Norwood Theatre
3118 Fulton Street,
Brooklyn,
NY
11208
3118 Fulton Street,
Brooklyn,
NY
11208
1 person
favorited this theater
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The September 6, 1913, issue of Real Estate Record and Builders Guide said that architect L. F. Schillinger was taking bids for a brick motion picture theater to be built for Edward Butt and Henry Freise. The 45x113-foot building was to be on the south side of Fulton Street, 57 feet east of Hale Avenue. That’s the location of the Norwood Theatre, but the date doesn’t match up with the November, 1914, building permits mentioned in previous comments. If the project was delayed for a year, it’s possible that Schillinger’s original plans were abandoned.
This theater is NOT demolished, and that should be removed. The theater building is still there, and is being used as a Bargain Store.
Thanks Brooklyn Jim. I did discover one tidbit on the Gotham; Mae West performed there as a teenager in Hal Clarendon’s stock theater company back in 1907. As far as the Norwood, I am going to try to
track down some theater ads and also check the development maps
over at the NY Public Library.
Alas, no new info surfaced for either the Norwood or the Gotham, tapeshare. Will try to interview some locals and revisit both sites on my next visit during the spring thaw.
Sidenote: the 12 basement lanes of Gotham may have been sealed off or completely demolished when I last bowled there in 1960. As for “number runners and other seedy elements” in that part of ENY, not much has changed in almost an entire century. LOL!
A map that identifies the building would be a big help. With the evidence we have so far, it appears that the 1914-15 permit (issued in November and December so the building probably wasn’t completed until 1915) was for the theater/bowling alley building. If a new building was built in 1915 and then replaced in 1926, another permit would have been issued in 1926. I have not found any later permits for a new building at that location. Also, the 1926 c/o reads “existing” building. Either the theater was purpose built as a theater in 1915, or the 1915 building was later converted to a theater. Thats how I see it with the information available now.
Thanks LM. The insurance maps show there was a wood frame structure
back in 1908 on that lot so that sounds like the replacement. I'll
see if I can find a map between 1914 and 1925 that might indicate
the use of the building.
Brooklyn Jim, I spoke with my uncle on the Gotham Lanes; It was a
16 Lane facility, with 4 lanes upstairs with the billiard tables
and 12 downstairs. That was in 1943, so its possible in your time
they didn’t use the downstairs. My uncle claims the owner told him
at one time there was an outdoor bowling facility across the
street though looking at old maps I can’t figure out where it
would have been. He also mentioned the Gotham Lanes was a hangout
for number runners and other seedy elements. He was working there
underage because everyone 18 and over was off in the armed services.
Colorful stuff.
I found two building permits issued for new buildings at this location.
NB 7864 NEW BUILDING 11/14/1914
NB 5947 NEW BUILDING 12/11/1914
One permit could be for the indoor and the other for the outdoor theater. If the permits aren’t for the theater buildings, then there were other buildings located here prior to the theater buildings. Something was built there in 1914-15. If those permits are for the theater, it might be listed in the American Motion Picture Directory 1914-1915. Anyway, those are the permit numbers to erect new buildings. Maybe they will help you to track down an original c/o.
Thanks Brooklyn Jim for the kind words and any information you
can dig up. I did confirm the building that housed the Gotham
Lanes is gone, the area is now a parking lot for the Wartburg
Home for the Aged which is a block in the other direction.
Does anyone know if the Brooklyn Eagle would have carried ads
for those local theaters in the 1920s? That would be one source
to check on the existence and dates for the Norwood.
You two never cease to amaze me! LM has become a living annex to the buildings code division, and tapeshare is probably the only guy alive in the NYC area who not only remembers the name of the bowling/billiards combo dive, a relic from the depression years, but also the Gotham Theater a block away! Whoa, bro! You are GOOD! :)
I did jump over to read up on the Gotham page. I had NO idea it had ever existed, yet I’d passed that site, with or without a building or theater, on the old #15 train (now the J) and the old B-56 Jamaica bus (now Q-56) from Van Sinderen Ave. many, many times between 1957 and 1978. Will check my ancient Red Books for any additional info on this. I’ll post it on the Gotham page if successful.
As mentioned by tapeshare, I also think the corner lot (address 3110-3112) by Hale Ave was vacant in 1926. Next to that lot was the airdome or open air theater. Next to the airdome was the enclosed Norwood Theater. The 1929 c/o is for an altered building used as a skating rink. I believe that the skating rink was the one story building that used the vacant corner lot and the lot previously occupied by the airdome. Why wouldn’t the c/o state new building instead of altered? The one story building was considered an add-on or extension of the theater building. The theater building could have been used as the entrance to the skating rink. Its like adding a room onto your house. The build date of your house would remain the same.
The open air theater could have been nothing more than a fenced in area with seats or even benches where movies were shown in the hot weather.
I’m still curious if this theater was operating prior to 1926 because the 1926 c/o shows an existing building at that time instead of a new building. An opening day article or ad would answer that question. Since the theater building still exists, its possible that the Department of Buildings would have a copy of the original c/o for a new building at that location. That c/o is not available online. You would have to go to the D.O.B. and request a search of the block and lot number and pay a fee.
That would be the Gotham Lanes, Brooklyn Jim. My Uncle actually
worked as a Pinboy there in the 1930s when pinsetting was manual.
