Nostrand Theatre

Here’s a 1980s tax photo of the exterior: lunaimaging

They do alot of Polls on CT How about “That Smell'.LOL.

Here I thought I was the only one who recognized that distinct smell! You might have something there Mike! Hey, the guys who make the “New Car Smell” air freshner, should work on a formula for the “Old Movie Theater Smell”! We can use it to spray in the new Multiplexes, which most I’ve noticed smell just like a dirty toilet!

The Nostand theater had that great old smell for sure! I wonder if it managed to hold up over the years as a gym. I’ll have to stop in there one day, if I can find parking, lol, and give a look and a sniff!

Hi – I grew up in L.A. and spent countless hours in theaters that had the “old theater smell.” When I was in film school, Norman Jewison came in with “Rollerball,” and commented on how the best theaters had “that smell!”

Although a convenient neighborhood screen, this venue, due to location, did not have the transportation access or pedestrian traffic that generated large crowds. Quadding would not have helped. Occasionally a film like ET would do boffo business, but I suspect that was rare. The film palaces at the western end of Kings Highway had a critical mass of several theatres, in the middle of a major shopping district, served by a major express subway stop and numerous bus routes. Not so the Nostrand which was in a strictly residential area. No doubt the Waldbaums supermarket diagonally across KH had more weekly patrons than the Nostrand. Once the Loews Georgetown Twin and Centur’s Kings Plaza Twin opened, with suburban style parking and other amenities, the days of the Nostrand were numbered.

From what I can remember this theater was way smaller than most in Brooklyn. It possibly could have been twined, but it would have been pretty small. No way Quad. The Brook, kings, Canarsie and Walker theaters were way larger. However, it’s only from memory and it’s been close to 30 since I’ve been in there!

Surprised that more people aren’t talking about this theater. I believe it closed around 1983. The building sat empty for years, then it became a furniture store, and now it’s a gym. This theater was always crowded back in the 70’s with long lines waiting to get in all the way down Nostrand Ave. Some of the movies I can remember seeing there were “The Goodbye Girl”, “Heaven Can Wait” “Used Cars”, and a bunch of “G” movies, like “Mary Poppins”, and “Lady and the Tramp”. This theater most definitely had that “old movie theater smell”. I can close my eyes and still remember it. I guess it was a stale air mix of popcorn and smoke back then, lol! This was also one of the last theaters I can remember in brooklyn with a working curtain, that would open and close with each film. The original marquee in that 1976 photo was replaced by a new modern one around 1979-80. It most likely closed because it wasn’t large enough to turn into a twin, and the parking situation was always pretty bad. Anybody have pictures of the inside of the gym? Would love to see what it looks like in there now.

I remember a strand theater being on fulton street near franklin ave in bedstuy. Do anyone remember?

Further research revealed that Warren G. Harris listed this theater some years ago as the Normandy Theater.

/theaters/8854/

Apparantly, it was renamed from Normandy to Nostrand and then, in 1933, to Howard Theater.

The year given for this photo is 1976.

The introductory spelling should use the “re” ending for the “t” word: Nostrand Theatre (not Nostrand Theater). The company that built and ran it was Century Theatres (not Century Theaters). The “er” ending was infrequently used for cinemas in the Greater New York area.

At one time, until the mid 1930’s, its location was not far from the strand. At that time a major land fill operation was undertaken filling in an arm of Jamaica Bay and creating Marine Park. The theater, when built, was named for Nostrand Avenue which crossed King’s Highway near the site. This was Dutch territory before the Brits stole it and Van Nostrand was an old name in the new Kings County.

I was an usher at the Century Nostrand Theatre from 1970 till about 1976. I would love to get in contact with any other Century Theatre ushers during this time period..Anyone out there??