Anniegirl…that picture on local.live.com is the one and same building that was the Roebling i.e. Wilson Theater. In speaking to the members of the Synogogue they knew that it was a Theater before but did not know the name of it. They have had to level the floor because it had a slope to it and the ark in the back is in a semi-circle area.
The Synogogue members, the religious book store and the 88 year old resident of Williamsburg that I spoke to were all from the Hassidic community. I really did not think they would take much interest in the history of the community vis a viz such things as movie theaters but boy was I wrong. They all asked me to get back to them (which I did) to let them what the theater name was.
Now the Payton’s Lee Avenue theater has piqued my interest. Was it used for Vaudeville, Opera or Drama? Who knows, maybe Hymies Baby Carriages was the site of the Lee’s.
asbag
To all…if you will look over at the Wilson Theater you will see that finally someone anwered my question as to whether or not there was a Wilson Theater.
asbag
Joe from Florida…..the thing about the Mello-Rolls was that after you unraveled the paper around the roll and you tried to roll it onto the cone you could very easily do it do hard or fast and it would roll over the otherside and fall on the floor.
asbag
Thank you cdjv. There are probably two dozen people who thought that the theater was a figment of my imagination. In the process of trying to uncover the mystery of the Wilson Theater all of you have brought to light many other Theaters that I did not know existed in that section of Brooklyn. This interest in old movie theaters spawns something bigger than the theaters themselves. It has helped me revisit all the food stores, peddlers, retailers, buses and trolleys of my youth in an affectionate way. I had to leave the New York area because of a job offer in 1996 and I am doing all this from St. Louis, Mo.
The Internet has opened up a world of nostalgia in which I can view web cams of street corners, aerial views of buildings and neighborhoods and be able to get phone numbers of individuals who could fill me in on the history of an area. Yesterday I spoke to a 25 year old who wanted to hear more about the Williamsburg he is living in from the perspective of someone who lived here in the 40’s. Then I spoke to an 88 year old man who lived in the same apartment he was born in in 1917. He was most anxious that I get back to him when I got more information on the Wilson.
Anyway, I don’t want to get too wordy. But thanks for all your help.
asbag
Lost Memory…that is great. I wonder how they got the Wilson name. However, perhaps googling 1925 might turn up something. I have spoken to the current owners of the building and they knew it was a Theater but didn’t know the name. I spoke to a Williamsburg resident who has lived in the same apartment since 1917 and he remembers the Theater but not the name. Thanks for you help.
asbag
Hi, to all of you….this group is getting bigger by the minute. With regard to the Wilson Theater on Roebling and Lee Ave. which no one seems to remember but me I have been able to verify:
a) The address is 27 Lee Ave.
b) The building still exists and is now a Synogogue.
c) That the Synogogue has an ark in the back on a stage and that they had to straighten the floor because it tiled forward on an angle.
d) In speaking to the Synogoue they did know it was a Theater before.
e) I spoke to a resident of Williamsburg that still lives in the apartment he was born in…..in 1917. He remembers the Theater but not the name.
f) An application was applied for at the City of New York for a Theater to be built at that site with offices above in 1925.
g) But I have yet to hear from anyone that remembers it. Strange!
Finally, you guys and girls have hit the nail on the head with all the great foods that cannot be duplicated in Williamsburg or Brooklyn.
Charlotte Russes, Knishes from a cart and only salted by a metal salt shaker with large holes and pickles from a barrel.
asbag
Astyanax…I went to PS 16 beginning in Kindergarten in 1945. The Wilson was boarded up and posters for films playing at other Theaters were placed on the boards. We all now agree that the building is 27 Lee Ave., everyone agrees that it was a Theater but as yet no one can confirm that it was called the Wilson. And yes, I do love a good sour pickle. Havemeyer St. had great pickle vendors and nothing tastes as good as when they come out of a barrel.
asbag
Lost Memory….I tried to call the Synogogue but got no answer. I called a book store down the block and the proprietor who is a history buff said that the Synogogue definitely was a theater because they had to straighten out the floor as it had a definite slope. He gave me the name of a resident who has lived near there in the same apartment since 1917. When speaking to him he told me that there was definitely a theater there but he did not remember the name. He did not think it was called the Wilson. Who knows? I remember that name and it was a block away from Wilson St. I will look up Newspaper archives next. Thanks for responding.
