Windsor Theater
4001 15th Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11218
4001 15th Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11218
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Well… my mistake. The view is wrong. I am on the wrong corner. According to city records, the address 4001 15th Ave was on the SE corner of 15th Ave and 40th Street. Condominium apartments were erected on that site in 1982, so the theater has been completely demolished and replaced, not gutted and re-purposed as the introductory comments to the page suggest. If someone at CT can unlock the street view, I will make the appropriate adjustments for a proper current view.
I believe I corrected the street view down the next block. Across from Munkacs Car Service – which is listed at 4002 15th Ave. Unfortunately, the image is almost completely bleached out by sun glare.
Does this building even exist? Looking at the old photo posted on Feb, 3, 2007 by JF Lundy, and then looking at the street view, no massive fascade like that exist at 40th and 15th.
This 1933 photo was previously posted, but now has a fuller view of the vertical sign and top of the building: View link 324
Also, screens should be set to one.
As mentioned previously, the architects name was J.M. Berlinger or Joseph M. Berlinger.
Sorry, no. There is probably an architectural society that has more detail on his work. He left no children; I’m trying to find a closer relative that might have more information.
Elias, do you happen to have a list of all the theatres that J.M. Berlinger worked on? Was it many or just a few?
J.M. Berlinger (cited above) is Joseph M. Berlinger (a distant cousin of mine): From Who�s Who in American Jewry, 1938, p. 81
BERLINGER, Joseph M., architect. Born N.Y. City, Jan. 16, 1888, s. Morris and Helen Berlinger. Ed. high sch.; Hebrew Tech Inst.; Columbia U.; three years� study abroad. Designed: Mt. Neboh Temple, N.Y. City; Dumont Masonic Temple and Bank Bldg, Dumont, N.J.; First Presbyterian Church Community Bldg, New Brunswick, N.J.; Fenway Country Club, White Plains, N.Y.l also theatres, apt. houses, industrial and commercial bldgs. Delineator of Victor Emanuel monument in Rome, Italy, compiling same with story into book for publication. Mem: Internat. Assn of Artists, Rome; Architectural League, N.Y. City. Married Ruth Taxier, Aug. 29, 1935. Club: Fenway Country. Hobby: golf. Home: 10 Park Ave. Office: 17 E. 49th St, N.Y. City.
Photo Link:
http://brooklynpix.com/photo1/B/boropark45.jpg
Growing up in Boro Park, the Windsor was considered by most to be a dump. Think I went there maybe once or twice. I was strictly a 46th street or Boro Park kid.
I saw “War Of The Worlds” there with my mom in 1954, and again a few years later with my friends. One Saturday, I remember, we kids were more boisterous than usual, yelling, throwing popcorn, etc. The elderly theatre owners walked down the aisle and threatened to shut the projector off if we didn’t behave. Admission for kids was 25 cents.
The theatre whose organ the Windsor organ was merged with was the Empire in Brooklyn. The combined organ was first installed in WNAC radio in Boston before being moved to Stoneham.
The theatre had an organ installed in 1927, then reposessed by Wurlitzer. They merged it with another organ. It has been in the town hall in Stoneham, Mass., since 1942. As Town Organist I play it before each town meeting.
There were a few stores on 15th avenue. It was a block from the bus,
and the nearest theatres were the Culver on 18th avenue & McDonald, and the Radio on 13th avenue and 42nd street. It managed to survive
for over 25 years.
A C/O was issued for a new building at this address on January 9, 1928. Purpose of building: a 1245 seat motion picture theater. The architects name appears to read as J.M. Berlinger. The last name should be correct but I’m not positive of the first initial. The owner was M. Levine.
Sometimes, theatres were deliberately built in “out-of-the-way” places in order to stimulate development of that area. A successful theatre would attract other businesses, as well as residential development. An example of that is the Granada Theatre in Corona, Queens, which was built a considerable distance from Corona’s main shopping street of Junction Boulevard. The Granada never caught on and was one of the first Queens theatres to close when TV came along.
This seems to be an unusual location for a theater, as the nearest “business” area would be one block over on 16th, Av.From what I saw in the picture from “Brooklyn- The Way It Was”{, it seems to be in an art deco style from the outdide that sort of resembled the Claridge(QV) on Ave P.Maybe when this theater was built, 15th Ave had a business area.Today condo apartments stand where the theater would have been. It will be a fools errand to try to look for a theater-like structure there today. The location of this theater makes it fascinating.Can anyboby tell me more about it?
When I mention that the Windsor was small, I mean smaller when comparing it to Loew’s 46th Street & Loew’s Boro Park-which was also in Boro Park.
Yes, the full-page photo of the exterior of the Windsor is on page 45 of Brian Merlis' “Brooklyn: The Way It Was.” The photo was taken in 1933, with a double feature of “Melody Cruise” & “Silk Express” advertised on the marquee…On page 57 of the same book, there’s an exterior of the Stratford Theatre from 1927, with “Rubber Tires” listed on the marquee. There are other theatre photos scattered through the book, including the RKO Dyker.
The Book you are refering to is “Brooklyn, The Way It Was” by Brian Merils(?).
The Windsor was situated at 4001 15th Avenue and had 1,300 seats, according to the 1944 Film Daily Year Book. I’ve seen a photograph of the Windsor’s exterior in one of the illustrated paperbacks about Brooklyn, but I can’t recall the title. But the book can be found at most Barnes & Nobles in the Brooklyn sub-division of the NYC section.
The Windsor showed second and third run films. It was a small theatre with a plain interior.