Loew's Bijou Theatre
26 Smith Street,
Brooklyn,
NY
11201
26 Smith Street,
Brooklyn,
NY
11201
1 person
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The Bijou Theatre first opened in November, 1893, as a playhouse under the direction of H.C. Kennedy. Due to its convenient location in downtown Brooklyn, the Bijou Theatre proved an instant success and soon became one of the most profitable theatres in the entire USA. When the ailing Kennedy retired in 1900, he sold the Bijou Theatre to Hyde & Behman, which operated it for a time and then leased to the Spooner Repertory Company. In 1908, Marcus Loew, encouraged by his success of his first Brooklyn theatre, the Royal Theatre, took over the Bijou Theatre and converted it to movies with vaudeville. Architect Thomas Lamb carried out some alterations in 1912.
The Royal Theatre and Bijou Theatre became second-run situations after Loew built the much larger and grander Metropolitan Theatre in the same area. Loew’s Bijou Theatre operated until 1929, when Loew’s replaced it by taking over the better equipped Keeney’s Theatre and re-naming it the Loew’s Melba Theatre.
Contributed by
Warren G. Harris
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Recent comments (view all 11 comments)
An 1899 view of the Bijou’s auditorium:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/bijoubk9.jpg
I finally found a closing date for Loew’s Bijou of May 26th, 1929. The final program included the all-talking feature, “Hearts in Dixie,” and short subjects. Loew’s had negotiated an early end to its operating lease, which was due to expire in 1930. The Bijou Theatre and adjoining property were actually owned by the estate of Louis Wechsler, which sold them in December, 1928, to the National Real Estate Corporation for redevelopment, according to press reports at the time. Loew’s continued to operate the Metropolitan and Melba in downtown Brooklyn, and later in 1929 would open two new thatres elsewhere in Brooklyn— the Kings in Flatbush and Pitkin in Brownsville.
Here is the pay New York Times link of the 1928 sounding of the death-knell for the Bijou.
View link
Here’s an undated exterior view, proably taken some time after the Bijou’s 1929 closing: View link 365
Here’s a new link to an 1899 view of the auditorium. Only vaudeville and plays were presented, and Marcus Loew was still years away from taking over the management:
View link
A poster for Loew’s Bijou can be seen in the upper right corner of this vintage photo: View link 77
The second sentence in the first paragraph of the introduction above has the word Brooklyn spelled incorrectly. It should be spelled “Brooklyn” and NOT “Broooklyn”.
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle almanac of 1895:
The Bijou Theater corner of Smith and Livingston streets, was built in 1893 by Messrs. Wechsler and McNulty at an expense of $300,000. The theater has a seating capacity of 1,938. It has been leased by Kennedy, Gulick & Co. and will be under the management of H.C. Kennedy. It was opened November 13, with Dixey in “Adonis”.
BTW….Dixey was the actor Henry E. Dixey.
What do you mean? Bijou is one of the most common theatre names in American history.
There have been “Bijou” theatres in New York since the birth of film, four in Manhattan alone.