asbag
Lost Memory…..thanks for the update. Perhaps I can call the phone number and see if the current owners know anything about the building. When I was in Public School on Wilson Avenue I used to walk over to the Theater which still had a Marquee that said Wilson. But it was boarded up and someone would put movie posters up for films playing at the other Theaters in Williamsburg. I never gave much thought to the Theater then but now it has become a challenge to get the history of this Theater. If it was closed and boarded up in 1945 or earlier it could have been a Vaudeville Theater like the Williamsburg. However, every Theater in Williamsburg has someone that remembers either attending or knowing something about the Theater with the exception of the Wilson. I guess if there is a resident who attended the Theater in the Thirties they would have to be in their 70’s or 80’s today and most likely would not be on this site. Historical records from all the library sites I have visited in the New York & Brooklyn area gave no clue to what that Theater was. At least you have furnished me with an address. If you go on local.live.com and view the “Birds Eye” aerial view of the site you can see a building the is triangular in the front but rounded in the back which looks like it was some sort of stage. Anyway, any information you can furnish will be greatly appreciated. Are you a Brooklynite?
asbag
Lost Memory…do you know anything about this theater. I have been searching for months trying to get some information. At first I was doubting that the theater even existed but not that you mention it is a tax exempt Church I feel confident that it was a movie theater at one time. After all that is the way all movie theaters go…they become religious institutions. If anyone get help me out with some description I would appreciate it.
asbag
Anniegirl…yesterday I added the Wilson Theater to Cinema Treasures listings without an address and lo and behold when I looked to see the listing there was an address for that location at Lee Avenue. Plus someone wrote in and indicated what is located at that spot now.
asbag
Dear Anniegirl….I am glad you liked the local.live.com. It really gives you great shots of the city. Particulary when you use the Birds Eye view. Yes, PS 16 was on Wilson and Taylor. That school was old when even I attended. The boys bathroom had a solid concrete
wall from floor to ceiling that had water running down from the ceiling into a trough and the boys would go against the wall. It was medieval but hard to miss.
I must say that you have a great memory for names and places. Williamsburg was such a mixed bag of things. When you look back you had five theaters with seating compacities that accomodated over 1,000 people per theater, almost every bus line in Brooklyn terminating at Bridge Plaza, factories together with Brownstones. Historic restaurants such as Peter Lugar and historic buildings such as The Williamsburg Savings Bank. Elevated subways, depressed highways, a major bridge, a river, a Navy Yard. What a mix.
asbag
Dear Anniegirl….I really don’t remember the baby carriage store although I remember that Williamsburg had a large one. I just don’t remember where it was. Did you see the building I described on local.live.com? The one with the round back. That looks like it could have been a theater. I called my mother and she doesn’t remember the Wilson either. I have been in touch with several library services such as the Brooklyn & New York Historical Societies and they don’t have anything. I contact the Lincoln Center Arts & Theaters web site and asked them to research the Wilson Theater. I submitted to Cinema Treasures the Wilson Theater name and location with nothing else in the hope that someone who lived in Williamsburg in the 20’s or 30’s or even the 40’s might remember the Theater.
I remember it so vividly because at lunch time I used to leave PS 16 on Wilson Ave. and walk down Lee to Roebling where under the marquee there were movie posters pasted on the boards that closed the theater. I used to color in mustaches on the actors faces.
Who knew that years later I would be searching for the origins of the theater on a means of communication such as the Internet which has every piece of information you could want and come up empty. Annie, thanks for your help.
asbag
To anniegirl…you picked up on the fact that it was on the intersection of Roebling and Lee. You are correct. Roebling and Lee interesect but not at actual right angles so they form a diamond in the front. But the give away I think is the round rear of the building which could have house a screen or perhaps a curved stage.
My mother is still alive and I never thought to ask her if she new what the Wilson Theater was. I think I will give that a try as she lived in Williamsburg for several years before I was born in 1940.
asbag
To Anniegirl…in the local.live.com there is a structure that looks like to could have been a theater. It is where Roebling actually meets Lee Ave. It is one block from Wilson. It is on the North-East corner at the intersection of Roebling and Lee. The building has a front that is formed like a diamond because of the way the two buildings intersect with each other. The back part of the building is a circle. See if you can spot it.
asbag
To Astyanax….yes,they were owned by the same people. In fact,there was a third one in Coney Island near the Boardwalk and the Cyclone. The father whose name was Levy had each of his sons run a store.
