Empress Theater

Ken Roe on July 6, 2006 at 3:55 pm

Here are two recent(May 2006) exterior photographs I took of the Empress/Crown Theatre:
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/183637081/
http://flickr.com/photos/kencta/183637615/

Lost Memory;In the five weeks I was in NYC I visited 175 theatre buildings and took over 400 photographs. Unfortunately I just didn’t get time to go out to Richmond Hill on this occasion. Next time!…..

CrownHeightser on June 10, 2009 at 6:54 pm

Recent update: a friend of mine invited me to help load some boxes on the way to his father’s office in, of all places, the old Crown Theater! The first floor is split into a grocery store, now Empire Kosher, which occupies the entire back half of the building and the west half of the front. The southeast corner is a medical clinic. I have yet to find any trace of the theater in either location, which both have (obviously) a level floor, although given the chance to take down a wall or two, that might change. The lobby is simply nonexistent and one cannot distinguish between any of the former theater areas within the grocery.

The upstairs, however, is a different story. The theater building sits on a slope and the alley behind it is a full story higher than Empire Boulevard. From the alley, one enters old emergency exits to find himself walking directly on the (now leveled) balcony and into the airspace of the old theater. For whatever reason, nothing of the old theater ceiling was ever touched! The entire space is encircled by a series of fine plaster moldings, interrupted in a few places by friezes. The ceiling itself is in fine shape, and a few recent drywall patches haven’t done much to interrupt the feeling. The old balcony ceiling is lower to allow for a projection room and covered in a gothic floral pattern. Painted entirely gold, the overall effect is quite impressive.

Near the back (west) side of the theater, large arches on the side walls seem to indicate former stairwells or exits of some sort. More exciting, however, is the front wall: the entire screen opening is intact and surrounded by thick plaster arches, also painted gold. The original theater was quite tall, and enough of the screen pokes above floor level to give one a feeling of having been there.

On the intriguing side of things, what appears to have been the opening to a large dome is, sadly, filled in by 4’ x 8’ ceiling tiles, interrupted in a few places by feeds for fire sprinklers within the (presumed) dome. Judging by the general state of affairs, and the necessity for sprinklers, I would guess that the dome exists intact, but what it looks like I could hardly venture to guess.

I didn’t make it up the stairs to the projection suite / under â€"roof area, nor have I ever seen the basement. I didn’t have a camera (would that I have known where I was headed!) but altogether it was quite a treat. The building doesn’t seem likely to undergo any changes, with a very busy kosher store and clinic downstairs and a well-maintained dry warehouse space upstairs, currently used by the Jewish Children’s museum on Kingston Ave. and Eastern Parkway. If anyone want to invite themselves in and take pictures, remember to say that you know me!

TPH on August 16, 2010 at 10:15 pm

It’s interesting that as certain Brooklyn neighborhoods re-gentrify there is a need for large event spaces for banquets and weddings. The corridor of Bedford Ave. between Flushing & Park Aves. heading towards Williamsburg, is a prime example. The Empress with its rich treasure of architecural detail in the upper portions would be a great location to open a banquet hall, sorely needed in the Crown Heights neighborhood.

Matt Lambros on November 11, 2013 at 9:11 am

I recently visited and photographed the former Empress Theatre. Check out my post on it at After the Final Curtain

robboehm on August 28, 2019 at 10:05 pm

Uploaded a 1930 Century Theaters ad showing the Empress