Wilson Theatre

The only information I can find about an el or subway line going somewhat close to the area of that theater was the “proposed” BMT el “crosstown line” el that was never built. It later was built in the form of the IND Crosstown subway (the current G line, underground), but that was built further east under Union Ave. I can find no evidence of any subway line or el ever built on or near Lee Ave. That doesn’t mean it didn’t, but if it did, it didn’t last long, and I am skeptical there ever was an el there.

What was that building that was on Broadway and Bedford Ave where the crosstown bus turned left off of Broadway and made it’s stop at the corner. Was that a Insurance Company. right before the underpass of the Williamsburgh Bridge going towards Greenpoint. The building had dark blinds. As a Kid it was scary. There was a luncheonette/diner type place directly across the street. Anniegirl.
posted by louieb on Apr 10, 2006

According to the Brooklyn Eagle, Berger & Price “renovated the old building’s interior.” That was my source of information.
Payton’s opened briefly as the Grand Opera House became the Lee Avenue Academy of Music and for a few months, in 1895, the “Phoebus Theatre”. Many famous actors of the period appeared there. However, also according to the Eagle, “when the Amphion theatre opened,the Lee Avenue Academy was turned into a stock theatre”.
It was taken over by Corse Payton who acted in nearly all his plays along with his wife Etta Reed.
An article in The Chat Newspaper, Dec. 26,1914, states the Payton’s Lee Avenue theatre “has been completely renovated” and “is in excellent condition”. It will “make movie picture seeing a pleasure, entertainment galore, and presented in an atmosphere of refinement.” It is now a movie house under the management of a man listed only as “Kemble” in the newspaper.
An article “Payton’s Theatre is being Razed” appears in the Brooklyn Eagle on June 4, 1918. However not for a subway. The article states “there will be constructed a three-story building”, “two stories and a moving picture theatre on the ground floor”. Perhaps this was changed.

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

astyanax. I remember Flaum’s me and my girlfriend Sara Gruher used to go and get Whitefish for her Mom and We always got pickles. Delish. Yes it is still there can u imagine. But the strong smell of fish used to make me sick. Anniegirl
posted by louieb on Apr 9, 2006

Look at the bulging crowds in the side boxes! That had to present some kind of fire code violation – if there was, in fact, any sort of fire code in place at the time – not to mention a strength test for the load bearing trusses!

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

I’m familiar with the location, but by the time I went to PS 16. the Wilson had been long gone. For an inexpensive snack, we all went into Flaum’s pickle works on Lee Ave. After all these years the pickle works is still on the avenue, a neighborhood institution that has endured.

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