To Anniegirl….the Van Hooten factory was near the Brooklyn Navy Yard and was a Dutch company that produced chocolate bars for many years. The Wilson Theater was on the corner of Roebling and Wilson. It was accross the street from a little plaza that had the Clymer Street Police State on one side. The theater was already closed when I attended Kindergarten in 1945. There was a marquee that said Wilson but it was boarded up in 1945 and they used the boarding to place the posters of movies showing at other theaters in the neighborhood. Perhaps the Wilson was never a movie theater but a vaudeville house like the Williamsburg.
asbag
To Anniegirl….there was a Chocolate factory called Van Hooten in Brooklyn. Was that the one you were talking about?
I have also been frustrated by anyone’s knowledge of the Wilson Theater. I am beginning to think that the theater was all in my mind? I can’t believe that no body has even heard of it. Any suggestions?
asbag
JoeB….I too remember the Woolworth store on that block and I too had stolen some plastic bingo markers that could be used in vending machines for gum and candy. I got caught on Broadway and was so scared that my life of crime ended right there. I was probably around ten when I began and ended my life of crime.
asbag
Anniegirl..it is a small world. When I moved to Long Island in 1969 it was to Coram. Several years after I moved there I bought a Daily News home delivery franchise and delivered the papers to Bellport, East Patchogue, Mastic and Shirley.
By the way, my father’s name was Louie.
There is a web site called local.live.com which is an aerial view web site with one difference. As you get closer to your site there are three different views that you can access. One is a road map, the second an aerial view and the third is something called Birds Eye. The Birds Eye view is limited to a dozen or so Metropolitan areas which includes New York. The Birds Eye view are actual 35mm type pictures of every location in the New York area. So sitting at my desk in St. Louis I took a tour of my building on South 8th St., then South 9th, Ocean Ave. and Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn. I then visited the lower East Side (Ludlow St.), Sheepshead Bay, where my parents lived. In fact, other than Long Island I got to see a vivid picture of every place I lived. Amazing, considering I didn’t leave my desk.
I did not know that the Schaefer Brewery was going to be Condos. What views? What has happened with the Brooklyn Navy Yard?
Williamsburg had some great architecture. Particularly, the Williamsburg Savings Bank. Do they still have the Grucchi fireworks in Bellport or did the Grucchi’s move? I remember hearing something about that. Talk to you soon.
asbag
Hi, Anniegirl…..as I mentioned previously I grew up on South 9th St. between Berry & Wythe. I used to watch the Schaefer Brewery employees play Chinese Handball on the next block from the Brewery on South 9th St. I went to P.S. 16 and every day at lunch I used to go to this closed up Theater called the Wilson where they had old posters of movies plastered all over the front of the Theater. The Aster Theater was at the corner of Roebling and Broadway. While I lived in Brooklyn there was a fire at the Theater and it was forced to close. It later became a Cafeteria. There was a “diner” on Roebling between S. 9th & Bway that we used to call the Greek. Served the best Rice Pudding. The Williamsburg Theater really did become “sleazy” in the later part of the 40’s and the early 50’s. Even though I had received a lifetime pass from a cousin who owned the Theater I really used it preferring to go to the Marcy, Commodore and the Republic. I don’t remember the Model Theater at all. I attended J.H.S. 50 on S. 3rd Street and used to walk to school past a number of very famous places that I never realized were famous (being a young kid). I used to go by Peter Lugar’s and never new it was a well known Steak House. I used to see the Gretsch factory and did not know they were famous for their guitars.
It was a different world then….you could see lower Manhattan but they were not called views of the City. Compared to living in the Suburbs you could get to Manhattan by train and bus in about fifteen or twenty minutes. In fact, it really was a transportation mecca. Bridge Plaza was the terminal for all the trolleys and then buses going all over Brooklyn.
The irony of Williamsburg hit home when my son who has lived in Washington, DC, Kendall, Florida and Dallas, Texas called me one day to say that he was looking for an apartment in Williamsburg and the rents were too high for him. This is the neighborhood that at one time looked like a war zone or the South Bronx. What goes around comes around.
I moved to St. Louis in 1996 after having lived in the New York Metropolitan area for most of my life. I visit many of the web sites revisiting my youth in early New York and, particularly, Brooklyn. I left Williamsburg in 1954, moved to Flatbush and then to Long Island in 1969. Let’s here more about your experiences in Williamsburg.
asbag
Thanks, Lost Memory….hmmmm for sure I don’t remember anything resembling a theater at that location.
asbag
Anniegirl…that picture on local.live.com is the one and same building that was the Roebling i.e. Wilson Theater. In speaking to the members of the Synogogue they knew that it was a Theater before but did not know the name of it. They have had to level the floor because it had a slope to it and the ark in the back is in a semi-circle area.
