Commodore Cinemas
329 Broadway,
Brooklyn,
NY
11211
329 Broadway,
Brooklyn,
NY
11211
22 people
favorited this theater
Showing 176 - 200 of 304 comments
Those photo’s of my old moviehouse brought tears to my eye’s. I remeber that moviehouse as it was BEAUTIFUL. IT IS A CRYING SHAME THAT SOMEONE LET THAT MOVIEHOUSE FALL INTO SUCH DIS-REPAIR. Anyone from Williamsburgh who see’s these pictures will surly be upset. We remember the old days when first run movies were seen there. All I can say is goodbye to a great place to see a first run show. Anniegirl
The photo’s of the Commodore theatre are very sad. Perhaps much of the damage was intentional which would make it less desirable and cost effective to continue using this building as a theatre. Why would anyone permit the roof damage to exist and allow the elements to destroy the interior of the building? Surely the roof could have been covered or patched somehow.
Wow, what a shame. Thanks so much for posting the photos.
I still can’t believe the building is coming down. I am still hoping that they will at least keep the shell up, and retrofit the building. A terrible thing that it won’t ever be a theater again, but at the very least, let’s hope the shell stays up.
no the seats were taken out years ago
to establish a lower capacity
+ lower real estate tax
simple simple
it has a weird giant awkward dome of a roof
this was the most surprising thing
that housed ducts and things
i’d known it personally as a double feature
that showed movies like blade + eddie murphy
kids ran around
people smoked and talked
real loose
an excellent 6 bucks well spent
i will post more pictures soon
there are about two hundred
as for homeless
we imagine mexicans
based on certain debris
though certainly junkies
a needle
many beer cans
food containers
an overdose kit
it is wet in large areas but not musty
though the air is terrible
no sign of animals actually
except humans
a mattress
a piece of paper covered evenly in tight hebrew script
a pile of womens' shoes
the proscenium curtain where the screen was is denim
there is a manger’s office with a sign
completely trashed
covered in mattress feathers and chunks of concrete
shoes + clothes, cable box, an old apron on a nail
an old giant hole in the floor
to shut off water pipes
the seats are gone but the raked structure’s there
the steady sounds of drops of water from the ceiling
though it is not raining outside
structural damage that seems deliberate
the projection booth is gutted
its hard to believe this will all come down
simply because no one knows the name of the architect
that’s just stupid
the ceiling is epic and beautiful
like a mosque or cupola
old time grandeur and opulence
when was this?
the 20’s?
beams of sunlight thru holes and broken windows
the elevated subway adjacent
rumbles by and turns the sunlight to a strobe light
it does not feel haunted
as to access
it was simply open
maybe still is
so we went in
Hello all, Sorry I have not answered some requests. My laptop died and had to be sent back to HP. I just saw the photos. Wll it looks like the Commodore is dead. Even for 3 milion, I do not believe it is worth thr process. Custer, how were you able to gt in to it Aren’t there guards around.
From talking to the owners, it was secrecy about even telling people about it let alone letting someone it. Did you sneak in? I know more workmen do not care if you stay out of their way
Anyway it looks like the new owners the hasidim took care of things, and made changes to it, so there is no possible opportunity to landmark the building.
Custer when you were in there, did it see like there were squatters and homeles people there too?
What a damn shame this was left to be destroyed by looters and the elements. Oh well now they have no theatre.
FYI, this is the theater used for the outside shot of the theater in Woody Allen’s “Bullets Over Broadway”
http://flickr.com/photos/19293787@N00/show/
photos from inside commodore theater brooklyn
10/5/06
It’s a school that saved the RKO Bushwick Theater further east on Broadway from complete demolision. Of course, in the case of the Bushwick, 30 years of neglect and exposure to the elements inside did it’s toll, and it was not salvagable inside. But thankfully, they were able to use it’s shell to make the school, and at least the exterior lives on.
As form the Commodore, it’s a real shame, as it’s not that long since it closed, so it probably would have definitely been usable had it been restored, but at least hopefully the exterior will be saved.
A school replacing a former theatre is not such a bad thing micheleandanniegirl. The theatre entertained people and the school will educate them. Perhaps someone local could take photo’s before too much of the theatre interior is demolished.
Dear Lost,
According to my oldest and dearest friend who lives on Hewes Street, she claims the Jewish People who own the Moviehouse is probably making a School or a Synagogue. She says they are buying all of the properties in the neighborhood. The Hispanic Community wanted to buy the old place but, could not afford the price of 3 Million. The Hispanic community wanted to preserve it into a Museum for the Arts and Humanities but to no avail. Too Bad. But thanks for the memories “Commodore” we sure had fun in the days of old. (1953-1970)Anniegirl
Well, at the very least I hope they save the shell. Obviously it is inevidable that the interior will be gutted, but there is a chance that the whole building may go. That would be a tragedy.
Dear Bob and Lost Memory, I can’t beleive they are tearing down this beautiful showplace. I wonder if the Hassidic Jews sold the place and the new owner is turning it into something or the owners are building a synagogue or school. I guess we will find out soon enough.Anniegirl
Today, I noticed that wooden posts were installed around the outside of the Commodore. These look like the kind of posts that support a wooden fence that would go around a constrcution site (or a demolition site for that matter). I have not seen anything in the local papers about this, one way or the other.
Bob
Dear Lost,
What a shame. That was such a great place ot go see a decent movie. The neighborhood is changing also anniegirl
Three views of the Commodore as seen in June 2006:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/187493920/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/187494282/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kencta/187494560/
I now notice that the name ‘Commodore’ has been removed from the marquee since I last saw the building in the summer of 2005.
So, after spending several days researching the theater on my corner, my results end here. I have found out so much in the past few days about this area of williamsburg and the ridiculous amounts of theaters that were here, and to think that this is the last one is shocking.
I have also read many posts exactly like mine, but from several years ago. “This is shocking, what is happening?” So, are any of these plans working out? Is someone buying it? Anything happen in the past 20 days?
Thanks! -Jim
I changed my profile so you should be able to contact me now
Hops,
If you give me your email in your Cinema Treasure profile, I will get in touch with you. I did not put my email online, not because of the people here, but the people who search sites like this for addressed to spam, and we can chat.
Ligg
Hello,
I’m a current resident of williamsburg (have lived there for about three years now) i recently have come in touch with someone who is interested in buying this theater, I read above that Ligg has the broker’s information to get some details on the space. Could you are anybody that might know this, please contact me? Thanks
ps. Yes there are plans to build an independant theater on Metropolitan ave, they should be breaking ground in a few months
Bway, I do not know what is being filmed. I haven’t been in the neighborhood for many years now and is the Theater still for sale and what is happening in the restorations for the Commodore. Maybe a fundraiser or something. I have some friends left in Williamsburgh that might be interested. Let me know. My e-mail address is
Did anyone ever find out what was being filmed at the Commodore?
I am sorry, I meant look “up” and “who” is filming.
To make up for my mistakes in spelling. Here is the link:
View link
You can got to NYC.gov and look of the film commission. They usually tell you where permits are issued and whole is filming so you can avoid the area and traffic.
Today I passed the Commodore and it looked like there was some filming going on around it and possibly inside it. I saw a whole bunch of black plastic garbage bags on the fire escape, which leads me to think that there was some form of cleaning for this filming. Unfortunately, I went home a different way so I did not see if there was any changes to make the building look different on the outside for the filming. If anyone has access to the city’s filming permits, maybe they can find out what it is being used for.