Avalon Theatre
1720 Kings Highway,
Brooklyn,
NY
11229
1720 Kings Highway,
Brooklyn,
NY
11229
3 people
favorited this theater
Originally conceived as the Piccadilly Theatre, the Avalon Theatre was built by Loew’s Inc, and opened on January 25, 1928. It was equipped with a Robert Morton theatre organ. Within a year of opening, it became part of the Century Theatres circuit.
The Avalon Theatre was closed in 1982.
Contributed by
William Gabel
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Recent comments (view all 52 comments)
I doubt if the Avalon was ever a XXX venue. You might have confused it with the much smaller Jewel Theatre, which was later re-named Cinema Kings Highway. The CT listing for that theatre is currently closed due to “flaming.”
Hi Warren,
Thanks for responding.
I know it wasn’t the Cinema Kings Highway. I’m familiar with that theater (at least from the outside) because I had lived in the neighborhood, attended PS 238 down the block, ate at the adjacent Kings Highway Diner millions of times, etc. I’m pretty sure it was the Avalon that showed porn, perhaps for a short time. In fact, I’m embarrased to reveal that I think I can actually remember a name of one of the movies the theater was showing in the early 1980’s: Sex World. I think I remember being shocked when observing that title on the marquee as I was just a little kid at the time. I wish there was a way we can verify this.
You could be right. I lost track of the Avalon in its final years. You might be able to find advertising in the Daily News and Post. I do remember that at least two of the ex-Century theatres in Queens, the Queens and Community in Queens Village, went XXX before they finally closed as cinemas.
The Avalon did NOT run XXX in its final years. Not even for a short time. I remember driving down Kings Highway from Ocean Parkway many a time, and passing the Cinema (Kings Highway)on my left-hand side, which did have a XXX venue.
Thank-you Warren for the great interior shots! Does anyone else have any photos of the interior? It would be very much appreciated.
Ahh, the Avalon. I recall seeing the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (my Grandfather took me) many years ago at a theater somewhere on Kings Highway, somewhere before Ocean Avenue, but I knew it wasnt the Kingsway. And I didnt remember the name of the theater. I recall that the location was replaced with a pharmacy, and it took me some research to finally find the name of this theater: The Avalon. I lived not too far away, on East 12 street. I was still young when the theater was closed, and even though I RARELY went to the Avalon (saw only a handful of movies there, and Willy Wonka is the only one I can remember seeing at the Avalon), I was saddened to see it go.
I went to the Avalon several times during the 1970s. It was a fairly nice theater, but never drew the big crowds as the Kingsway did, 5 or 6 blocks away. I think I might have seen Clint Eastwood in “The Enforcer” there and I sort of remember being dragged to see Streisand in “A Star is Born” (Ugh) I do clearly remember seeing films there that were good, but not particularly successful: Charles Bronson in “Breakheart Pass,” Roger Moore in “Ffolkes” and Sean Connery in “The Great Train Robbery” in 1980 (which might have been the last film I saw there.)
I was surprized to see that this theatre opened back in 1928. When i went there back in the 70s it looked a lot newer then most of the other brooklyn theatres that i used to go to.
My grandfather used to own the doughut shop across the street. We kept them neck deep in doughnuts in exchange for seeing whatever was running at the time. I think I saw Star Wars there. Also Towering Inferno. Many years later I wound up having one of my first jobs as a stock boy in the Pathmark Drug Store that took the place of the movie theater.
Also, when it was the Avalon, there used to be a florist shop on the corner of the building.
Does anyone know if any of the theater’s ornamentation remains inside in the drug store.