Jefferson Theater
811 Myrtle Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11206
811 Myrtle Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11206
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Here’s an undated view of the exterior: cuny
My father, Sam Lesiger, owned and operated this theater during the early 1940s. Wish I had more information, but he passed away nearly 40 years ago, and that’s all I know. Anyone else remember it?
Judging by the photo linked on Jun 21, 2005, it appears that it didn’t even have real letters saying it was the “Jefferson”. The name Jefferson appears on the marquee the same as a movie would.
It was very run down even in the 40’s!
Thanks for the help.
Thats the right Jefferson Theater Bway.
Ken, is this it?
/theaters/1357/
This 1986 Michael Putnam photo shows a Jefferson Theater in NYC, obviously not the one in Brooklyn. If the NYC theater is listed under a different name, let me know so I can repost the photo:
http://tinyurl.com/32l4o2
Absolutely nothing remains on this block. See aerial photo of where the Jefferson was:
Click here for photo
Robert, the entire block looked terribly run down even in the 40’s!
This looked incredibly run down even in the 40’s.
It was kind of an odd looking building. The houses next to it appear to be wooden houses. This theater must have been demolished some time in the 1940’s if the Marcy Houses were completed by 1949.
Cool, the link worked.
Wow, did that scene change. NOTHING remains from that scene. I was by there last summer, and it is a park there now (I guess a part of the housing project).
The el is gone, the theater is gone, all the buildings are gone. Totally different scene today…..
Thanks for the link cypress. I’ll try to link directly to the Jefferson theater photo. Lets see if it works:
View link
Caption with photo reads:
“CAPTION: Jefferson Theater at 811-13 Myrtle Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, June 2, 1943. The cinema is showing "Sintown” with Constance Bennett and “Prisoner of Japan.” It was on the 28.5 acre site which would be cleared of tenements and businesses so that Marcy Houses could be built. Completed January 19, 1949, the project is bordered by Flushing, Marcy, Nostrand and Myrtle Avenues".
Here is the link for the photo of the Jefferson Theater.
http://www.housingauthority.lagcc.cuny.edu/nycha/
Unfortunately I was not able to supply a direct link to the Jefferson or Rainbow Theaters. Select Photographs from the upper left, and enter in the names of the theaters. I hope this works. They have two great pics of the theaters.
Cypress, please add your links to photos of individual theaters to their respective page on the site, rather than to the new links section, as that is really for adding websites. Thank you.
Bryan Krefft
Cinema Treasures
I have added a URL for a picture of what I think is the Jefferson Theater.
Today I drove by the Jefferson Theater site. The theater was once located between Marcy and Nostrand Aves. It is now a part of the multi-block Marcy Playground. Both sides of Myrtle Ave are completely razed on this block.
On the postal map I obtained today, zip code 11206 which is listed as Metropolitan covers Williamsburg and Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
Warren……I looked at a zoning map of Brooklyn and according to that map, 11205 is listed as Ft. Greene and 11206 is just listed as Metropolitan.
I looked at two different maps and one lists that section as Williamsburg and the other lists it as Bushwick. Also, one map lists the zip code as 11205 and the other as 11206. I’ll have to find another map.
What area of Brooklyn was this? I can’t figure it out from the mapfinder.