Yes, there are beautiful murals on the ceiling of the Hammerstein Ballroom. I think the procenium was messed up, and all the opera boxes are gone, but a lot of the theater is intact too.
I wonder where that church disco in Basic Instict was, it had to be a real disco made out of a church.
Luis, I have also been in many theaters post-theater too. The Hammerstein Ballroom being one, I saw a few concerts there. I think that was the Manhattan Opera House. It’s not on this site because it never showed film unfortunately.
Also, was Roseland which has concerts ever a theater? I have been there a few times, and think it was a theater.
Luis, I wasn’t seriously saying it was “sacrelige”, I meant that more as a joke, but it is an odd site to say the least. I think there was a club in Southern California also that was once a church. I totally agree, I actually am highly interested in buildings that got converted from one use to another, and a church is particularly interesting when converted, even more so than a theater.
There’s a historic church in Jamaica by the Jamaica Center building on Jamaica Ave that was preserved and converted into a theater, after sitting abandoned for decades.
As for the NY Times photo mentioned, yes, there is a 1992 photo in the NY Times, and in the background is the in shambles RKO Bushwick Theater. Bushwick has sure come a long way since that photo was taken. Now the RKO Bushwick is restored (exterior), a McDonalds stands on the vacant lot, and a Walgreens where that horrible abandoned building is:
Speaking of Churches converted into other things, while theaters convert well into churches, the opposite is not true, a church is a pretty specific building, and hard to comvert…….although there’s always the Limelight in Greenwhich Village, it became a club…even the stained glass remained. Something odd and almost sacrelidge over people clubbing in an old church and drinking, etc….it’s odd to see.
As for old movie theaters, they convert into churches pretty well, probably one of the best after theater uses a theater can find, as much of the theater is preserved. Just think of the Valencia in Jamaica (Tabernacle of Prayer), the 175th St Theater (United Palace Church/Theater), the colonial, Empire, Gates, Rivoli, etc in Bushwick are all churches and preserved.
The RKO Bushwick had the Pilgrim Church move into it when it closed, but when the Loews Gates became available, they for some reason moved there instead, where they are to this day, probably setting the fate of the Bushwick, as it began it’s 30 years into deterioration at that point, while the Gates is preserved and in great shape.
As for banks, they comvert to retail too often, and there are a lot of them. Some became churches, others stores. One of the interesting ones is the old Hanover Bank at the Flushing Ave el station and Broadway….it’s now ‘Fat Albert Discount" store, but inside, even the beautiful marble floor remains, although it’s quite sad to look at such a beautiful building now just having merchandise strewn through it. Even the old draperies hang on the windows!
Actually, our friend “jayar” has added a great many photos of St Johns on his site. There’s a wonderful historic photo taken inside the church in happier days. Sorry for the “off topic” post, but there seems to be enough people interested:
Luis, here’s a link to a little about St John the Baptist Church. Click this link, and about half way down it has an exterior photo of the church, as well as an interior view of a closed part of the church.
It’s a shame that only a small corner of the church is used, but it’s all still there.
I have read elsewhere that it’s priceless stained glass windows dipict the life of St John the Baptist, although unfortunately, most are covered.
Perhaps one day….
Mine still go to my normal mail. All you have to is click “not junk”, and most email programs will ask if you want to put that email address on your “safe list”, and that should fix the problem.
Jayar, it’s nice that they are all together. As for the RKO Bushwick, it has to be one of the most photographed buildings in the area, it’s one of the few buildings that it’s quite easy to find historic photos of.
Luis, St John’s is a Catholic Church, and it is still an operating parish. The place is HUGE. it’s also the church where St John’s University began (yup, “that” St Johns).
In the 70’s when the neighborhood there went to hell, to save money, they closed a huge part of the church up to save money, and made a small church area within the old church, and closed that part off. This I guess saved money on maintenance, heating, etc. But that leaves much of the Cathedral unused right now.
Perhaps as the neighborhood continues to imporove as it has been, they will one day be able to reopen closed parts of the church. The building is not in shambles, even though the windows are boarded up. The covered them to protect them when they closed the upper part of the church.
I was just looking at the link from Life magazine that Warren posted Jan 28th, and then the Ticketmaster seating chart and apprently in the older photo of church service, the 175th St theater didn’t have a center aisle, but it appears that in the current photos (in the United Palace link I linked above Feb 9th) and in the Ticketmaster chart as now having a center aisle. I would assume it would make sense to have a center aisle as a church, so that’s probably why they made it.
Yes, the St John’s photo is one I haven’t seen yet. I think it’s an absolute shame that they don’t use the whole building of St Johns anymore, they only use a small part of the cathedral, and the upper part is boarded up to protect the windows.
It’s also quite a shame that they allowed homes to be built in I guess the 80’s, which butt right up to the original front door of the church, now making the church’s front doors (which they don’t use) open up into an alley.
