Kenmore Theatre
2101 Church Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11226
2101 Church Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11226
11 people
favorited this theater
Showing 76 - 82 of 82 comments
The Will Pogany murals were either painted over during the Cineplex Odeon redo in between ‘89-'91 or after the RKO “quadding” in 1977. They were there in 1973. If they were attached to the walls (fabric-mural) then they were removed for their value again by either of the above. The balcony walls were painted in blue when I saw the theatre over ten years ago. Usually only the main floor of an unused theatre property is gutted for retail with the balcony unseen under false ceilings. This is not the case with the Kenmore. The restored lobby was’t even spared as I saw the area hollowed out last May 2003.
The last operating Flatbush Avenue movie palace is now gutted for retail, a Modell’s, how sad! I saw “Bullitt”, “Bonnie And Clyde”, “Take The Money And Run”, “Custer Of The West”, “Whatever Happened To Aunt Alice?‘, "The Odd Couple”, Jerry Lewis in “Which Way To The Front?”. The last thing I saw there was a double feature of “Ben” and “Tales From The Crypt” in 1972/3. The trailer for “Lady Sings The Blues” the next attraction was shown. I took a tour of thr theatre after the Cineplex-Odeon redo in the late '80’s or early '90’s. C/O did a nine or ten month renovation with the theatre closed all the way through the nine months. They did a great job of the lobby. (I won’t talk about the auditorium). Backstage was a storage ares that consisted of old popcorn warmers, hot dog machines and other concession equipment from the RKO days. (They never threw anything out) I’ll bet all the relics backstage ended up in a dumpster once “Onex” sold the building for retail. They made sure it would be gutted and never used as a theatre. They should be boycotted. Big “theatre owner” companys don’t care about their history, they only know how to celebrate being 100 years old with no regard for their historical past.
This theatre opened if i’m not mistaken from information i’ve recently found opened in the late 1920’s it was a single screen until the mid to late 70’s when it whent straight to a four screen cinema it had decent sound for a single screen to quad conversion but some times in the downstairs cinemas the sound leaked but aside from that had some nice elements to especially when it first reopened as a quad. It declined over the years. it’s now opened as a Moddell sporting good store with no sign of this once magnificent moviehouse but the stripped marquee reading Modell’s. and more retail space is being made in the areas which housed the screens and front auditorium areas of cinemas 1 and 2 down front.
The RKO Kenmore, became a quad as early as 1978. One of the last movies to play there when it was one screen, was “Close Encounters”.
I remember seeing “Foul PLay” there in the fall of 78, and hearing the music from “Grease” pounding through the wall.
Regardless, it’s sad to see it closed, because it was the last surviving movie house in Flatbush, and it was a beauty.
The former Cineplex Odeon Kemore Quad is in the process of being turned into a Modell’s Sporting Goods Store, the inside has totally been gutted of any theatre related items. The marquee of this former movie palace has been stripped of it’s neon Kemore lettering, it’s been covered up and Modell’s signs are now on all three sides. A trully sad sight indeed for this former vaudeville theatre in Flatbush Brooklyn.
The RKO Kenmore Theatre is located at 2101 Church Ave..
I can tell you that the Kenmore began as a single screen house, and had been converted to a four screen multiplex by the time of its closing in 1999.