Kings Theatre
1027 Flatbush Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11226
1027 Flatbush Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11226
86 people
favorited this theater
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Kings et all… thanks for your thoughts. I’m not trying to be negative here, just realistic. I’ve worked at theaters before and have seen my fair share of “goods,” “bads,” and “uglies”. The Kings somehow falls between the latter two. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s a Loews, it’d be ugly.
The New Amsterdam theater was a moderately large (1700) seat theater that had been taken care of and was in the heart of Times Square— factors that were clearly in its favor.
The Kings has roof damage that would cost easily over half a million dollars to repair and is a 3600 seat behemoth. Also, despite what you say, is NOT in a good part of town. I’ve lived there on weekends for three years now and can tell you that it only takes a block or two of distance from the main stretch before you get in to some dicey areas. There’s a reason that Streisand, Stallone and Winkler aren’t returning to their roots— would you if you saw what a mess your old neighborhood has become?
Let me ask those of you ready to “save” it this—
(1) Have you actually been inside of the theater? Just the lobby doesn’t count.
(2) Have you written down your business plan? How many meetings have there been so far? You’ve been discussing this for three years now and there still isn’t any “Friends of the Loews” yet. In that time, the stage roof has pretty much crumbled, opening it to the elements, and plaster-work has been damaged beyond repair.
It is true that you could bring it back to its former glory— for an estimate for 2 to 3 million dollars, and then do you realize how much you’ll have to spend in heating and electricity? What could you possibly run in that area that would attract customers? Running a hip-hop concert would be fine, but don’t you know of the vandalism those shows bring in? Don’t expect the yuppies from Manhattan to come out. Even if the neighborhood was still good, the stigma of that part of Brooklyn is so heavy that most people shudder at the thought of even leaving Manhattan.
If you’re going to put time and energy into something, do it right and make sure it’s a good cause. The Loews Paradise is about the best example of it being done right (or almost right) that I can think of— visit the theater sometime and you’ll see what I mean. The guy that put money into that place (private, not a public group) went bankrupt before he finished it! And while a private venture will always have the privileges that public groups don’t offer, the St. George theater is a nightmare of private ownership, so there is always the other side of the spectrum.
Loews Jersey has been so handicapped by its own politics that I foresee that it will NEVER get fully restored. The same goes for most of the groups that go on a vigilante “save the whatever” kick without even realizing what they’re inheriting, first.
You think Marty Markowitz and Donald Trump are going to make it all happen? Think again. Markowitz would sell you his mother to get a vote, so don’t expect that to happen anytime soon. Last time I checked, Trump wasn’t buying up theaters in Brooklyn to save his life.
I wish you all the luck you can get, but please consider what I’ve said. It’s nice to be romantic and an armchair preservationist, but realism and actually doing something is what counts, and let’s put it this way: in the last three years I’ve been following this, nothing has happened.
Kings et all… thanks for your thoughts. I’m not trying to be negative here, just realistic. I’ve worked at theaters before and have seen my fair share of “goods,” “bads,” and “uglies”. The Kings somehow falls between the latter two. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s a Loews, it’d be ugly.
The New Amsterdam theater was a moderately large (1700) seat theater that had been taken care of and was in the heart of Times Square— factors that were clearly in its favor.
The Kings has roof damage that would cost easily over half a million dollars to repair and is a 3600 seat behemoth. Also, despite what you say, is NOT in a good part of town. I’ve lived there on weekends for three years now and can tell you that it only takes a block or two of distance from the main stretch before you get in to some dicey areas. There’s a reason that Streisand, Stallone and Winkler aren’t returning to their roots— would you if you saw what a mess your old neighborhood has become?
Let me ask those of you ready to “save” it this—
(1) Have you actually been inside of the theater? Just the lobby doesn’t count.
(2) Have you written down your business plan? How many meetings have there been so far? You’ve been discussing this for three years now and there still isn’t any “Friends of the Loews” yet. In that time, the stage roof has pretty much crumbled, opening it to the elements, and plaster-work has been damaged beyond repair.
It is true that you could bring it back to its former glory— for an estimate for 2 to 3 million dollars, and then do you realize how much you’ll have to spend in heating and electricity? What could you possibly run in that area that would attract customers? Running a hip-hop concert would be fine, but don’t you know of the vandalism those shows bring in? Don’t expect the yuppies from Manhattan to come out. Even if the neighborhood was still good, the stigma of that part of Brooklyn is so heavy that most people shudder at the thought of even leaving Manhattan.
If you’re going to put time and energy into something, do it right and make sure it’s a good cause. The Loews Paradise is about the best example of it being done right (or almost right) that I can think of— visit the theater sometime and you’ll see what I mean. The guy that put money into that place (private, not a public group) went bankrupt before he finished it! And while a private venture will always have the privileges that public groups don’t offer, the St. George theater is a nightmare of private ownership, so there is always the other side of the spectrum.