Im any event, yes, I enjoyed the historic photos of the Bushwick Theater, one of which I have never seen. About four or five of the current photos of the RKO Bushwick ones are ones that I have taken, and posted here. But that’s okay, it’s nice to have them all together in this set.
It would be interesting to find out the exact date. This does narrow it to between 1964 and 1968, as it was mentioned that it was a Bingo hall by 1968.
Nice colection, but you should note when you upload photos on another site that they aren’t your photos. 4 of the current photos of the RKO Bushwick Theater are my personal photographs, which I posted here on cinematreasures. It’s okay, but you really should credit those who took the photos.
That being said, you said “back in the day” photos, did you find some historic photos of the Monroe Theater?
Haha, this has got to be the most “what is the name of this place” theater on the site.
But in any even, whatever the name of this theater is, I think we can all agree that the places is still a spectacular theater, and the church has done a great job keeping this “cinema treasure” with us, and the extra bonus is that it’s even once again occasionally being used as a theater….. I don’t think we could ask for too much more.
I remember looking up to these chandeliers in the 80’s already….back then the chrystals were only grey….now they are black! Again, amazing all this still is there, so long later. It’s still in such intact condition, even if a diamond in the rough.
Great photo Lost. I remember the first time I walked into the Keiths, some time in the early 80’s, with my parents when we went to the flea market. I was in awe of the building, and it’s diamond in the rough appearance even then already. As I mentioned WAY up on this page somewhere, it’s probably “the” theater that got me interested in theater buildings. I remember, I went off on my own then already to explore the place….even snuck up into the balcony back then.
Even back then, it gave a glow of how could this beautiful building have all this crap lying around being used as a flea market. it didn’t seem appropriate judging the grandeur of the building.
And back then, the ceiling of the auditorium was still all original, as was the top 1/3 of the walls and procenium arch. The beige paint only went up about 2/3 of the way up the walls, and the top part and the ceiling, as well as the curtain over the the sage was all original colors yet, and spectacular they were.
It’s amazing that the theater survived so well intact as it is today, more than 40 years since it was last used as a theater. it would be a shame for it to have survived all this time and now be destroyed.
Yes, there are beautiful murals on the ceiling of the Hammerstein Ballroom. I think the procenium was messed up, and all the opera boxes are gone, but a lot of the theater is intact too.
I wonder where that church disco in Basic Instict was, it had to be a real disco made out of a church.
Luis, I have also been in many theaters post-theater too. The Hammerstein Ballroom being one, I saw a few concerts there. I think that was the Manhattan Opera House. It’s not on this site because it never showed film unfortunately.
Also, was Roseland which has concerts ever a theater? I have been there a few times, and think it was a theater.
Wow, it’s not the longest continuous operating theater in NY State, it was the longest continuous operating theater in the COUNTRY!
Ooops, sorry, forgot to put the link to that photo near the RKO Bushwick:
View link
Luis, I wasn’t seriously saying it was “sacrelige”, I meant that more as a joke, but it is an odd site to say the least. I think there was a club in Southern California also that was once a church. I totally agree, I actually am highly interested in buildings that got converted from one use to another, and a church is particularly interesting when converted, even more so than a theater.
There’s a historic church in Jamaica by the Jamaica Center building on Jamaica Ave that was preserved and converted into a theater, after sitting abandoned for decades.
As for the NY Times photo mentioned, yes, there is a 1992 photo in the NY Times, and in the background is the in shambles RKO Bushwick Theater. Bushwick has sure come a long way since that photo was taken. Now the RKO Bushwick is restored (exterior), a McDonalds stands on the vacant lot, and a Walgreens where that horrible abandoned building is:
Speaking of Churches converted into other things, while theaters convert well into churches, the opposite is not true, a church is a pretty specific building, and hard to comvert…….although there’s always the Limelight in Greenwhich Village, it became a club…even the stained glass remained. Something odd and almost sacrelidge over people clubbing in an old church and drinking, etc….it’s odd to see.
As for old movie theaters, they convert into churches pretty well, probably one of the best after theater uses a theater can find, as much of the theater is preserved. Just think of the Valencia in Jamaica (Tabernacle of Prayer), the 175th St Theater (United Palace Church/Theater), the colonial, Empire, Gates, Rivoli, etc in Bushwick are all churches and preserved.
The RKO Bushwick had the Pilgrim Church move into it when it closed, but when the Loews Gates became available, they for some reason moved there instead, where they are to this day, probably setting the fate of the Bushwick, as it began it’s 30 years into deterioration at that point, while the Gates is preserved and in great shape.
As for banks, they comvert to retail too often, and there are a lot of them. Some became churches, others stores. One of the interesting ones is the old Hanover Bank at the Flushing Ave el station and Broadway….it’s now ‘Fat Albert Discount" store, but inside, even the beautiful marble floor remains, although it’s quite sad to look at such a beautiful building now just having merchandise strewn through it. Even the old draperies hang on the windows!
