Loew's Kameo Theatre
530 Eastern Parkway,
Crown Heights,
Brooklyn,
NY
11225
530 Eastern Parkway,
Crown Heights,
Brooklyn,
NY
11225
3 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 57 comments found
Here’s a 1980s tax photo of the Eastern Parkway frontage: lunaimaging
Here’s the original Cameo marquee before Loew’s took over and changed the spelling to Kameo: brooklynpubliclibrary
As often happens when churches take over theatres, the color scheme has been drastically changed from the original.
Had not seen the interior photo and am blown away. Much credit to the current owners that they have gone through the trouble and expense to maintain the auditorium in such pristine condition.
I remember being driven past this jewel on Eastern Parkway when I was a boy, and it seemed that “I, a Woman” played here for a long time. (It’s funny how my childhood theatre memories are; see Loew’s Hillside listing for my burlesque marquee memories.)
Relinking.
He was not appearing on stage. That was a listing for a 1929 Vitaphone short with Reisman.
It’s remarkable that the renown Leo Reisman Orchestra played the Kameo in 1929. Clearly the Eastern Parkway section of Crown Heights was in its heyday as a fashionable middle class community.
Crusing my homepage Mike? Thats a good way to find the good stuff.
Good old FRED WILLIAMSON movie is playing “HAMMER”.Couldn’t make out the second hit.
You can VERY clearly see the old rooftop theater on the roof of the building when you look at a bird’s eye view of the building:
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Originally the Loew’s Kameo had nude plaster cherubs along the walls but when the elders of the Philadelphia Church took over they thought that this was inappropriate. Therefore they went out
and got ornate plaster people to ‘dress’ the cherubs.
The companies who designed theaters were also in the business of building churches so you can
see how a one time theater could easily become a church!
I am very glad to have stumbled over this page. Thr Kameo must rank with the old Woodside – and very few other sites – as a great example of what a loving community can do to preserve a wonderful site. Ken Roe et. al., thanks so much for the wonderful pictures.
Here’s a 1929 programme for Loew’s Kameo, which opened daily at 1:00 pm, with first show starting at 1:10 pm: http://www.picking.com/vit-93-2.jpg
After nearly 86 years, the details of the terra cotta facade have held up exceedingly well. The building continues to be a focal point along Eastern Parkway.
Nice looking building, I am glad that it is still there.
Here is the Kameo in 1972. Notice that the Loew’s name has been removed.
Another photo but not the greatest after Ken’s of the Kameo
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The Kameo must have been extensively renovated in 1947. A Loew’s circuit ad of August 18th includes a boxed blurb that “The New Kameo Is Now One of Brooklyn’s Loveliest Theatres.” The Kameo was showing “Odd Man Out” & “Angel and the Badman” at the time
Yes, the Savoy! And designed by Thomas Lamb! About four or five blocks in the other direction (north-west of the Kameo) from the Rogers (south-west of the Kameo).
But in the mid-1950s, that meant crossing a dangerous line (Eastern Parkway). So, my friends and I generally stayed away from the Savoy. But it was a beautiful theater. I vividly remember seeing “The Young Lions” there. It carried fare from the RKO circuit—in those days, less interesting than the usually better fare at Loew’s.
The Rogers, as a sub-run house, carried fare from both, for shorter (and later) three- or four-day runs rather than than the week-long first-runs at the Kameo and Savoy.
It was the Savoy that I was interested in although I also appreciate the information on the Rogers as well. Thanks to you both.
Loew’s Kameo’s chief rival in that area of Brooklyn was the Randforce Savoy, which played day-and-date with the RKO circuit theatres and was situated only a few blocks away. on the other side of Eastern Parkway.
ChicagoSteve—
You probably mean the Rogers, on Rogers Ave between Montgomery St. and Sullivan Place. You can find it on this wonderful CinemaTreasures site by searching its name (there two Rogers listed for Brooklyn— this one is the first listed; the second was on Broadway). It’s not exactly around the corner from Loew’s Kameo, but about five or six short blocks away. I saw a bunch of second-run movies there (and at the Kameo)in the 1950s when I attended high school mid-way between the two theaters.
I am looking for the name of the theatre around the corner from the Kameo at Eastern Parkway and Beford. Thanks
Here is a 2008 exterior view.