Loews Jersey has been so handicapped by its own politics that I foresee that it will NEVER get fully restored. The same goes for most of the groups that go on a vigilante “save the whatever” kick without even realizing what they’re inheriting, first.
You think Marty Markowitz and Donald Trump are going to make it all happen? Think again. Markowitz would sell you his mother to get a vote, so don’t expect that to happen anytime soon. Last time I checked, Trump wasn’t buying up theaters in Brooklyn to save his life.
I wish you all the luck you can get, but please consider what I’ve said. It’s nice to be romantic and an armchair preservationist (which all of you “Save the Kings” guys are at this point), but realism and actually doing something is what counts, and let’s put it this way: in the last three years I’ve been following this, nothing has happened.
Anybody interested in having a meeting, contact me ‘Kings’ or Bruce at
Anybody interested in having a meeting, contact me ‘Kings’ or Bruce at
Save the Kings!
Lest anyone misconstrue my words above, I will append this ending: So let it be that concerned citizens will band together to never let such an end occur, but to instead to restore this once theatrical jewel.
Sad to say, it would not be a “peaceful death.” Derelect buildings typically stand until some part of them falls onto a public way or neighboring property and someone complains or is injured. Once the media gets wind of such, the city will move rapidly to bring in the wreckers to forestall a law suit. If such happens, the language will NOT be for its nostalgic past, but ‘How can responsible city fathers allow such a menace to the public to stand for so long?!!’ There will then be a round of denials and finger pointing and a scramble as the politicians leave town on “vacation” or claim that that they never noticed the vacant hulk was standing there (since 1980s). There will then be a loud call for all such “useless” old theatres to be found amd razed and that a commission will be formed to look into the matter forthwith! Any words then from us ‘theatre nuts’ will be sneared at, and sites like this will get messages of outrage as to ‘How could we not alert those responsible as to this danger!’ No, it will not be a ‘peaceful death.’
Jack,
When you looked inside the Kings, you may have found it beyond it’s prime. However, if you have looked inside other old theaters, you would have found similar conditions. For instance, look at Disney’s New Amsterdam. That was a wreck but look at it now! Look at the Chicago, the Detroit Fox and others. When you talk about the neighborhood, why not look at all the national chains that have discovered Flatbush Avenue (surrounding the Kings) Staples, Old Navy, Stop and Shop, Ashley Stuart, Foot Locker, CVS, Rite Aid, Lucille Roberts, Canal Jeans, etc. Not to mention the continuing presence of Sear’s. Could all these stores be wrong about the resurgence of the neighborhood.
The neighborhood has stabilized, business is booming but there is no movie theater and there is certainly no live house for concerts, etc. As far as ‘no government support’, the Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz totally agrees with my plan for a live theater with a multiplex, shopping and a botique hotel built on the air rights of the theater.
So give me a break and don’t be so negative!
Give me a break. Anyone who has actually been inside the Kings or even in the area knows its past its prime. The community and government are not behind it and that’s just the start. I love vintage theaters just as much as the next guy, but I do have my priorities.
Just let it have the peaceful death it deserves.
Gustavelifting and any others wishing to get together for a meeting on how to Save The Kings, please contact me at
Kings
Again, sorry for the long delay in arranging this meeting, but I could not get onto this site.
Kings is my new name, it’s the same old Bruce II
Did anybody miss me? Where have I been? Well, I misplaced my password and without it, I did not have access to this site. Sure, I could go on, but I could not post a note. As far as writing to management, that did no good. They never answered any of my pleas.
Enough said! Unfortunately, the NYC Economic Development Corporation has delayed and delayed issuing that RFP (Request For Proposal) and there seems to be no progress on the Loew’s Kings. If they issue the proposal and if a real estate developer sees the value of this Cathedral of the Ornate, then hopefully it will be restored and reopened as the Kings County Center for the Performing Arts. Of course, it could be demolished to make way for a shopping mall.
Has anybody written to the Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz to express their support for his efforts to Save The Kings?
Well; PhilPhil
We need the fans
Posted by Theaterat for Phil Phil.I would like to share a Kings memory with the viewers. I DO agree, the magnificent Loews Kings is worth saving and I applaud all those who are working to that end.I remember in early
59{ possibly January} the great film version of Jules Vernes “Around The World in 80 Days” was playing at the Kings. Back then, if a film was popular, it would be re-released. Any way, it was a Sunday afternoon. My father- a Jules Verne and movie fan like me asked me it I wantes to go. I said “yes' and we drove to the Kings in the familys ~52 Cadillac. I never was at the Kings before, so my father told me it is like going to a palace and a museum rolled in one. He was right! The whole place just blew mw away!No need to describe it again, but I never will forget the mens room with its richly decorated wood paneling and art work and the forest of columns in the lobby. I remember sitting center stage in the first row of the balcony in the Smoking Section. Remember them? I am not sure if the movie was presented in Todd A_O or widescreen, but it did not matter.I was so mesmerized by the movie and the great theater that was showing it that I just sat there in rapt attention.Since then, I have seen other epics at other theaters, but on that very cold Sunday way back then, I realized that this was what movie going was all about.About 9 years later, in early 68 it was re-released for the last time before going to TV. I did see it at the Alpine, but the experience was not the same.My friend Theaterat tells me that the Loews Jersey is in the Kings tradition, but I have yet to see it.Will try to go in the near future.Posted by Theaterat for PhilPhilWhere is the article about Markowitz in the Post, what date again and page?
