RKO Bushwick Theatre
1396 Broadway,
Brooklyn,
NY
11221
1396 Broadway,
Brooklyn,
NY
11221
12 people
favorited this theater
The Bushwick Theatre opened on September 11, 1911 and was operated by Percy Williams as a vaudeville theatre. It became part of the B.F. Keith’s chain in 1912, operating until 1930. It became a movie theatre for the RKO-Keiths chain in 1930 and operated until closing in 1969.
Church use followed, for a period of time, then the building fell into disuse and decay for decades.
A high school opened within the shell of the former theater in March of 2004.
Contributed by
Kevin Backmann, William Gabel
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Recent comments (view all 489 comments)
I agree, John D, let’s do it. I probably won’t be able to help much, though.
In terms of comic book superhero clichees :
THIS IS A JOB FOR NATIVE FOREST HILLER !!!!
(Here he comes to save the day !!!!!)
Peter, I actually put the ball in motion and, earlier today, submitted a “Request for Evaluation” for the landmarking of the old Bushwick’s facade to the Landmarks Commission. This will probably trigger an investigation of this site for its “landmarks-worthiness”.
My request did specifically reference this page. However, any of you may wish to reinforce my proposal by also writing to the Commission in support. You should send your correspondence to:
Ms. Mary Beth Betts
Director of Research
Landmarks Preservation Commission
1 Centre Street, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10007
This will probably be the start of a VERY long process; but at least it will be a start!
When I hear anything from the Commission on this, I will certainly let you know.
Get your elected polticians to take a stand now. Get them behind you. It will help a lot & speed up the process.
Thanks, John D and WilliamMcQuade !
Thanks John for spearheading this effort. It would mean a l;ot for a neighborhood that is in the process of rebuilding to have a landmark designation for this site.
Good point, Astyanax ! Thanks.
Unfortunately, when I returned from my vacation, I found a response to my “landmark the RKO Bushwick” request in my mailbox. Specifically, the Landmarks Commission noted that, since the building is “too significantly altered to meet the criteria for designation” it will not be recommended for designation.
Given the Commission’s interest in designating other – and frankly less imposing – facades such as the Bushwick and the Shore, I was more than a bit perplexed by this decision.
If anyone wishes to take up the torch on this issue, I would certainly welcome your interest.
In reviewing my last message, I noted a mistake. Specifically, I wished to reference the RIDGEWOOD – not the Bushwick – as a theater whose facade did not architectually match the Bushwick’s. Sorry.
On Tuesday 13 February 1951, Bela “Dracula” Lugosi presented his in person Horror and Magic Stage show at RKO Bushwick. Currently I am conducting research on all things Lugosi; if anyone out there actually saw this show and/or has memorabilia (poster, handbill, photos) related to this show, please contact Bill at Thanks in advance for any assistance!
Hello Lugos, while I cannot help you on this, since I was only one yeat old at the time, your comments raised a few questions that I hope you can address. First, given the fact that this was, at least in part, a “magic show”, was Lugosi actually some sort of a magician as well as an actor or was the “magic” aspect just part of the show? Also, were these 1951 performances made in conjunction with the release of one of his recent movies or were they free standing events – or did they accompany the showing of another movie in which Lugosi did not appear? I know that by 1951, live stage presentations at most movie houses were pretty much limited to celebrity appearances made to boost attendance for the celebrity’s most recently released film, which was being presented on the same date. Did the Lugosi appearances fall into this category or were they somewhat different?
And best of luck on your research.