a few blocks away. The Kameo was extremely well-maintained in those days. I even have a fleeting memory of the ushers in uniforms and wearing white gloves, but don't quote me. Got to see "The FBI Story" in '59 and George Pal's "The Time Machine," with Rod Taylor and Yvette Mimieux (AND Whit Bissell!) the following year. Admissions always were reasonablely priced for an A-list theater (60 cents) and made dates for movies and Chinese dinners very affordable in those days, like under $5 bucks. The air-conditioning on hot summer days and nights was a blessing from above. So I'm not totally surprised that it's currently a house of worship...

A set of photographs I took of the former Loew's Kameo Theatre in May 2006. Especial Thanks go to the Philadelphian Sabbath Cathedral for allowing me access and permission to record these images:
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/183386861/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/183387293/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/183387728/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/183388489/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/183389132/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/183389499/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/183389969/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/183390417/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/183390815/

Wow, the former Kameo theater is incredible looking inside. The Church has done an outstanding job of maintaining the building. Too bad that they don't all look this good. Thanks for posting the photos Ken.

As I recall, the Kameo was the first theater I ever went to. My father took me there in 1953 (when I was 6 years old) to see John Wayne in Hondo. The theater will always hold special meaning to me.

While the church has done a commendable job of maintaining the theatre, the color scheme of the auditorium has been drastically changed and should not be taken as representative of the original. But I think it's more tasteful than the garish re-painting of the auditorium of Loew's Valencia in Jamaica, Queens.

I found this theatre the other day while trying to find another few theatres and a special dive bar in the neighborhood. The residents treat it as an everyday building, but wow. Seeing it was amazing. The banding at the top reminded me of something Mayan, but I see it's Egyptian. Quite impressive from the outside and now that I see, from the inside.

I remember once when the Kameo was spiffed up in its later days - that was then the documentary "King: A Filmed Record" played there in 1970. That was an important movie and they cleaned the place up when it was shown. I remember that it was one of the first theatres I knew with guards instead of ushers, and I think that was because there were a lot of teenagers and kids (like me ) there on the weekend. We were that tail end of the baby boom generation and I think the theatre's depended on us a lot to fill seats, but they didn't want to be babysitters. Of course there were always the troublemakers (see the Duffield) who would get in fights and shoot up a theater, and then if was forced to close.

The introduction says that "the large marquee...is now gone." Are we sure that the Cameo/Kameo ever had a marquee? Perhaps marquees were banned from buildings on Eastern Parkway, similarly to the Grand Concourse in the Bronx? Loew's Paradise never had a marquee.

We high schoolers ('59-'63) always saw the Kameo's marquee as we passed by walking or on the Nostrand Ave. bus. Its design was virtually identical to the RKO Keith's in Richmond Hill. The theater itself was set back on the sidewalk a considerable distance from the curb of the single outermost local traffic/parking lane. Eastern Parkway utilized 6 major lanes for through vehicles. Perhaps this is how Loew's circumvented any possible signage restrictions.

A Robert-Morton theater organ size 2/4 was installed in the Cameo Theater in 1927.

I liked Ken's photos from July 2006. I also noted that he apparently asked the church if he could take the pictures. I should try that as I always get chased out of the church after a few shots.

This is a recent interior view of the Philadelphian Sabbath Cathedral and here is another.

Some photographs that I took on the Cinema Theatre Association(UK) visit to New York theatres that I organised in November 2007:
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/1935940084/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/1935110199/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/1935121753/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/1935970666/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/1935976860/
Views of the long-closed roof theatre:
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/1935985744/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/1935990684/

Great photos Ken. This building appears to be well cared for. How did you get on the roof? Are you Spiderman? LOL

Bravo, Ken. Your itinerary for the 2007 CTA(UK) tour of NY theatres seems to have been impeccably organized and has yielded some spectacular photographic results. Good show!

Here is a 2008 exterior view.

I am looking for the name of the theatre around the corner from the Kameo at Eastern Parkway and Beford. Thanks

ChicagoSteve--

You probably mean the Rogers, on Rogers Ave between Montgomery St. and Sullivan Place. You can find it on this wonderful CinemaTreasures site by searching its name (there two Rogers listed for Brooklyn-- this one is the first listed; the second was on Broadway). It's not exactly around the corner from Loew's Kameo, but about five or six short blocks away. I saw a bunch of second-run movies there (and at the Kameo)in the 1950s when I attended high school mid-way between the two theaters.

Loew's Kameo's chief rival in that area of Brooklyn was the Randforce Savoy, which played day-and-date with the RKO circuit theatres and was situated only a few blocks away. on the other side of Eastern Parkway.

It was the Savoy that I was interested in although I also appreciate the information on the Rogers as well. Thanks to you both.

Yes, the Savoy! And designed by Thomas Lamb! About four or five blocks in the other direction (north-west of the Kameo) from the Rogers (south-west of the Kameo).

But in the mid-1950s, that meant crossing a dangerous line (Eastern Parkway). So, my friends and I generally stayed away from the Savoy. But it was a beautiful theater. I vividly remember seeing "The Young Lions" there. It carried fare from the RKO circuit--in those days, less interesting than the usually better fare at Loew's.

The Rogers, as a sub-run house, carried fare from both, for shorter (and later) three- or four-day runs rather than than the week-long first-runs at the Kameo and Savoy.

The Kameo must have been extensively renovated in 1947. A Loew's circuit ad of August 18th includes a boxed blurb that "The New Kameo Is Now One of Brooklyn's Loveliest Theatres." The Kameo was showing "Odd Man Out" & "Angel and the Badman" at the time

Another photo but not the greatest after Ken's of the Kameo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bettyblade/232442208/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Here is the Kameo in 1972. Notice that the Loew's name has been removed.