Loew's Kings Theatre
1027 Flatbush Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11226
1027 Flatbush Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11226
61 people
favorited this theater
The Loew’s Kings Theatre opened its doors to Flatbush Avenue on September 7th, 1929 with Dolores del Rio in “Evangeline”, plus on stage ‘Frills and Fancies’ a revue, Wesley Eddy & his Kings of Syncopation, and the Chester Hales Girls. One of the five ‘Wonder Theatres’ built by Loew’s in New York City, it opened the same day as its sister theatre in the Bronx, the Loew’s Paradise Theatre.
Loew’s dominated the market in Brooklyn, and this was their flagship in the very grandest French Renaissance style designed by the prestigious firm of Rapp and Rapp of Chicago.
The theatre occupied a massive site built diagonally across an odd assortment of lots and had a seating capacity of 3,676. It had the unusual feature of having the majority of the seating in the orchestra level. There was a vast entrance lobby that opened onto an even more spacious inner lobby and then on to a foyer at the rear of the orchestra. There was no balcony but instead a shallow mezzanine that was entered by stairs off the inner lobby.
The mezzanine level lounges overlooked the entrance lobby. The panelling in the lobby areas was real mahogany and throughout instead of crystal chandeliers there were massive stylised Art Deco style light fittings with elaborate etched glass and tassels.
The sumptuous interior decoration was the work of the Harold Rambusch Studios of New York under the supervision of Ann Dornin of Loew’s. The mezannine containing only 878 seats, was set way back in the very high auditorium creating a luxurious and spacious feel, even though it was crammed with detail and lavish drapery. The proscenium opening was 60 feet wide and the stage had full facilites and a Robert Morton ‘wonder’ organ which had 4Manuals/23Ranks. Originally presenting stage shows with the feature film, this disappeared in the depression and the theatre remained film only for the rest of its life. The Kings Theatre had a gym and basketball court located in the basement, which were provided for the use of the theatre staff. In the 1950’s a young local girl Barbra Streisand worked in the Kings Theatre as an usher.
The Loew’s Kings Theatre had a steady decline from the 1950’s onwards and managed to last into the mid-1970’s before it was forced to close due to poor attendances. The Robert Morton ‘wonder’ organ was removed in 1971. The theatre was never divided and remained virtually unchanged throughout its history. Loew’s relinquished the theatre on August 30, 1977 and basically locked the theatre and left it. The final film was George C. Scott in “Islands In the Stream”.
Over the years this most stately monument has just sat and deteriorated quietly on Flatbush Avenue. The marquee still remains but the vertical was removed in the late-1990’s for safety reasons. Now owned by the Flatbush Redevlopment Corporation, the building awaits revitalisation. Its interior is still majestic despite the ravages time, vandals and water damage.
In January 2010, plans were announced to renovate the Kings Theatre as a live performance theatre by the Houston based ACE Theatrical Group. Renovation began in early-2011, and is set to be completed by 2014.
Contributed by
Porter Faulkner, William Gabel
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 1,371 comments)
I was down there Summer before last just to reacquaint myself. Nothing was going on, but I walked around and used my imagination. it is a vibrant, historic multi-ethnic neighborhood. The Kings will be the centerpiece, and by the way, I grew up in Howard beach and used to go shopping for"back to school" clothes in Jamaica. I was a frequent visitor to the Valencia and the Alden across the street.
I made the trek to the Paradise in the Bronx in October, the day of that freak snow storm and loved it. Now a performing arts center with a 70’s ‘Soul" concert that the crowd, including me, really, got into, dancing in the aisles. The place, especially the lobby and murals are gorgeous.
Ace Theatrical Group, which is renovating the Kings has a blurb about the project at http://www.acetheatricalgroup.com/projects.php.
Their report says now it is expected to open in 2015. They are also doing the renovation of the Saenger in New Orleans and earlier renovated the Majestic in San Antonio.
