RKO Orpheum Theatre

578 Fulton Street,
Brooklyn, NY 11217

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Keith-Albee, Orpheum Circuit, RKO

Architects: Frank Freeman

Styles: Beaux-Arts

Previous Names: Orpheum Theatre, B.F. Keith's Orpheum Theatre

Nearby Theaters

1911 post card view of the Orpheum Theatre in Brooklyn

The Orpheum Theatre opened by Percy Williams on December 31, 1900. It had a seating capacity of 1,874. In 1912 it was taken over by B.F. Keith-Albee chain, and they operated it until 1929. From 1929 until it closed on December 7, 1953, it was operated by RKO.

It was demolished in 1955 and for several decades was an empty plot of land, used for parking. In 2013 a new building was being constructed on the site.

Contributed by Central de Libros Antiguos. Zaragoza (Spain)

Recent comments (view all 8 comments)

philipgoldberg
philipgoldberg on October 24, 2002 at 7:39 am

This theater stood a block east of Flatbush Avenue on Fulton Street, diagonally across from the Stand and the Majestic. Now it’s a parking lot for the BAM Harvey Theater (formerly the Majestic).

philipgoldberg
philipgoldberg on November 13, 2002 at 11:43 am

I recently learned that this was an RKO house.

Orlando
Orlando on March 1, 2004 at 11:57 am

Up the block was the Montemartre (aka Momart) a small theatre which opened in 1927 at 590 Fulton Street. The Momart was opened by Warner Brothers and featured foreign films for its' 26 years as neighbor to the RKO Orpheum. This area of theatres came about in the early 1900’s as the turn of cenyury theatres of the 1860’s started to move away from Brooklyn Government Buildings now Cadman Plaza. The movie palaces where in the proximity of Flatbush & Fulton Streets. Brooklyn’s Times Square was just as impressive as New York’s. How 12 theatres in the area boasting over 40,000 seats survived the depression is just how important movies and theatres were a fabric
of society during the 1930’s and ‘40’s.

Orlando
Orlando on March 1, 2004 at 12:00 pm

In addition to above, The Momart went down with the Orpheum 1n 1953-54. The Strand was out by 1958. The Majestic just kept on going.

philipgoldberg
philipgoldberg on March 28, 2004 at 5:03 pm

The site is now a parking lot.

jflundy
jflundy on July 9, 2008 at 3:39 pm

Here is a photo with a Bill for the Orpheum on August 13, 1935.

View link

johndereszewski
johndereszewski on November 13, 2010 at 9:00 pm

This appears to be a 1905 photo of the Orpheum, when it was clearly one of Brooklyn’s most magnificant theaters. Enjoy – and also survey other puctures of Fulton St. in this attachment.

View link

Comfortably Cool
Comfortably Cool on January 16, 2021 at 11:15 am

Philip J. Smith, who entered showbiz as a teen-aged usher at the RKO Orpheum and eventually became chairman of the Shubert Organization, has died at 89 from complications of Covid-19. Obituary can be viewed here

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