Colonial Theatre

1746 Broadway,
Brooklyn, NY 11233

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Showing 76 - 100 of 198 comments

hairmagic
hairmagic on October 17, 2007 at 11:40 pm

JOE G. THE GUY WHO DIED IN NAM WAS RUDY’S BROTHER PETE…RUDY WAS GOING OUT WITH A GIRL ON THE SAME BLOCK WHERE I LIVED, I THINK HER NAME WAS CONNIE…I REMEMBER WHEN HE DIED…ALAN NORRIS DON’T REMEMBER THE NAME BUT I DO REMEMBER A GIRL CLASSMATE OF MINE BY THE LAST NAME NORRIS….BUT DO YOU REMEMBER A GUY BY THE NAME OF ALAN BURSACK…HE USE TO GO AROUND BREAKING INTO SOME OF THE NEIGHBOR’S HOUSES AT THAT TIME…AND NOW THAT YOU MENTIONED IT JIMMY THE ICE CREME MAN DID LOOK LIKE MICKEY MANTLE…LOL. I’M SURE I SEEN YOU AROUND BACK THEN…

PKoch
PKoch on October 17, 2007 at 5:02 pm

Thanks, Peter L. What shocked you about Brando’s performance in “Streetcar” ?

“STELLA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Sorry, couldn’t resist that !

Pete
Pete on October 17, 2007 at 4:59 pm

It was at the Colonial Theater that I first saw Tennessee William’s “Streetcar Named Desire.” I remembered how shocked I was by Marlon Brando’s performance and how he redefined acting forever.

PKoch
PKoch on October 17, 2007 at 3:54 pm

Yes, Joe G., I remember those William Castle “gimmick” movies well. I didn’t see any of them in their initial release, but experienced them at Film Forum on Watts St. in lower Manhattan in September 1988 at their “Gimmick-o-Rama”, hard on the heels of their summer sci fi -fantasy – horror festival. Summer and fall 1988 were very rich that way.

“House On Haunted Hill” : bone-chilling Emergo !

“The Tingler” – spine-tingling Percepto !

“Mr. Sardonicus” – punishment poll ! Thumbs down : no mercy !

“Macabre” – ambulance parked outside theater : “You MUST have your blood pressure taken in the lobby before you see this film !”

The first William Castle flick I saw in its original release was “I Saw What You Did” at the RKO Madison, with Joan Crawford, as the murder-plot mistress, summer 1965.

Thanks for the details about “Day Of The Triffids” at the RKO Bushwick, and “The H-Man” at Loew’s Gates. They sound great !

leroyelliston, I remember “Smell-a-Vision”, and the old “3D” movies i.e. “House of Wax”, “They Came From Outer Space”, again, at Film Forum in the late 1980’s.

roybarry
roybarry on October 17, 2007 at 1:37 pm

Does anyone remember “Smell-a-Vision”? The old “3D” movies i.e. “House of Wax”, “Scaramouche”, “They Came From Outer Space”…etc. What a treat!

JoeG
JoeG on October 17, 2007 at 2:11 am

Instead of plain old lobby cards or lifesize cardboard displays, many theaters had all kinds of gimmicks. Remember William Castle’s schlock horror movies like “House on Haunted Hill,” with a skeleton attached to a wire, swinging over the heads of the audience? Or “The Tingler,” with seats wired electrically to give a mild shock to the patrons? I saw the trailer for that at the Colonial and remember burying my face in my mother’s coat to hide. The RKO Bushwick had a lobby display for “Day of the Triffids” with a huge, 9-foot-high box, inside which was a periodic thumping. They supposedly had a live “triffid,” a kind of carnivorous plant, inside trying to get out. Even scarier, the Loews Gates had a display for “The H-Man,” an obscure Japanese horror flick about an atomic liquefied mutant green slime that dissolves everybody. They had an outfit of men’s clothing on display, supposedly the remnants of one of its victims, and dared people to touch it and not get “slimed.” At 5 years old, I was so terrified I went home and threw up. Seriously.

PKoch
PKoch on October 16, 2007 at 10:06 pm

Thanks, Peter L, Warren and leroyelliston. I remember those great gushes of cool air coming out of the Ridgewood and the Madison, the two neighborhood theaters I grew up with. I’ll never forget that “movie theater smell” that went with them, just like I’ll never forget that “subway smell” of ozone, or whatever it is.

roybarry
roybarry on October 16, 2007 at 10:01 pm

I moved to Cooper Street, Brooklyn in 1948 and remember well the “Cooled by Refrigeration”. All the movie houses had that great gush of cool air when you entered. The two theaters that stands out in my memory with the biggest blast were the Loew’s Valencia and the Hillside. Things like that are not appreciated anymore! Too much taking things for granted! Please don’t take me for an ol' grouch. That I am definitely not! Just fond memories.

Pete
Pete on October 16, 2007 at 9:38 pm

Probably 1950 or 51

PKoch
PKoch on October 16, 2007 at 9:15 pm

No, Peter L, I don’t remember that. About what year would that have been ?