Sorry to say this but Marty Markowitz will only do something if there is something in it for him. As I had stated in an earlier posts I have had some dealings with the jerk. Then again if anyone can pull this off maybe he can.See Marty is a jerk but he is smart. He has been a NY State Senator for many years and now he is the borough president.He must have realised many moons ago that he could scam more money being a local politician then being a congressman or U.S Senator. He made a good deal of money off his summer Concert series that used to be held at the Midwood HS football field till the local community board got to many complaints from the locals about noise traffic and crowds. He then moved them to Asher Levy Park at W5 st and Surf ave in Coney Island. His other venue he calls the Martin Luther King Jr Concert series at Wingate High School next to Kings County Hospital. It was at this particular series thatdue to high winds a lighting truss was blown over and injured the late great Curtis Mayfield. He wound up paralized from the neck down and succumbed to his injuries a few years later.the following is from the NY Daily News Sept 5, 2004… The story said he moonlighted as a non profit promoter but he got grants from national endowments for the arts as well as corperate sponsors. With the exception of paying the peformers, Sound and lighting guys who also doubled as stage crew the rest of the people working the shows were all volenteers. The man was making a nice penny putting on these shows with out ever putting a dime of his own in to it.
Freakish gust of wind
Curtis Mayfield at Wingate Field, 1990
By DAVID HINCKLEY
Curtis Mayfield
No one provided a better musical chorus for the optimism of the early ‘60s civil rights movement than Curtis Mayfield.
A guitar player, singer and writer out of Chicago’s rugged Cabrini-Green housing projects, Mayfield led the Impressions through upbeat anthems like “Amen,” “It’s All Right,” “People Get Ready” and “Keep on Pushin.’”
He first joined the Impressions in 1958, age 16, just before their national hit “For Your Precious Love” split lead singer Jerry Butler off from the others.
Mayfield kept the group together and they returned to the charts in 1961 with the otherworldly “Gypsy Woman.” Soon he was writing songs with an irresistible blend of rhythm and melody that became calls to a better, brighter day.
A decade later Mayfield would explore some darker ruminations with “Freddie’s Dead.” But while that attached him permanently to the “Superfly” culture, the anthems ike “People Get Ready” and “Amen” remained resonant.
So it was no surprise that on the night of Aug. 13, 1990, more than 10,000 people poured into Wingate Field in Brooklyn for a show Curtis Mayfield would headline.
Outdoors concerts were a long tradition in New York, from the Philharmonic and the rousing Goldman band to pop and rock. For a couple of bucks, fans could spend a warm night watching some of the biggest acts in the country.
The only complaint was that most of them ended up in Manhattan, which is why, in 1982, Brooklyn state Sen. Marty Markowitz decided to bring some of these artists to the eastern side of the bridges.
Moonlighting as a nonprofit concert promoter was an unusual gig for a public official, but Markowitz feared no one else would pick up the ball. Big promoters like Ron Delsener were busy with their own shows, and besides, Brooklyn didn’t have any outdoor facilities where 8,000, 10,000 or 15,000 fans could easily gather for a show.
The best Markowitz could find was the field at Boys High, so that’s where the Martin Luther King Jr. concert series was launched in 1982. Shows were free, and Markowitz got the biggest R&B artists he could afford on a budget covered by sponsors and donors.
The shows caught on, and three years later he moved the series to the larger Wingate Field, run by the city Parks Department. He also added a second weekly series at Midwood Field, with a more eclectic roster that included pop singers, orchestras and Latin artists.
Armed with attendance figures to bolster his case, Markowitz began lobbying for a permanent outdoor concert facility in Brooklyn. But it never became a budget priority, which left him with what he had. His crew put up the stage the day of the show and took it down the next morning so the field was open for recreation again.
Fortunately, the Wingate patrons brought their chairs, or sat on the ground, so the crew didn’t have to set out thousands of seats. Just a stage, sound system and lights.
Like all summer promoters, of course, Markowitz’s team was at the mercy of the weather. The official policy was that if there were anything more than “light” wind, rain or thunder, the show was called off â€" though the unspoken rule is that you give the show every chance to go on, largely because you disappoint thousands if it doesn’t.