Unfortunately because it was under the El the tax photo of the
location is completely immersed in shadow. The original Gotham
Theater, one block over, used to have lanes but they were destroyed in a fire. I have provided a lot of that history under the Gotham
Theater entry for this site. At one point there was the Gotham
Theater (building gone) Gotham Hotel (still standing) and the
Gotham Lanes (Not sure). I assume there was an ownership connection
but I have no details.
Fascinating research by tapeshare & LM. Only one thing threw me from the days I used Hale Lanes, c. 1958-65: “…the lanes ran parallel to Hale, not Fulton, so it was potentially a major renovation.” Yes, the structure had an L shape, but I recall that the entrance was on Hale and that the lanes were perpendicular to Hale. When expansion took place beyond the original 10, the owners added lanes toward Atlantic Ave.
My memories about this could very well be clouded and wrong. Speaking only for myself, the surprisingly good Hale Lanes pix on tapeshare’s ENY site added even more mystery than revelation and recollection!
[Sidenote to tapeshare: there was a combo billiard parlor and a 4 lane alley on Fulton St. just under the Alabama Ave. el station in the late ‘50s. I doubt if anyone living there now would even remember that specific hole-in-the-wall dive, but someday a pic of it – and one of the Norwood – might just be unearthed from someone’s dusty, musty vaults. Hope does spring eternal to historians.]
I can add that the 1929 plat maps show the corner as empty
and the adjacent structure on Fulton all as one tax lot,
Block 3960 lot 21. The structure, which starts 102 feet in on
Fulton off of Hale, is marked “Theater”. My theory is that they
add on to the theater in 1929 with the one story brick structure and
it starts life as a roller rink. The earliest ad I have for the
bowling alley dates to 1938 and advertises only 10 lanes. In 1944
they expand, hence the new CO. If anyone recalls Hale Lanes the
lanes ran parallel to Hale, not Fulton, so it was potentially a
major renovation. The building still stands in its entirety, you
can see it on my site at http://www.tapeshare.com/Hale.html
I searched through all of the c/o’s that I could find for 3110 through 3120 Fulton Street. This is what I found:
3114-3116 Fulton St. June 29, 1926 a c/o was issued for an open air theater with 715 seats.
3118-3120 Fulton St. June 29, 1926 a c/o was issued for a 555 seat motion picture theater (interior).
3110-3120 Fulton St. August 22, 1929 a c/o was issued for an altered building containing a roller skating rink. (Note: level floor)
3110-3120 Fulton St. June 13, 1944 a c/o was issued for an altered building containing a bowling and billiard academy.
I have a theory but I’ll let others take a shot at solving this mystery first? A photo would be a major help.
Hi Gents, didn’t realize we started a page for the Norwood. It
gets better. The building that went up in 1926 was not on the corner
but one lot over. The corner was empty, but they received a CO
for an “open-air” theater seating 700+!. We can assume they were silent films, can you imagine watching a movie with the roar of
the El overhead! In 1929 a CO is issued for a roller rink; I'm
guessing the one story structure is added on by then. That building,
by the way, is still standing. Yes, we’re dying for a photo, but
can anyone provide background on “Open air” theaters of the era?
I looked up this address on a real estate site. No build date was given. The current building is listed as a one story store building measuring 102.67ft x 92.25ft. I wonder if its the same building as the bowling alley/theater.
Thanks Jim. Have a safe and happy holiday.
Was never sure exactly when the RKO Madison opened. Thx, LM.
As for the Norwood, I’d love to see a photo, even a slightly out-of-focus one from someone’s family album. When Hale Lanes existed (it’s gone now), it was a single-story building. The building must have been considerably higher, even for a silent-film emporium.
Happy Holly-Daze, my friend!
The Madison wouldn’t be listed in that book Jim since it didn’t open until November of 1927.
The book referenced directly above arrived today. Alas, no mention of the Norwood under the “Moving Pictures” section, (as opposed to Vaudeville, Burlesque, Theatre and Concert Hall listings). My guess is that the 1926 book was published toward the end of the previous year, and that the c/o was not issued until early summer, 1926.
[Fans of the Ridgewood Theater should be pleased that it was listed, one decade after it opened. The RKO Madison was not.]
En route to me is an old 1926 Brooklyn Street & Trolley Guide, which also includes theaters and playhouse listings. (Can’t even call it a “Redbook,” as the cover has faded to brown!) But it may shed some light on the Norwood. Will post any findings when it arrives…
Hard to imagine that the single-story Hale Bowling Alley was once the Norwood Theatre! Wow! My dad (born 1911) lived in ENY at that time and had never once mentioned its existence in conversation, so I’m totally clueless here. (Dad did attend the Embassy Theater at Fulton & Richmond and bowled at Hale – “Go to Hale and Bowl” was their famous slogan – and at Halsey Lanes, replete with pin boys, on Broadway under the el.)
And mind you, I’m not disputing in any way that the Norwood did not do business briefly in the silent movie-era. Wish someone could unearth an old-time pic just for posterity’s sake. Lost Memory? RobertR? Tapeshare Rick? Bway? Anyone?
A c/o was issued to a building at 3118-3120 Fulton Street on June 29, 1926. Purpose of building was a 555 seat motion picture theater. It was an existing building. Was this a theater prior to 1926 or did someone convert the building into a theater in 1926?