Williamsburg Theatre

To Anniegirl….the Van Hooten factory was near the Brooklyn Navy Yard and was a Dutch company that produced chocolate bars for many years. The Wilson Theater was on the corner of Roebling and Wilson. It was accross the street from a little plaza that had the Clymer Street Police State on one side. The theater was already closed when I attended Kindergarten in 1945. There was a marquee that said Wilson but it was boarded up in 1945 and they used the boarding to place the posters of movies showing at other theaters in the neighborhood. Perhaps the Wilson was never a movie theater but a vaudeville house like the Williamsburg.
asbag

JoeB I went on the thread wow I do not remember this movie at all. In 1950, I was 5 years old but my Aunt will remember and I will show her the pic’s. How about the Concord Cafeteria and the Bowling Alley next door. Anniegirl
posted by louieb Apr 4th 2006

ok JoeB. Do you remember the Chocolate Factory on Park Ave. The smells were great when you passed by. And Drakes Bakery on Park Ave. We used to take the crosstown bus 61 which ran on Wythe Ave to Flushing and make a right and go past the Navy Yard to Vanderbilt Ave and make a left to DeKalb and make a right towards Downtown and pass the Paramount Theater.Or go by car on the BQE with my Mom and Dad and when we passed the Chocolate Factory what a smell of something good. Loved it. By the way I will check out the thread on the Aster. Talk to you soon Anniegirl.
posted by louieb on Apr 4th 2006

Dear ASBAG and lovetheoldtheaters. No I do not remember the ASTER Theater It was probably closed down by the time I was 7 or 8 years old. I wrote to you on the Metropolitan Theater Site so go to it, You too JoeB love the old theaters. The name of the men’s clothing store was MAxis. They moved to Broadway and Hewes Street which is now a Supermarket. The Brooklyn Navy Yard is now a place for Ships to get refitted and a Movie Studio is there. The old Naval Hospital is closed and the recruiting station across the street on Vanderbilt Ave is still there. I do not know how much the USN ownes as far as property is concerned. Nothing stay’s the same. It is sometimes depressing to me to see all the changes. My girlfriend still lives on Hewes Street and Marcy Avenue. The whole community is Hadsiddic Jewish now. We talk often. By the way u guys. I was a good Catholic Girl I NEVER stole anything from the 5&10. Laughing out loud. My husband Louie was the theif Ha! Ha! Ha! Anniegirl
posted by louieb on Apr 3, 2006

JoeB….I too remember the Woolworth store on that block and I too had stolen some plastic bingo markers that could be used in vending machines for gum and candy. I got caught on Broadway and was so scared that my life of crime ended right there. I was probably around ten when I began and ended my life of crime.
asbag

Anniegirl..it is a small world. When I moved to Long Island in 1969 it was to Coram. Several years after I moved there I bought a Daily News home delivery franchise and delivered the papers to Bellport, East Patchogue, Mastic and Shirley.
By the way, my father’s name was Louie.
There is a web site called local.live.com which is an aerial view web site with one difference. As you get closer to your site there are three different views that you can access. One is a road map, the second an aerial view and the third is something called Birds Eye. The Birds Eye view is limited to a dozen or so Metropolitan areas which includes New York. The Birds Eye view are actual 35mm type pictures of every location in the New York area. So sitting at my desk in St. Louis I took a tour of my building on South 8th St., then South 9th, Ocean Ave. and Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn. I then visited the lower East Side (Ludlow St.), Sheepshead Bay, where my parents lived. In fact, other than Long Island I got to see a vivid picture of every place I lived. Amazing, considering I didn’t leave my desk.
I did not know that the Schaefer Brewery was going to be Condos. What views? What has happened with the Brooklyn Navy Yard?
Williamsburg had some great architecture. Particularly, the Williamsburg Savings Bank. Do they still have the Grucchi fireworks in Bellport or did the Grucchi’s move? I remember hearing something about that. Talk to you soon.
asbag