The Synogogue members, the religious book store and the 88 year old resident of Williamsburg that I spoke to were all from the Hassidic community. I really did not think they would take much interest in the history of the community vis a viz such things as movie theaters but boy was I wrong. They all asked me to get back to them (which I did) to let them what the theater name was.
Now the Payton’s Lee Avenue theater has piqued my interest. Was it used for Vaudeville, Opera or Drama? Who knows, maybe Hymies Baby Carriages was the site of the Lee’s.
asbag
To all…if you will look over at the Wilson Theater you will see that finally someone anwered my question as to whether or not there was a Wilson Theater.
asbag
Joe from Florida…..the thing about the Mello-Rolls was that after you unraveled the paper around the roll and you tried to roll it onto the cone you could very easily do it do hard or fast and it would roll over the otherside and fall on the floor.
asbag
Some theater Warren. That was class.
asbag
Thank you cdjv. There are probably two dozen people who thought that the theater was a figment of my imagination. In the process of trying to uncover the mystery of the Wilson Theater all of you have brought to light many other Theaters that I did not know existed in that section of Brooklyn. This interest in old movie theaters spawns something bigger than the theaters themselves. It has helped me revisit all the food stores, peddlers, retailers, buses and trolleys of my youth in an affectionate way. I had to leave the New York area because of a job offer in 1996 and I am doing all this from St. Louis, Mo.
The Internet has opened up a world of nostalgia in which I can view web cams of street corners, aerial views of buildings and neighborhoods and be able to get phone numbers of individuals who could fill me in on the history of an area. Yesterday I spoke to a 25 year old who wanted to hear more about the Williamsburg he is living in from the perspective of someone who lived here in the 40’s. Then I spoke to an 88 year old man who lived in the same apartment he was born in in 1917. He was most anxious that I get back to him when I got more information on the Wilson.
Anyway, I don’t want to get too wordy. But thanks for all your help.
asbag
Lost Memory…that is great. I wonder how they got the Wilson name. However, perhaps googling 1925 might turn up something. I have spoken to the current owners of the building and they knew it was a Theater but didn’t know the name. I spoke to a Williamsburg resident who has lived in the same apartment since 1917 and he remembers the Theater but not the name. Thanks for you help.
asbag
Hi, to all of you….this group is getting bigger by the minute. With regard to the Wilson Theater on Roebling and Lee Ave. which no one seems to remember but me I have been able to verify:
a) The address is 27 Lee Ave.
b) The building still exists and is now a Synogogue.
c) That the Synogogue has an ark in the back on a stage and that they had to straighten the floor because it tiled forward on an angle.
d) In speaking to the Synogoue they did know it was a Theater before.
e) I spoke to a resident of Williamsburg that still lives in the apartment he was born in…..in 1917. He remembers the Theater but not the name.
f) An application was applied for at the City of New York for a Theater to be built at that site with offices above in 1925.
g) But I have yet to hear from anyone that remembers it. Strange!
Finally, you guys and girls have hit the nail on the head with all the great foods that cannot be duplicated in Williamsburg or Brooklyn.
Charlotte Russes, Knishes from a cart and only salted by a metal salt shaker with large holes and pickles from a barrel.
asbag
Astyanax…I went to PS 16 beginning in Kindergarten in 1945. The Wilson was boarded up and posters for films playing at other Theaters were placed on the boards. We all now agree that the building is 27 Lee Ave., everyone agrees that it was a Theater but as yet no one can confirm that it was called the Wilson. And yes, I do love a good sour pickle. Havemeyer St. had great pickle vendors and nothing tastes as good as when they come out of a barrel.
asbag
Lost Memory….I tried to call the Synogogue but got no answer. I called a book store down the block and the proprietor who is a history buff said that the Synogogue definitely was a theater because they had to straighten out the floor as it had a definite slope. He gave me the name of a resident who has lived near there in the same apartment since 1917. When speaking to him he told me that there was definitely a theater there but he did not remember the name. He did not think it was called the Wilson. Who knows? I remember that name and it was a block away from Wilson St. I will look up Newspaper archives next. Thanks for responding.