Weather didn’t seem to be an issue on Aug. 13, 1990. The stage, sound and lights had been routinely assembled in the afternoon and at 7:30, soon after the sun had set, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes played their opening set.
Moments after they finished, Curtis Mayfield started up the steps to the stage, carrying his guitar and surveying a crowd that was already rising to applaud.
Then, in about the time it would have taken him to raise one hand and acknowledge the welcome, Curtis Mayfield was flat on his face on the stage.
He did not yet even realize that he had no feeling or movement from the neck down.
The crowd didn’t know that, either. The crowd did know, to its horror, that a blast of wind had sent one of the light towers pitching forward, landing directly on Curtis Mayfield.
The towers weigh several hundred pounds. The impact broke his neck.
He was rushed to Kings County Hospital, where he was placed in intensive care. Reports on the severity of his injury surfaced quickly and several days later were confirmed.
Eventually, he got the best outcome he could have hoped for. He lived.
Though it was a very different life. The man who used to wake up in the morning with a melody in his head and work it out on his guitar spent four years learning to breathe well enough so he could hold a short conversation and sing a few notes.
Happily, he had hung onto the copyrights from most of his songs, so he could afford rehabilitation and as comfortable a life as possible.
He accepted a string of honors through the ‘90s and released a new album in 1997, though he admitted his life was “hard, very hard.” He died on Dec. 26, 1999, age 57.
The morning after the accident, Markowitz called it “a terrible tragedy” and said the collapse was caused by “a freakish gust of wind” that no one could have foreseen.
At the next show, held on schedule the following week, the whole crowd was asked to sign a huge get-well card.
At the start of the next season, Markowitz announced that the continuing popularity of the series and the tragedy of Curtis Mayfield left no doubt that Brooklyn needed a first-class outdoor concert facility.
Gosh, I do hope Marty Markowitz et al in Brooklyn can get the capital to preserve it. Hey, Theatre, would you send me a copy of your pics? (—only put “com” in the aol address.) Thanks
Gosh, I do hope Marty Markowitz et al in Brooklyn can get the capital to preserve it. Hey, Theatre, would you send me a copy of your pics? (—only put “com” in the aol address.) Thanks
New York Post today (February 6) described Borough President Markowitz’s latest attempt to “save the Kings.”
B'KLYN: SAVE OUR THEATER
By RICH CALDER
February 6, 2006 — Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is leading the latest community charge to save the majestic Loews Kings Theater on Flatbush Avenue from City Hall bulldozers.
Markowitz is trying to persuade the Bloomberg administration that the future of the gritty avenue’s business district hinges on restoring the neglected 77-year-old historic jewel, which closed in 1979.
Reviving the 75,000- square-foot former picture palace and vaudeville house, he said, could also be the centerpiece for a bigger project that includes building residential space, a boutique hotel and retail shops…
Hello everyone, my name is Kris from Staten Island, New York. I am 27 years old and do not even remember this Theatre and knew nothing about it until today. I was in Brooklyn the other day and stumbled upon the Kings Theatre when I was on Flatbush. I was walking down the street on the same side and I noticed a very large metal beam on the roof going through the top front of the theatre and did not know what it was. As I got closer and looked at it I could not believe what I found. This is the most beautiful and majestic theatre I have ever layed eyes on. I had my digital camera with me and took some pictures, next time I go back I am going to bring my video camera. If anyone wants to see pictures just ask. I wish I could have seen the inside. But I was really ispired by it and learned alot from this message board that I want to be part of any group that will help raise money or bring this theatre back to it’s original way. I would donate money if other people are willing to do so. Also does anyone know how the mayor feels about it and markowitz? I would love to see it up and running again, I am just not sure if the area would really treat it well. I mean today’s society would not be as respectful of such nice things. They may ruin the place putting gum places and vandalizing it. I would suggest that a higher price be payed for tickets so you can weed out trouble making youth. But I think it should be for people of class because that is what it is. From what I have heard about the inside it was like a palace and should be kept that way when people come to it’s re opening. Hey Mayor Bloomberg has so much he should help pay for the resoration instead of parties for his election when he did.
If anyone gets or has access to the Theater Organ Journal of the American Theater Organ Society, there are pictures of the Kings in their current issue. The pictures include an exterior shot and the proscenium when the theater opened, the inner ant outer lobbys and even a picture of the great Billy Nalle playing the Robert-Morton organ. The pictures are from the Theatre Historical Society.
Gustavelifting—Try
.gov
Does anyone know the exact place where I can send Markowitz an E-Mail. Sorry, it’s been over a month since I have been online.
So write to Borough President Marty Markowitz at Brooklyn Borough Hall, Brooklyn NY
I like the sound of KCCPA!