Hi, Anniegirl…..as I mentioned previously I grew up on South 9th St. between Berry & Wythe. I used to watch the Schaefer Brewery employees play Chinese Handball on the next block from the Brewery on South 9th St. I went to P.S. 16 and every day at lunch I used to go to this closed up Theater called the Wilson where they had old posters of movies plastered all over the front of the Theater. The Aster Theater was at the corner of Roebling and Broadway. While I lived in Brooklyn there was a fire at the Theater and it was forced to close. It later became a Cafeteria. There was a “diner” on Roebling between S. 9th & Bway that we used to call the Greek. Served the best Rice Pudding. The Williamsburg Theater really did become “sleazy” in the later part of the 40’s and the early 50’s. Even though I had received a lifetime pass from a cousin who owned the Theater I really used it preferring to go to the Marcy, Commodore and the Republic. I don’t remember the Model Theater at all. I attended J.H.S. 50 on S. 3rd Street and used to walk to school past a number of very famous places that I never realized were famous (being a young kid). I used to go by Peter Lugar’s and never new it was a well known Steak House. I used to see the Gretsch factory and did not know they were famous for their guitars.
It was a different world then….you could see lower Manhattan but they were not called views of the City. Compared to living in the Suburbs you could get to Manhattan by train and bus in about fifteen or twenty minutes. In fact, it really was a transportation mecca. Bridge Plaza was the terminal for all the trolleys and then buses going all over Brooklyn.
The irony of Williamsburg hit home when my son who has lived in Washington, DC, Kendall, Florida and Dallas, Texas called me one day to say that he was looking for an apartment in Williamsburg and the rents were too high for him. This is the neighborhood that at one time looked like a war zone or the South Bronx. What goes around comes around.
I moved to St. Louis in 1996 after having lived in the New York Metropolitan area for most of my life. I visit many of the web sites revisiting my youth in early New York and, particularly, Brooklyn. I left Williamsburg in 1954, moved to Flatbush and then to Long Island in 1969. Let’s here more about your experiences in Williamsburg.
asbag

Dear asbag. My name is Anniegirl, I grew up in Williamsburgh. I was born in 1945. I went to the Williamsburgh Theater many times until it got rotten to even sit in the seats in the early 60’s. I went mostly to the Commodore Theater and the R&F on Grand St. and Rodney Street. Then on to Republic Bagels for some hot ones. Hit me up with some Williamsburgh Memories. I went to the Albee Theatre downtown Fulton Street and the Fox and the Paramount. Occasionly I went with my Parents to the Met. On Fulton and Smith Street. Anniegirl Louieb;s wife.
Posted by Louieb April 1st, 2006

JoeR, I don’t recall the Rogers Theatre as being very ornate. To me it looked like an ordinary neighborhood movie house with wooden seats, and not very big at all.
My son-in-law will be coming over soon to help me to transfer the color snapshot to the screen at Cinema Treasures. Hopefully you’ll get to see it soon.

JoeB

Asbag, sorry to say that I’m not familiar with the Wilson Theatre.
In my Brooklyn phone book of 1955 under Theatre listings , the Wilson Theatre is not listed.
It was most likely closed prior to that year, or perhaps a name change.

JoeB

To Joe B….I grew up on So.9th St. between Berry & Wythe near the Shaefer Brewery as well. I attended the Williamsburg Theater between the years of 1945 to 1954. To Joe R. in Florida it is good to see you collecting old movies on DVD & Video. It is great to see an old movie remastered for DVD and see what some of these pictures looked liked during their first release in Theaters.

Since both Joes grew up in Williamsburgh maybe you can answer a question of the Wilson Theater which was on Roebling St. & Lee Ave. It was closed by the time I was born and I can’t seem to get any information about it.

Asbag

The Williamsburg Theatre was my introduction to my love of movies. I lived with my grandparents for a few years who lived on South 8th. St., not far from the Schafer Brewery.
I was introduced to many of the old classics in that theatre like “King Kong”, and also some great Tarzan pictures with Johnny Weissmuller.
However during the week the matron would throw the kids out at 4 O'Clock whether you finished watching the movie or not. I used to go to the adult section and sit next to an elderly person so as not to be noticed. My grandfather use to scout the theatres in that area to find me and drag me home.
I recall that the Williamsburg also gave out programs of coming attractions, which advertised all the terrific films coming soon with small pictures from the original posters.
Of course in the same area on Broadway we had the Aster, the Marcy, and the Commodore, which I also went to.
It was surely movie heaven.

JoeB.