Commodore Cinemas
329 Broadway,
Brooklyn,
NY
11211
329 Broadway,
Brooklyn,
NY
11211
22 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 304 comments
Hi Dorianne, How is your dad, I used to call him every week to see what he needed for my orange/ fruit punch machine. The theatre was always a good customer. Please relay these best wishes on behalf of Energy Beverage.
I am 43 years old today.
hello everyone my name is Dorianne Delgado..Some of you know my dad Angelo Delgado he was part owner of the commodore.. I discovered this blog looking for a photo of the Commodore in its original state circ 1920’s but i can’t find one. I'am happy to see that many people loved that place. It was a second home to me and my family.. If anyone see this and has questions i will be more than happy to help. i have answers to many questions that were posted wish i could have found this sooner.. especially when people were interested in trying to help save it..My dad tried so hard to delay the sell so the money could be raised to buy the other owners out… (sigh) but its to late now it’s been difficult for my dad because he worked there for 20 years and before that he ran the williamsburg theatre also known as the commodore twin.. Hope to hear from someone or myspace url delgado218
The Hood
http://www.topix.net/city/brooklyn-ny
No, Anniegirl, I’ve had no similar experiences. I am now 53 years of age.
dear all, ok it’s just that I am not old enough to see any shantytowns in my time. However living in Williamsburgh, i did travel with my mom to the lower east side of manhattan and i remember the bowery with all of the homeless there in the 1950’s. I was afraid to get out of the car. I surely hope it does not return to those days of homelessness. But woh knows what lies ahead. Next to the Commodore theater was the glenwood hotel and in the summer when we exited the movie, we walked down to the ice cream parlor run by 2 brothers that were quite portly in stature. That hotel was surly a place for homeless men. They were hanging out the window and they looked hopeless. That was in the 1950’s. Does anyone have any similar stories. I am now 63 years of age and I was affected by those experiences. Anniegirl
Good point, Billburg. Thanks.
Thanks for posting for me, LuisV.
No, Anniegirl, I didn’t mean to say there were shantytowns in Williamsburg. All I was saying was that, just as nature abhors a vacuum, vacant lots tend to be squatted on by the homeless, who are perhaps afraid of being robbed, raped, and murdered in the NYC shelters, kids play baseball, or other games, in them; in general, unused vacant horizontal space tends to become used again very soon.
John D., I agree wholeheartedly with you about the destruction of the Commodore Theatre.
The site of the old Broadway Theater also sits EMPTY. But developers are always going to tear down old buildings while dollar bills dance around their heads. It’s sad they tear down something that has character and put up a building that is grey and flat. I am sure most of those new buildings will start to fall apart in a few years. They go up so fast and cheap.
Given the glut in Williamsburg’s condo market – where many unsold units are now being rented (or attempting to be rented) – and the site’s close proximity to the el line, residential development here does not appear to be realistic for the forseeable future. The construction of several retail stores is probably the best we can hope for, though the odds clearly favor the continued existence of a vacant lot.
Looking back, the destruction of the Commodore was an incredibly stupid action from both the cultural AND economic perspective.
Hi Anniegirl, I don’t believe Peter K meant that Williamsburg had shantytowns. I assume he was referring to the shantytowns that did exist in many parts of the city during the depression. As a matter of fact, some bums were actually living in makeshift housing in Thompkins Square Park in Manhattan in the 80’s.
Even though it looks like we’re heading into some desperate times, I still don’t think we will ever see the return of shantytowns to our city.
Hi you all, Shantytowns? I never remeber Williamsburgh being a shantytown…..And yes there has been a revitilization in all bouroughs…except Far Rockaway, Queens. I only hope that if they build a condo or strip mall at the site, they name it the Commodore Plaza in memory of that fine moviehouse. Anniegirl
That’s good to know, LuisV.
We may not be immune to shooting galleries but I do believe we are for Shantytowns. There is no way the city or the public would tolerate it.
I hope so. However, I don’t think NYC is immune yet to shooting galleries for junkies, and / or homeless shanty towns or “Hoovervilles”.
Agreed! However, the new York of today is quite different from the New York of the 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s. Many neighborhoods that were devastated have not only recovered but many have thrived. Neighborhoods like Park Slope, the South Bronx, the Upper West Side above 86th Street, the Lower East Side, Chinatown, Hells Kitchen, Williamsburg, etc have seen incredible recovery, growth and betterment in the quality of life for its residents. Others neighborhoods, like Bed Stuy, Bushwick and East New York are noticeably better. At the same time, brand new neighborhoods have developed like the Financial District, Dumbo, Hudson Square and Long Island City. As long as the city keeps crime under control and keeps people “wanting” to live in our great city, we will not return to those awful days of our city’s past. I believe our current mayor will see to that.
But it was always one of my fears, growing up and living in Ridgewood, especially post-July 13 1977 blackout and subsequent devastation of Bushwick.
um….that wasn’t one of the choices.
Still better than a shooting gallery for junkies, or a homeless shanty town.
Not if you see what they built on the old parking lot of the RKO Keiths Richmond Hill or the site of the old Loews Triboro in Astoria. The Condos that were built are truly hideous and a slap in the face to the neighborhood.
Me, too.
But any of the above is better than an empty lot.
If its like what they did here in New Jersey, pick one: parking lot, retail store, office buildind, condos.
Id rather have the old time movie palace, thank you very much.
Hi all,
Because I live on Long Island, I have not had the chance to get to Brooklyn to see the empty space where a moviehouse of my childhood once stood..What are they going to build in that space? Does anyone know? Anniegirl
You’re welcome, anniegirl. Thanks, mp775. Yes, MikeR. Very sad.
I just came across this video of the Commodore during demolition.
I was saddened to see the photos from February of last year. Another fine theater permanently lost. However, the photo of the remains of the organ stood out to me the most. Did anyone try to rescue this instrument before the demolition of the theater? And if not, why? I was shocked to see the organ still intact. I thought most theater organs by now have been accounted for. It makes me wonder how many other organs out there still need to be rescued from decaying theaters.