Pete
Pete on October 16, 2007 at 5:48 pm

Does anyone remember, well before air conditioning in the home, standing on a hot and muggy night in front of the Colonial to cool down? There was a big banner “Cooled by Refrigeration.”

PKoch
PKoch on October 16, 2007 at 4:55 pm

Thanks, Joe G. Good comment. So you were a senior at the Prep when I was a freshman. We overlapped in the 1969-70 academic year. Cool. Small world.

Yes, Bway, all the Polish stores on Forest Avenue, Polish rap can be heard at night near Forest and Grove.

Bway
Bway on October 16, 2007 at 4:51 pm

All the Polish that got priced out of Greenpoint by the hipsters and the gentrification there have moved to Ridgewood……

JoeG
JoeG on October 16, 2007 at 5:30 am

I also went to St. Francis Prep, 66-70. Greenpoint is another neighborhood that was Polish working class then, hipster doofus capital now. Lisa, I knew Father Smith well, and Tom Lovett was also in my class. I’ll be 55 soon. I remember Mr. Tops burger place, where I got drunk for the first time in my life, at about 15, on Ripple wine, in the parking lot. Highland Park and its lovers lane. Jimmy the Bungalow Bar man – he had red hair and looked like Mickey Mantle. The OLL bazaars. Rudy Vera and Alan Norris, a couple of schoolmates of mine who both died in Vietnam, their names are on The Wall. I used to play basketball, and there were some incredible ballplayers there, who mostly succumbed to drugs or idleness. It was a great old neighborhood. You look back on this board and you’ll see plenty written about it. You’ll see stuff I wrote about the famous people who lived there: Jackie Gleason, Serpico, etc. Lot of ghosts there.

PKoch
PKoch on October 11, 2007 at 4:59 pm

http://www.tapeshare.com

is a good site dedicated to ENY and Cypress Hills.

PKoch
PKoch on October 11, 2007 at 4:53 pm

Lisa, Joe G, Peter L, hope to see you all on Bushwick Buddies. I think you’d like it there :

http://www.bushwickbuddies.com/

Joe G., that’s good to know about the Franciscan friary on Aberdeen Street. I had Franciscan brothers as teachers, first at St. Brigid’s in Ridgewood, 1965-69, then at Saint Francis Prep in Williamsburg, Bklyn, 1969-73.

Yes, Lisa, the robbery and burning of Our Lady Of Lourdes was very sad. Your Key Food story is scary. I hope you and your Mom weren’t shot that day. I’m glad you and your family got out of Bushwick alive.

hairmagic
hairmagic on October 11, 2007 at 3:29 pm

JOE, I DIDNT KNOW ABOUT THE STATUE OF ST. PETER’S. THAT WAS A BIG HEAVY STATUE. I FEEL BAD ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT BEAUTIFUL CHURCH. I REMEMBER GOING SHOPPING ONE SATURDAY AFTERNOON WITH MY MOTHER AT KEY FOOD, COMMING OUT OF THE STORE WE CROSSED THE STREET HEADING HOME, WHEN I SAW A MAN WITH A GUN POINTING IT TO A WOMAN ON THE GROUND LIKE HE WAS GOING TO SHOOT HER…I WAS ABOUT 14 AT THE TIME BUT THAT ALWAYS STAYED IN MY MIND… MY MOTHER AND I RAN AND TOOK OFF THE OTHER WAY TOWARD BUSHWICK AVE. THAT WAS IN THE LATE 60’S.

hairmagic
hairmagic on October 11, 2007 at 2:28 pm

THANKS JOE G. I ALSO MOVED AWAY LABOR DAY WEEKEND 1971. SO LOUIE WAS IN YOUR CLASS. HE ALSO HAD A SISTER A COUPLE OF YRS OLDER THEN ME HER NAME WAS JOYCE. I WAS IN HE’S OTHER SISTER’S CLASS HER NAME WAS DONNA AND SHE HAD A TWIN BROTHER NAMED KEVIN…YES NOW I REMEMBER THE FRANCISCAN BROTHERS HOUSE ON ABERDEEN ACROSS FROM THE SCHOOL. I MUST HAVE SEEN YOU AROUND WAY BACK THEN.. AT THAT TIME THE BOYS WERE SEPARATE FROM THE GIRLS, WE HAD NUNS TEACHING US AND YOU MUST OF HAD THE BROTHERS. DO YOU REMEMBER FR. SMITH? REMEMBER THE FIRST HAMBUGER PLACE CALLED MR. TOPS ON BUSHWICK AVE. ACROSS FROM THE CEMETERY ENTRANCE? DONNA AND I GOT MUGGED THERE ONCE A FEW KIDS TOOK OUR MEAL. DO YOU REMEMBER THEY USE TO CALL THE MEN THAT USE TO PATROL THE CEMETERY AT NITE “CHICKIES”? A FEW OF THE KIDS ON THE BLOCK WOULD GO INTO THE CEMETREY LATE AT NITE AND THEY WOULD COME OUT RUNNING SAYING THE CHICKIES ARE AFTER US. THERE WAS ALSO A DELI ON THE CORNER OF BROADWAY AND DESALES PL. I DON’T REMEMBER THE NAME BUT ALL THE KIDS WOULD GO THERE FROM SCHOOL AND BUY THERE SNACKS. REMEMBER THE BAZAARS THEY HAD IN THE SCHOOL YARD, AND THE SCHOOL TRIPS TO THE WORLDS FAIR AND RYE BEACH? DID YOU KNOW THE LOVETT’S FAMILY THEY WENT TO OLL. I THINK THERE WERE ABOUT 7 KIDS, THE OLDEST WAS TOMMY AND A SISTER NAMED PAT. I STILL HAVE A FEW OF THOSE CLASS PICTURES. I’LL TELL YOU, I HAD A GOOD TIME GROWING UP THERE. WHEN I WENT BACK THE OTHER DAY IT WASN’T THE SAME. I ASKED SOMEONE HOW MUCH THE HOUSES WHERE GOING FOR AND HE SAID IN THE 400..AND TO THINK MY FATHER PAYED ABOUT 7,000 BACK IN 64. I’M 52 SO YOU MUST BE 55 NOW RIGHT?

