Tilyou Theater

It was part of the RKO chain for years. In the end, it might have been part of the Brandt chain. I believe it was also a dollar theater at the end. One of four Coney Island theaters (Loew's Shore and the Surf and Mermaid were the other three) Now all four are close and only the shuttered Shore still stands).

The theater stood directly across Surf Avenue from Steeplechase park. Both were owned by the George Tilyou family. The theater's fortunes went downhill, along with the rest of Coney Island, after the Tilyou heirs closed the Park and sold the land to Fred Trump, who wanted to but never did high rise apartments there. In the end, all he did was tear down the Park and the neighborhood with it. After opening and closing a few times, the Tilyou was taken over by the Horwitz family, which had run the Mermaid and the Tuxedo so successfully. But their luck ran out and they couldn't make the theater profitable. Finally they closed the theater, and soon its interior, filled with memorabilia from Steeplechase Park, was vandalized and many valuable items stolen, In 1973, the wrecking ball put the theater out of its misery, and a parking lot now stands as testament to a sad time in the history of Coney Island.

The RKO Tilyou Theatre's address was 1607 Surf Ave., and it seated 2276 people.

The Tilyou first opened in March, 1926, and was built by B.S. Moss with Eugene DeRosa as architect. The interior was in Empire style. The mezzanine promenade had a large fireplace, with an oil portrait of George Tilyou, Coney Island pioneer and founder of Steeplechase Park, hanging above it. Photographs of the Tilyou in its original condition can be found in the September, 1926 issue of Architecture & Building Magazine.

I noticed that no posting was made on this Theater that had to compete with all of the attractions surrounding it in Coney Island; my guess is that it was mostly frequented my locals----I was there once, and here is how.........In 1953, my Father worked for a company that was contracted by 20th Century Fox to make Cinemascope screens for the NY theaters that were going to show their first 70mm film in over 33 years( the first was Fox's,The Big Trail in 1930 with John Wayne)----My Father had already helped to make(he was a sewer-putting the screen pieces together) the big screen at the Roxy in Manhattan.........This time he was to go along and hlp install the new screen at the Tilyou and he took me with him-----at the time, it was the RKO-Tilyou-----I sat in the balcony while my father and a group of others assembled the screen on the stage area..........It was the only time he took me with him-------when all the screens that his company was contracted to make and install were finished, all or most of the employees were let go, or laid off as they used to say.......With the screen in place, we left before the test run of a 70mm film clip was to be run--------but my Dad did get a chance to see The Robe at the Roxy in its trial run at the Roxy before its premier----and I remember him saying how beautiful the picture was-----Luckily a few years ago, Fox located a negative that had not deteriorated and was able to restore the Print with the help of the Technicolor Corp, as their Deluxe process, while being cheaper, but just as radiant as technicolor at first, faded very quickly and only pinkish negatives remained in their Vaults.....Now Fox is in the expensive process of restoring many of their old films for dvd & showing on their Fox Movie Channel.......Joe From Florida---sasheegm----P.S. Many of the early Deluxe 70mm titles had sufferd a similar fate, circa 1953/1956

A C/O was issued for a new building at this address on November 11, 1926. Purpose of building is a 2268 seat motion picture theater.

Theatre opened in March, 1926, and was covered in that year's September issue of Architecture & Building, so C/O seems a bit late in coming. Construction probably started in 1925.

It just says that on 11/11/26 permission is hereby granted for the occupancy of said building for the following purposes: Theatre 2268 seats. I'm starting to think that many of these buildings were open without the certificate being issued or they received a temporary C/O which is not kept in these files. The date is hand written so no typo is possible.

This is a vintage photo of the Tilyou Theater.

A Wurlitzer organ Opus 1272 Style H 3M was installed in the Tilyou Theater on 2/12/1926.

The Tilyou theatre had such a nice atmosphere. Unfortunately, like so many distinctive and beautiful movie theatres, it did not survive our modern times.

I know it was in the early 60's when I saw King Kong vs. Godzilla there. At that time I was not aware that there was a Wurlitzer Organ there. The whole area has run down. One section of Coney Island is people on public assistance and the rest is Russian immigrants.

To promote his new film "The Ladies Man," Jerry Lewis appeared on stage at this theater on July 13, 1961.

By August 1, 1943, "Coney Island" had finished its NYC premiere engagement at the Roxy Theatre, but had yet to be shown in the real Coney Island, where it would open next week at the RKO Tilyou with "They Came to Blow Up America" as the supporting feature. Please note the patriotic message in the upper right hand corner of the ad--"Girls! Join the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Free a Marine to fight": www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/coneyisle.jpg

The 3 manual Wurlitzer console from the Tilyou Theatre has been completely restored including its pneumatic combination action. It is currently in a private home in Indiana and controls 24 ranks of pipes. The console was restored by Carlton Smith Pipe Organ Restorations of Indianapolis. On a side note, the Orchestral Oboe rank in the organ was originally from the Tilyou as well.

George Tilyou owned the Million Dollar Pier in Atlantic City. I'm sure he had his hand in a few other enterprises as well.

A Special Engagement in 1955 for 3 days

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a13/ChmnofBrd/Movie%20Ads/princeofplayers.jpg

Here are two interior views copied from the September, 1926 issue of Architecture & Building Magazine:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/tilyou01.jpg

A new direct link to images posted above:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/tilyou01.jpg

Here is another exterior photo of the Tilyou.

Here's a rare view from the 1920s which shows the Tilyou's vertical sign and marquee in the lower left foreground. In the background on the same side of Surf Avenue is Loew's Coney Island. Across from the Tilyou is one of the entrances to Steeplechase Park. In the upper right corner is the still-functioning Wonder Wheel, which celebrated its 88th anniversary last month:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/coney20s.jpg

The RKO Tilyou can be seen in a 1936 photo at this link. Click on the photo to expand it. After the photo expands, you can zoom in on it.

On Friday January 26, 1962, the Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly-Joe DeRita) embarked on a three day promotional tour for their latest feature film, THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES. They were accompanied by "The Herculean Giant" (almost 8 foot tall Dave Ballard) and popular DJ Clay Cole, who was one of the stars of the co-feature, TWIST AROUND THE CLOCK.

On Sunday January 28, they appeared at the RKO Tilyou at 2:35 PM.

Clay Cole is retired and lives on an island off the Cape Fear River on the Atlantic Ocean on the North Carolina coast. I still till this day remember seeing King Kong Vs Godzilla there and only a few years later there was a vacant lot that as far as I know is still vacant.

No longer operated by RKO: http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=tilyou&ProductID=30665