Hi ZiegfeldMan! I grew up in South Ozone Park and going the Valencia was always a special treat but it happened rarely because Jamaica was so dicey back then. That said I have amazing memories of it and always will. It is also why I have a special attachment to the Kings. As a sister theater to the other 4 Wonder theaters (all of which have either been restored or in good hands) it was important to me that the Kings be saved. As for the Alden, I only remember seeing one movie there; Creepshow with Adrienne Barbaeu! :–) The theater was already split, but I was in the section that still showed the proscenium arch and I remember being awed back then. My understanding is that most of that theater might still be intact behind retail walls. One day I’d like to go back to the Valencia though I think it would bother me to see it as a church though I am very happy that it is still around.
It always amazes me that New York has those palaces still standing and Chicago lags behind. We do have three downtown, but our Uptown Theatre is still in limbo with no direction it seems. This is our Loew’s Kings! But unlike the King’s, not much going on at Broadway & Lawrence ave.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Barbra Streisand did not usher here, although she did atthen the theater as a patron. From her website:
The Loew’s Kings Theater in Brooklyn APRIL 6, 2011, 3:54 am I was happy to hear recently that the Loew’s Kings Theater in Brooklyn, New York will be undergoing renovations for a reopening in 2014 . It was one of those beautiful old movie palaces of the past. I was 13 years old when I first started spending many a wonderful afternoon there, partly because it had double features, air conditioning and great ice cream cones.
I’d like to set the record straight on one point. Some articles have said that I was an usher there. That wasn’t the case … I was just a kid, a paying customer, a movie lover. Just for the record, a few years later, I did usher in Manhattan’s theater district, which was wonderful, because I got to see the plays for free. . http://www.barbrastreisand.com/us/truth-alert/loews-kings-theater-brooklyn
Back in 1972 when I graduated Canarsie HS our auditorium wasn’t big enough to hold the students and their parents and the graduation ceremony was held at the Kings. It was the only time I was ever in that theater but I remember thinking to myself that it was like the Radio City of Brooklyn.
Back in 1972, when I graduated for JHS 226 in Ozone Park, our auditorium was also not big enough and so we held our graduation at Loew’s Valencia (a sister theater to the Loew’s Kings)! I was mesmerized by its beauty and saw several films there like The Ten Commandments and The Omega Man. I remember sometimes just staring at the ceiling watching the clouds roll by. It was the only Wonder Theater that I ever attended and so I was especially interested in the movement to save the one remaining Wonder Theater that was in danger. Ironically, the one theater that was abandoned for over 30 years, will likely be the one that outshines them all when it is restored and reopened to the public.
IMHO, the “Radio City of Brooklyn” would have been the Paramount in downtown Brooklyn, which was even larger and more spectacular than the Kings. Most of the elements of the Brooklyn Paramount still exist and could be restored, which would probably be opposed by the developers of the Kings as well as the management of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The borough would not be able to support three such performing arts centers. Or four if you count the very large auditorium of Brooklyn College, which also has bookings of that sort.
I walked on the shiny floor of the Paramount a few years ago when it was being used as a basketball court. Looking up was dazzling to be sure and it wouldn’t be hard to bring the theater back to life. The lobby also was grand. You are right about the developers of the Kings opposing any thought about doing that. I am sure they have plenty of “clout” in Brooklyn and certainly not in their interest..
I may be naive, but I would disagree about opposition from the Kings.
The Paramount belongs to LIU and, in theory, could be restored and brought back to life by them. They wouldn’t need the Kings cooperation unless LIU was looking for city funds to restore the theater. BAM also might not object as this area is increasingly a performing arts center and more venues create more business for everyone (just look at Times Square). I believe a restored Brooklyn Paramount must be in Brooklyn’s future and my hope is that it could be accomplished without city subsidies. I am fairly confident that LIU would not be permitted to gut the theater as there would be lots of protests. My guess is that they are not just going to let it sit there. I believe they will ultimately decide to restore it.