JoeG
JoeG on October 11, 2007 at 3:03 am

Guys, guys, guys … I love this board. Really takes me back. I don’t have a lot of time right now to post in detail, but I’ll catch up later. Just a few quick notes. If you see some of my previous posts you’ll get the answers to some of your questions. Most prominently – I went to Our Lady of Lourdes too, graduated in ‘66, was the class valedictorian. Of course I remember the candy store, and the Franciscan Brothers’ friary right across from the school on Aberdeen. I lived at 1501 Bushwick Avenue, between Furman and Granite, next block was Grove Chevrolet and their service department was around the corner on Furman, later became the temporary home of OLL church after it burned down. Moved away in August 1971. Lisa, Louis Massari was in my class at Lourdes for years, don’t remember his sister. Spent thousands of hours over the years in Aberdeen Park. It’s officially called Stephen A. Rudd Playground, but I never remember anyone calling it that. He was a New York congressman who died in 1931. F&R stood for Fulton and Rockaway – the young John Gotti was a member. I haven’t been to the old neighborhood in many years, but I drove past it a couple of months ago. Today the housing prices are 10-15 times what my parents' house was worth. Amazing. Let’s keep the info going!

PKoch
PKoch on October 10, 2007 at 9:25 pm

What did the Colonial Theater do for the health of its patrons ? Smoking permitted in the balcony was obviously not healthy. Those movies shown on the outdoor wall during the summer probably did much for the mental, emotional and social health of the adjoining neighborhood. My dad remembers people watching the films on summer nights from fire escapes of tenements on Rockaway Avenue and Chauncey Street.

How about economic health ? Dish nights ? Price of admission, one can of Heinz beans ?

How about Evangelical Deaconess Hospital, where I was born, across Broadway from the Colonial Theater ?

PKoch
PKoch on October 10, 2007 at 9:13 pm

Thanks, Peter L.

My dad remembers “loosie” cigarettes, from his days of not being able to afford a full pack.

You said you had a lot to learn. Could you please elaborate ?

When my dad started smoking at age 16 in 1935-36, the warning from parental authority was :

“Don’t smoke ! It’ll stunt your growth !”

My dad grew to an adult height of 6 ft. 2 inches anyway.

Now (2007), it says on the cigarette pack :

Cigarette smoking causes heart disease, lung cancer, and emphysema.

Pete
Pete on October 10, 2007 at 8:29 pm

I remember that candy store when I was going to Our Lady of Lourdes. in 1948 when I was in the 8th grade we would buy cigarettes from that store. The candy store owner used to break open the pack and sell the cigs loose. 2 cigarettes would cost five cents. We would rush off to Highland park and find a secluded spot to puff away and rebel against society. Boy, we had a lot to learn.

PKoch
PKoch on October 10, 2007 at 8:23 pm

No, Lisa, I don’t remember it. My dad might. I could ask him.

hairmagic
hairmagic on October 10, 2007 at 7:48 pm

ONE MORE THING DO YOU REMEMBER THE CANDY/SODA SHOP AT THE CORNER OF BROADWAY AND ABBERDEEN ST. ACROSS FROM THE SCHOOL…I REMEMBER AFTER SCHOOL OR CHURCH GOING IN TO BUY PENNY CANDY OR HAVING A LIME RICKY WITH FRIENDS…DON’T REMEMBER IF THEY HAD BOOTHS IN THE BACK…I KNOW THEY HAD STOOLS…

PKoch
PKoch on October 10, 2007 at 7:29 pm

Thanks for your answer, Lisa. I’m glad you got to visit your old neighborhood yesterday afternoon.

To become a member of Bushwick Buddies, you need to enter your e-mail address, and select a user name and password. It’s been three years since I did it, so I’m not sure what exactly you have to do, but if you need help, you can contact Eleanor, the owner of the site, at :