St. George Playhouse
100 Pineapple Street,
Brooklyn,
NY
11201
100 Pineapple Street,
Brooklyn,
NY
11201
No one has favorited this theater yet
This elegant theater once stood on Pineapple Street in the posh Brooklyn neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights. It was one of the first theatres to be designed and decorated in an Art Deco style and opened on December 25, 1927, with the French movie “Tillers of the Soil”. It had a box on the left of the proscenium, which in the early days held musicians. It was torn down decades ago to make way for a highrise apartment development.
Contributed by
philipgoldberg
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 11 comments)
Opened about 1929, the architects were Schlanger & Ehrenrich.
Looking at photographs and plans published in the book “American Theatres of To-day” Volume Two (1930), an unusual feature of the building was provision for a small musicians box on the left side of the proscenium arch (instead of the usual centrally place orchestra pit in front of the screen). The right hand side of the proscenium arch had a decorative grille, behind which were the theatre organ pipes. There was no stage at this theatre, so it was designed and built specifically for the showing of motion pictures.
Gone, but not forgotten:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/139-3956_IMG.jpg
I believe this theatre sometime in the mid 60’s went by the name of Pineapple St. Cinema. This is totally based on my memories.
The St. George Playhouse first opened on December 25th (Christmas Day), 1927, with newspaper advertising as “Brooklyn’s Most Distinctive Motion Picture Theatre.” Management was the same as the “arty” 5th Avenue Playhouse in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. The St. George’s opening film was “Tillers of the Soil,” described as “French Drama—First Brooklyn Showing.” Bookings would change every three days, with “Cyrano De Bergerac” and “Sentimental Tommy” coming up next. Weekday prices were 30 cents at matinees and 50 cents in the evenings. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, the prices were 50 cents at matinees and 75 cents in the evenings. The theatre expected to draw some of its patronage from guests of the St. George Hotel, which was just around the corner.
It’s unfortunate that this theatre does not turn up in the CT credits for Benjamin Schlanger, who was one of the most important and influential cinema architects. I don’t understand the categories “architect” and “firm.” When I first saw it, I thought “firm” meant the company that actually carried out the construction of the building. I don’t see why the “firm” option couldn’t be eliminated. “Architect” does not necessarily mean one person. Certainly “Rapp & Rapp,” for example, could be listed under “architect” without confusing anyone.
By popular demand, here’s a new link to images of the auditorium: View link
The photo shows what a jewel box the Playhouse was. As much as I’ve enjoyed the Brooklyn Heights twin across the street, it has all the charm of a auto mechanic’s garage.
Plans for the St. George Playhouse were announced in the March 27, 1927, issue of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. The project was budgeted at $175,000. The location was given as the south side of Pineapple Street, 38 feet west of Fulton Street. Fulton Street is now Cadman Plaza West.
Incidentally, why doesn’t Brooklyn Heights get a neighborhood section in Cinema Treasures' listings, the way other districts of Brooklyn do? I had to click through ten pages of maps and take several side trips before I found this theater.
The photo that Warren posted may not offer a definitive view, but it does not appear that there were any boxes off the balcony, as described in the introductory comments.
The Brooklyn Theatre Index provides a closing date of 1965. This surprised me, since I thought this whole area had been demolished to make way for a huge urban renewal project by the late 1950’s. But I guess this area survived for a few years longer …… In fact, in 1962, the theater was “newly christened” as a foreign film and revival house, with its capacity reduced from 992 to 600. So, efforts were made nearly to the end to keep the place going – until urban renewal rudely intervened.