asbag
Lost Memory…..thanks for the update. Perhaps I can call the phone number and see if the current owners know anything about the building. When I was in Public School on Wilson Avenue I used to walk over to the Theater which still had a Marquee that said Wilson. But it was boarded up and someone would put movie posters up for films playing at the other Theaters in Williamsburg. I never gave much thought to the Theater then but now it has become a challenge to get the history of this Theater. If it was closed and boarded up in 1945 or earlier it could have been a Vaudeville Theater like the Williamsburg. However, every Theater in Williamsburg has someone that remembers either attending or knowing something about the Theater with the exception of the Wilson. I guess if there is a resident who attended the Theater in the Thirties they would have to be in their 70’s or 80’s today and most likely would not be on this site. Historical records from all the library sites I have visited in the New York & Brooklyn area gave no clue to what that Theater was. At least you have furnished me with an address. If you go on local.live.com and view the “Birds Eye” aerial view of the site you can see a building the is triangular in the front but rounded in the back which looks like it was some sort of stage. Anyway, any information you can furnish will be greatly appreciated. Are you a Brooklynite?
asbag
Lost Memory…do you know anything about this theater. I have been searching for months trying to get some information. At first I was doubting that the theater even existed but not that you mention it is a tax exempt Church I feel confident that it was a movie theater at one time. After all that is the way all movie theaters go…they become religious institutions. If anyone get help me out with some description I would appreciate it.
asbag
Anniegirl…yesterday I added the Wilson Theater to Cinema Treasures listings without an address and lo and behold when I looked to see the listing there was an address for that location at Lee Avenue. Plus someone wrote in and indicated what is located at that spot now.
asbag
Anniegirl…..wish your daughter lots of luck on her upcomming marriage.
asbag
Dear Anniegirl….I am glad you liked the local.live.com. It really gives you great shots of the city. Particulary when you use the Birds Eye view. Yes, PS 16 was on Wilson and Taylor. That school was old when even I attended. The boys bathroom had a solid concrete
wall from floor to ceiling that had water running down from the ceiling into a trough and the boys would go against the wall. It was medieval but hard to miss.
I must say that you have a great memory for names and places. Williamsburg was such a mixed bag of things. When you look back you had five theaters with seating compacities that accomodated over 1,000 people per theater, almost every bus line in Brooklyn terminating at Bridge Plaza, factories together with Brownstones. Historic restaurants such as Peter Lugar and historic buildings such as The Williamsburg Savings Bank. Elevated subways, depressed highways, a major bridge, a river, a Navy Yard. What a mix.
asbag
Dear Anniegirl….I really don’t remember the baby carriage store although I remember that Williamsburg had a large one. I just don’t remember where it was. Did you see the building I described on local.live.com? The one with the round back. That looks like it could have been a theater. I called my mother and she doesn’t remember the Wilson either. I have been in touch with several library services such as the Brooklyn & New York Historical Societies and they don’t have anything. I contact the Lincoln Center Arts & Theaters web site and asked them to research the Wilson Theater. I submitted to Cinema Treasures the Wilson Theater name and location with nothing else in the hope that someone who lived in Williamsburg in the 20’s or 30’s or even the 40’s might remember the Theater.
I remember it so vividly because at lunch time I used to leave PS 16 on Wilson Ave. and walk down Lee to Roebling where under the marquee there were movie posters pasted on the boards that closed the theater. I used to color in mustaches on the actors faces.
Who knew that years later I would be searching for the origins of the theater on a means of communication such as the Internet which has every piece of information you could want and come up empty. Annie, thanks for your help.
asbag
To anniegirl…you picked up on the fact that it was on the intersection of Roebling and Lee. You are correct. Roebling and Lee interesect but not at actual right angles so they form a diamond in the front. But the give away I think is the round rear of the building which could have house a screen or perhaps a curved stage.
My mother is still alive and I never thought to ask her if she new what the Wilson Theater was. I think I will give that a try as she lived in Williamsburg for several years before I was born in 1940.
asbag
To Anniegirl…in the local.live.com there is a structure that looks like to could have been a theater. It is where Roebling actually meets Lee Ave. It is one block from Wilson. It is on the North-East corner at the intersection of Roebling and Lee. The building has a front that is formed like a diamond because of the way the two buildings intersect with each other. The back part of the building is a circle. See if you can spot it.
asbag
To Astyanax….yes,they were owned by the same people. In fact,there was a third one in Coney Island near the Boardwalk and the Cyclone. The father whose name was Levy had each of his sons run a store.
