Loew's Oriental Theatre
1832 86th Street,
Brooklyn,
NY
11214
1832 86th Street,
Brooklyn,
NY
11214
33 people
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The Loew’s Oriental opened in 1927, designed by Harrison Wiseman. It contained 2,733 seats before it was twined in the 70’s and triplexed in 1982. The Oriental showed it’s last movie in May 1995.
I was in the building this weekend shopping with my wife. Although the orchestra level is completely gutted, I found an original theater staircase behind a closed door. it still has some of the original brasswork. Look at the drop ceiling and you’ll see a few missing panels, let your eyes adjust to the darkness above and you can barely make out the old ceiling of the theater. Also look at the plastered side wall. It’s also from the original theater lobby. It’s freshly painted but if you look up to where the ceiling panels are, and look above them through one of the missing panel’s holes, you see where the old dark paint from the theater begins. (To gain access to this stairway, just ask to use the bathroom, as it stands behind a locked door, and a store associate must open it for you.)
It had a grand lobby with a sculpted dragon in the ceiling. unfortunately parking was at a premium in the area, and without a parking lot, Sony Theaters scrapped plans to convert it into a multi-screen theater. It’s closing marked the end of the Loew’s era of theaters in Brooklyn…for now, at least.
Theatre location is Bay 19th and 86th Streets.