Patio Theatre
574 Flatbush Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11225
574 Flatbush Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11225
3 people
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The Nrooklyn Yheatre Index references a 1958 closing date and prints a notice “to our patrons”, dated October 31 of that year, that regretfully announces the closure and offers a free pass to the neighboring Linden and Midwood Theatres …… It is interesing that a theater as ornate as the Patio has received so litte xommentary on CT. (It would be great if someone would re-link the old pictures of the place that have been lost) …… Since, unlike the King and the Kenmare, the Patio was not situated in the busy Flatbush/Chauch Avenuw commercial district, it would always have been at a financial disadvantage to them.
Just looked at the exterior photos. A double vertical. Wow!
Century advertised the Patio, singularly in the mainstream NY papers when they had stage shows. As a child I remember seeing an ad for Joey Adams. Only in later years did I know who he was so that must have been early in his career.
Exterior photos of the Patio and rival Loew’s Kings can be viewed here:
http://brooklynboard.com/pgal.php?p=6&b=b
Brooklyn’s very own Frances Faye, who was known as “Queen of Clubs” due to her popularity on the nitery circuit, topped a weekend vaudeville bill at the Patio in April, 1949, with the late-run “A Letter to Three Wives” on screen. Frances Faye’s career and private life as a lesbian would later be spotlighted in Bruce Weber’s feature documentary, “Chop Suey,” which had a brief theatrical release before vanishing into limbo: View link
Here’s a new link to the posting above of 10/3/07 about weekend vaudeville at the Patio Theatre: View link
New direct links to images of what was one of Brooklyn’s most sumptuous theatres and probably the masterwork of architect R. Thomas Short. The first shows the white marble enclosed patio and fountain in the lobby that gave the theatre its name:
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Though the largest and most sumptuous of all the Century circuit’s theatres, the Patio was always an also-ran in the Flatbush area due to competition from Loew’s Kings and the RKO Kenmore. In May, 1949, with home TV proving a new threat, Century started adding stage shows to the Patio’s programs, some with well-known headliners like singer Georgia Gibbs, comedian Wally Brown, and recording stars The 3 Suns. In the beginning, the stage shows were presented nightly and all day on Saturdays and Sundays, but at the end of the summer they were reduced to Saturdays and Sundays only. To save money, the bookings rapidly descended from the well-known to novelty acts such as mind readers, fortune tellers, and hypnotists. The policy finally ended in January, 1950, when the Patio resumed its usual late-run double bills. Here’s a typical Century ad for its Brooklyn theatres from November, 1949, with the Patio in the top slot. During the week, the Patio had been showing “The Window” & “Adventure in Baltimore.” For the weekend run of the stage show, those films were replaced by a single feature revival, in this case “The Crystal Ball”:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/patio49.jpg
A Kimball was installed in the Patio Theater in 1928.
What an incredible place, Century’s never had anything even close to this as far as opulence goes. Thanks Warren for those pictures.
Sorry, I forgot the year which was 1928.
City records show a 2508 seat theater listed for this address. Architect was R. Thomas Short and under owners name is the Homack Construction Co.
Here are four images of the interior of the Patio, which was probably the most opulent of all the Century Circuit theatres. The first shows the entrance lobby and the central fountain surrounded by white marble pillars. The fountain had a pool at its base, and was cleverly lighted so that it could be seen by pedestrians on Flatbush Avenue. The second image is of the Grand Hall leading to the orchestra seats and staircase to the mezzanine and balcony. The last two are of the auditorium:
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/126-2630_IMG.jpg
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/126-2638_IMG.jpg
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/126-2639_IMG.jpg
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/126-2643_IMG.jpg
An exterior photo of the Patio Theatre and its TWO vertical signs can be seen on page 5 of the Photo Gallery at www.brooklynboard.com