To Anniegirl….the Van Hooten factory was near the Brooklyn Navy Yard and was a Dutch company that produced chocolate bars for many years. The Wilson Theater was on the corner of Roebling and Wilson. It was accross the street from a little plaza that had the Clymer Street Police State on one side. The theater was already closed when I attended Kindergarten in 1945. There was a marquee that said Wilson but it was boarded up in 1945 and they used the boarding to place the posters of movies showing at other theaters in the neighborhood. Perhaps the Wilson was never a movie theater but a vaudeville house like the Williamsburg.
asbag
To Anniegirl….there was a Chocolate factory called Van Hooten in Brooklyn. Was that the one you were talking about?
I have also been frustrated by anyone’s knowledge of the Wilson Theater. I am beginning to think that the theater was all in my mind? I can’t believe that no body has even heard of it. Any suggestions?
asbag
To JoeB and Anniegirl….there was a men’s clothing store on the corner of Broadway and Havemeyer St. Do you recall the name of the store?
asbag
JoeB….I too remember the Woolworth store on that block and I too had stolen some plastic bingo markers that could be used in vending machines for gum and candy. I got caught on Broadway and was so scared that my life of crime ended right there. I was probably around ten when I began and ended my life of crime.
asbag
Anniegirl..it is a small world. When I moved to Long Island in 1969 it was to Coram. Several years after I moved there I bought a Daily News home delivery franchise and delivered the papers to Bellport, East Patchogue, Mastic and Shirley.
By the way, my father’s name was Louie.
There is a web site called local.live.com which is an aerial view web site with one difference. As you get closer to your site there are three different views that you can access. One is a road map, the second an aerial view and the third is something called Birds Eye. The Birds Eye view is limited to a dozen or so Metropolitan areas which includes New York. The Birds Eye view are actual 35mm type pictures of every location in the New York area. So sitting at my desk in St. Louis I took a tour of my building on South 8th St., then South 9th, Ocean Ave. and Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn. I then visited the lower East Side (Ludlow St.), Sheepshead Bay, where my parents lived. In fact, other than Long Island I got to see a vivid picture of every place I lived. Amazing, considering I didn’t leave my desk.
I did not know that the Schaefer Brewery was going to be Condos. What views? What has happened with the Brooklyn Navy Yard?
Williamsburg had some great architecture. Particularly, the Williamsburg Savings Bank. Do they still have the Grucchi fireworks in Bellport or did the Grucchi’s move? I remember hearing something about that. Talk to you soon.
asbag
Hi, Anniegirl…..as I mentioned previously I grew up on South 9th St. between Berry & Wythe. I used to watch the Schaefer Brewery employees play Chinese Handball on the next block from the Brewery on South 9th St. I went to P.S. 16 and every day at lunch I used to go to this closed up Theater called the Wilson where they had old posters of movies plastered all over the front of the Theater. The Aster Theater was at the corner of Roebling and Broadway. While I lived in Brooklyn there was a fire at the Theater and it was forced to close. It later became a Cafeteria. There was a “diner” on Roebling between S. 9th & Bway that we used to call the Greek. Served the best Rice Pudding. The Williamsburg Theater really did become “sleazy” in the later part of the 40’s and the early 50’s. Even though I had received a lifetime pass from a cousin who owned the Theater I really used it preferring to go to the Marcy, Commodore and the Republic. I don’t remember the Model Theater at all. I attended J.H.S. 50 on S. 3rd Street and used to walk to school past a number of very famous places that I never realized were famous (being a young kid). I used to go by Peter Lugar’s and never new it was a well known Steak House. I used to see the Gretsch factory and did not know they were famous for their guitars.
It was a different world then….you could see lower Manhattan but they were not called views of the City. Compared to living in the Suburbs you could get to Manhattan by train and bus in about fifteen or twenty minutes. In fact, it really was a transportation mecca. Bridge Plaza was the terminal for all the trolleys and then buses going all over Brooklyn.
The irony of Williamsburg hit home when my son who has lived in Washington, DC, Kendall, Florida and Dallas, Texas called me one day to say that he was looking for an apartment in Williamsburg and the rents were too high for him. This is the neighborhood that at one time looked like a war zone or the South Bronx. What goes around comes around.
I moved to St. Louis in 1996 after having lived in the New York Metropolitan area for most of my life. I visit many of the web sites revisiting my youth in early New York and, particularly, Brooklyn. I left Williamsburg in 1954, moved to Flatbush and then to Long Island in 1969. Let’s here more about your experiences in Williamsburg.
asbag