RKO Bushwick Theatre
1396 Broadway,
Brooklyn,
NY
11221
1396 Broadway,
Brooklyn,
NY
11221
13 people
favorited this theater
Showing 251 - 275 of 418 comments
I don’t know where else to ask this, but since the Bushwick Theater is well….Bushwick….I figured I would ask here.
I found a small, old theater building at 403 Evergreen Ave in Bushwick, at the corner of Grove. Do any of you guys with one of those old books try and look up what it was? It’s similar in style to many of the other small, old theaters in Bushwick, like the Luxor, the Irving/Mozart, the Wyckoff, etc, etc. I have an old photo of it from about two years ago, but it looks much better now, as it’s been all fixed up, and is currently being used as a church. Any information on it would be greatly appreciated. Here’s the photo of the theater from about two years ago:
Photo of Theater at 403 Evergreen Ave at Grove
The Monroe Theater was across Howard Avenue from the Bushwick, at 4 Howard Avenue. There is a page for the Monroe on this site. The number escapes me at the moment.
The theater across from the Bushwick was the Monroe Theater.
Does anyone know if there was a theater across from the Bushwick?
I got a copy of The Believers just so I can see the RKO Bushwick.
Bway, I agree with you completely about the RKO Bushwick in the 1980’s, both in terms of how it appeared in the film “The Believers” and how creepy the Bushwick appears in the images of Matthew Melnick’s “Lost Brooklyn Trips”. Those desolate images of his make Brooklyn look like a lost city of the dead, or damned !
Hehe, yeah, that was a strange movie…. The RKO Bushwick in the 80’s, however, was the perfect setting for that movie… There is a lot of footage in and around the theater for that scene where the human sacrifice is taking place on the stage of the Bushwick theater….. And the exterior! Just as perfect for the mood of that scene….
Better a chain drug store like CVS or Eckerd than a shooting gallery or squatting for the homeless.
Or, in the case of the Bushwick, human sacrifice for devil worship in the cult of Santeria (“The Believers”, 1987, filmed there).
Perhaps if it was still an abandoned theater….but it has it’s new use now….
But speaking of drug stores, WHAT is it about theaters and drug stores? SO many theaters have become drug stores, just off the top of my head, I couldn’t even count them all. It’s such a high percentage that have become drugstores as opposed to other retain uses…
(SATIRE)
Dear Sirs,
We here at the C.V.S. Corp. would love to buy this theater for a good price and gut it for one of our many,many,many,many,many locations! Give us a call as soon as you can!
Willard Dribbleman
(V.P. of demolition to old theaters)
555-6756
Lost Memory
Thats a unique and rare ad for the Keith’s chain of theaters, thanks for sharing!
Lost, I always knew you had multiple personalities!
Thanks for the nice photos Bway, that old sign has stood the test of time and really confirms conspicuously, that this was an elite Vaudeville only venue. In regards to the photo at the bottom right, where the brick meets the white wall, between the two statues theres
a circular opening. Could this have been a window or an early form of ventilation? Taken in ‘99, during its years of neglect, is it possible that this opening contributed to the downfall of the interior, allowing water, birds,vermin etc. to get in?
Wow, thanks lost for posting that photo! I have bever seen that one before! Plenty of photos of the Bushwick are available…but this is the first I have seen with the original look…without a marquee, and instead the large sign where information was posted. I think the traditional marquee always looked akward on the triangled shaped front of the Bushwick, and now I can see why, as it wasn’t designed that way…not to mention the cherobs over all the doors wound up under the marquee, and are only now open to the sky again in it’s new life as a school.
I’m so intrigued by this theater, not only for its ornate features, but the fact that a previous posting had mentioned, that it resembles
a truly beautiful building known as The Flatiron building on E23 St. in Manhattan, one can only wonder how the asymmetrical design made the interior look. Also the main entrance on opening day had a huge sign instead of a marquee above the door, its remnants remain today
as a large square. The first marquee was a small and unusual looking one, anyone know why it was removed? The second marquee was more traditional ,but eloquent to sat the least, with the elite RKO markings on the side.
Lifestooshort: Thanks for posting that old-school picture.
Thnaks for your reply PKoch, This theater has many fascinating stories, in response to Orlando, who was inside the Bushwick in 2001, it was a rare opportunity indeed to step on the stage, one which featured Vaudeville talents Moe and Shemp Howard, Mae West, George Burns,and Cary Grant.Such interesting descriptions of the interior, A stone Goddess, An Angel attached to the ceiling. But perhaps the most interesting feature is one that Joe S. mentions, that because this was a Vaudeville house originally, the rear half of the balcony had obstructed views, Joe S. claims that in a full house these seats would be last to fill. There was a stone arch that only permitted half the screen to be viewed!
Well-put, Panzer65. I don’t know if the RKO Bushwick has been landmarked or not.
I often pass the RKO Bushwick during my working hours, and its a fine specimen of how ornate the movie houses of the early 20 the century looked. I passed when it was abandoned, and wondered how such a building, full of so much culture and history can be so carelessly neglected. Then on another trip I passed after its full renovation and it had a gleam to it, standing tall and proud, proclaiming its grand presence. Has this building been landmarked, if not does its exterior qualify?
Yes, Lost Memory, there should be. Thanks.
Yes, I think I’ve seen that, Lost Memory, but thanks for posting it anyway.
More power to you, BklynJim, for having been there.
My one-time family physician was not far away, on Palmetto, between Bushwick and Bway, but closer to Bushwick, near the phone bldg., until 1966 or early ‘67. when he moved to upper Ritchwoot (60-11 70th Avenue, between Forest and Fresh Pond).
Great catch, Life’s too short! Can’t begin to tally how many 60¢ admissions I paid at that very entrance between 1958 and 1961!
Yes, thanks, Life ! Good to see a photo of the theater with the original marquee still on !