Graham Theater
279 Graham Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11211
279 Graham Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11211
5 people
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Showing 26 - 40 of 40 comments
A recent(June 2006) photograph I took of the Reel/Graham/Capri Theater, now in use as a health centre;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/186847539/
I can understand the cost of $.75 and turning the projector on where it ended.
BTW, My mother is from Williamsburg and I moved back to the area in the mid 1990’s, might to my grandmother’s chagrin. “We spent our whole lives getting out of that neighborhood, and now you move back.” I kept telling her it was different now, with one person in a one bedroom apartment, not a whole family, but she did not understand! But that is whole different story!
Anyway, growing up on Long Island, I remember the RKO Century chain offering in its low attendance theaters, second run, new releases, maybe out for 3 or 4 months (today it would be out on DVD already!) being offered as a double feature or one feature depending on how long your stayed. I remember the Belrose theater was like this on the Queens/Nassau border. The price, would go up with the year. .78 cents in 1978, .79 cents in 1979. I guess the inflations of the 1970’s caught up because once 1980 rolled around it was $1 at all times.
The theater was in bad shape, a once grand neighborhood movie house had paint chipping etc. The screen needed to be repaired from holes even the concession stand, you could tell, the stale popcorn and close to expiring movie candy was shipped there for your enjoyment!
You knew, they were either waiting for a buyer, a fire, or anything else to unload it.
So the concept of the .75 cent cost at the Graham is not that foreign!
This opened in 1914 as the Reel Theatre. The seating capacity given in the 1926 and 1927 editions of Film Daily Yearbook is 600. In 1928 it was re-named Graham Theater, F.D.Y. in 1930 gives a seating capacity of 587.
It was last known as the Capri Theatre from 1978.
When I was 18 (I am now 39) I went to the Graham to see the porn movie. I remember my friend and I had to show our birth certificates to the confused-looking ticket holder. The theater was dark, cold, and very run-down. I only remember this theater showing porno movies in the 1970’s. I am surprised that it lasted as long as it did.
In August of 1969 the Graham was $1 at all times and had a double bill of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and “With Six You Get Eggroll”.
The Graham would start the first feature of the day somewhere in the middle. The projector would be turned on around 12:30 pm and suddenly you’re in the middle of “Bonnie and Clyde” or “The Graduate” or whatever. jaygastby on Jul 2, 2004 at 10:49am
The only other time I ever heard this happen was when Murray Schoen owned The Drake. They were showing “The Other Side of Midnight” and on the weekdays to get enough shows in they had to cut one reel of the film. The theatre used to screen at 12, so the manager was told to open the box office at 11:58 so that when people bought their ticket and candy and sat down they would only think they missed a minute or so.
Makes me feel like I really missed out. And I thought triple features (wish I could find one nowadays) were fantastic. That would be the ideal derelict lifestyle: nice work if you can get it. The only real grindhouses I ever attended were the ones on 42nd Street in Times Square that showed the X-rated movies. They doubled as houses of prostitution, though, going the normal grindhouse one better, I guess.
By the way, I still dream about the old Paramount Theatre in my hometown down south, long since torn down. I’d love to be able to walk back into that place today, but now I only do it in my dreams.
Camden
Camden
At that time of day the only patrons were kids off for the summer and maybe a few neighborhood winos and unemployables. I don’t think anyone ever complained. The popular name for the Graham was “the dumps”…as in, “what’s playing up at the dumps this week?” You’d have to be a major cheapskate to take a girl there for a date. Still, some of my best childhood memories revolve around this place. Artifacts of a world long gone…
Another interesting ‘grindhouse’ fact (though I don’t know it was true of other grindhouses as well)…The Graham would start the first feature of the day somewhere in the middle. The projector would be turned on around 12:30 pm and suddenly you’re in the middle of “Bonnie and Clyde” or “The Graduate” or whatever. While I can’t say for certain, I think this is because they probably timed the films and then figured out where they would have to start in order to finish up at their specific closing time. Well, what did you expect for .75 cents? Once a movie played at the Graham, it disappeared, not seen again until it turned up on TV.
So THAT’S what a grindhouse theatre is. We’ve all been hearing about them from Quentin Tarantino, but I didn’t know exactly what one was. Thanks, Jay!
Camden
This did become a church for a time. It is now a medical something-or-other. The Graham was what is known as a ‘grindhouse’, grinding out movies all day, there were no ‘showtimes'and no break to clear out the theater. They showed films on their last run, and the sign said “Always Three Features Daily.”
In the early and mid-60s I spent a good part of my childhood at the Graham, my favoriites were the Vincent Price “Poe” classics, science-fiction, and anything that had some kind of monster in it.
And after all these years, I occasionally even dream about this place…
J.Gatsby
Then I apologize as I thought the church building (formerly the Rainbow) was the Graham.
The Graham Theatre is not a church.
Philip is correct with the majority of his history of the place with the exception of the church part, at least now. Today, it is a medical building for the Williamsburg Community center and is affiliated with Woodhull hospital. So instead of now housing porn, it probably give out condoms and brochures for safe sex. Many of you who live in Williamsburg now might not notice the building because it only looks like a theater if you look closely, but it is next to one groovy bars in the burg, I believe called “Smalls.” I will send a picture of the medical building/theater as it stands today.
I remember going to this theater when it was a church. It is still a church today. It is quite large. I really want to see if i can get inside and take some pictures. I noticed one day that they had sealed off the area just behind the seats.