Actually, our friend “jayar” has added a great many photos of St Johns on his site. There’s a wonderful historic photo taken inside the church in happier days. Sorry for the “off topic” post, but there seems to be enough people interested:
View link
Luis, here’s a link to a little about St John the Baptist Church. Click this link, and about half way down it has an exterior photo of the church, as well as an interior view of a closed part of the church.
It’s a shame that only a small corner of the church is used, but it’s all still there.
I have read elsewhere that it’s priceless stained glass windows dipict the life of St John the Baptist, although unfortunately, most are covered.
Perhaps one day….
http://www.keelysociety.com/churches.htm#church4
Mine still go to my normal mail. All you have to is click “not junk”, and most email programs will ask if you want to put that email address on your “safe list”, and that should fix the problem.
Jayar, it’s nice that they are all together. As for the RKO Bushwick, it has to be one of the most photographed buildings in the area, it’s one of the few buildings that it’s quite easy to find historic photos of.
Luis, St John’s is a Catholic Church, and it is still an operating parish. The place is HUGE. it’s also the church where St John’s University began (yup, “that” St Johns).
In the 70’s when the neighborhood there went to hell, to save money, they closed a huge part of the church up to save money, and made a small church area within the old church, and closed that part off. This I guess saved money on maintenance, heating, etc. But that leaves much of the Cathedral unused right now.
Perhaps as the neighborhood continues to imporove as it has been, they will one day be able to reopen closed parts of the church. The building is not in shambles, even though the windows are boarded up. The covered them to protect them when they closed the upper part of the church.
I was just looking at the link from Life magazine that Warren posted Jan 28th, and then the Ticketmaster seating chart and apprently in the older photo of church service, the 175th St theater didn’t have a center aisle, but it appears that in the current photos (in the United Palace link I linked above Feb 9th) and in the Ticketmaster chart as now having a center aisle. I would assume it would make sense to have a center aisle as a church, so that’s probably why they made it.
Yes, the St John’s photo is one I haven’t seen yet. I think it’s an absolute shame that they don’t use the whole building of St Johns anymore, they only use a small part of the cathedral, and the upper part is boarded up to protect the windows.
It’s also quite a shame that they allowed homes to be built in I guess the 80’s, which butt right up to the original front door of the church, now making the church’s front doors (which they don’t use) open up into an alley.
Im any event, yes, I enjoyed the historic photos of the Bushwick Theater, one of which I have never seen. About four or five of the current photos of the RKO Bushwick ones are ones that I have taken, and posted here. But that’s okay, it’s nice to have them all together in this set.
Bushwick High School also often used the Madison Theater for it’s graduation ceremonies.
It would be interesting to find out the exact date. This does narrow it to between 1964 and 1968, as it was mentioned that it was a Bingo hall by 1968.
Nice colection, but you should note when you upload photos on another site that they aren’t your photos. 4 of the current photos of the RKO Bushwick Theater are my personal photographs, which I posted here on cinematreasures. It’s okay, but you really should credit those who took the photos.
That being said, you said “back in the day” photos, did you find some historic photos of the Monroe Theater?
It’s sort of ironic, as I believe as a store, the balcony is still intact upstairs, with the seats still in it!
Haha, this has got to be the most “what is the name of this place” theater on the site.
But in any even, whatever the name of this theater is, I think we can all agree that the places is still a spectacular theater, and the church has done a great job keeping this “cinema treasure” with us, and the extra bonus is that it’s even once again occasionally being used as a theater….. I don’t think we could ask for too much more.
Here’s a photo I took a few days before this year’s Superbowl when I was in the Tampa Area:
Click Here for Photo
Native Forest Hillers, the comma got stuck in your url, so I am reposting your link here:
http://www.myspace.com/ridgewoodtheatre
I remember looking up to these chandeliers in the 80’s already….back then the chrystals were only grey….now they are black! Again, amazing all this still is there, so long later. It’s still in such intact condition, even if a diamond in the rough.
View link
Actually, I just noticed that….it doesn’t say Theater(re) at all!
Actually, if you click next on that photo, there’s other photos of the interior of the Keiths on “flea market” day.
Great photo Lost. I remember the first time I walked into the Keiths, some time in the early 80’s, with my parents when we went to the flea market. I was in awe of the building, and it’s diamond in the rough appearance even then already. As I mentioned WAY up on this page somewhere, it’s probably “the” theater that got me interested in theater buildings. I remember, I went off on my own then already to explore the place….even snuck up into the balcony back then.
Even back then, it gave a glow of how could this beautiful building have all this crap lying around being used as a flea market. it didn’t seem appropriate judging the grandeur of the building.
And back then, the ceiling of the auditorium was still all original, as was the top 1/3 of the walls and procenium arch. The beige paint only went up about 2/3 of the way up the walls, and the top part and the ceiling, as well as the curtain over the the sage was all original colors yet, and spectacular they were.
It’s amazing that the theater survived so well intact as it is today, more than 40 years since it was last used as a theater. it would be a shame for it to have survived all this time and now be destroyed.
….actually, United Palace Theatre, not Theater…. :)