My guess would be that a major alteration took place sometime after 1959 and much of the theater was carved up into classrooms. If I spoke yiddish or hebrew I might try to sweet talk my way in there to check it out!
I have seen the inside. The balcony level has been gutted and turned into a small chapel, but the main floor level has not been significantly altered and looks much as it must have in the glory days.
the building today:
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this is the building that once housed the Vernon Theater. the brick work w=still shows scars from the old entry arches along the 50th Ave facade
certificates of occupancy through the years.
capacity of 800+ up to at least 1959. After that there is a C of O for a capacity of 325 from 1962, but that may or may not be for the same structure.
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From aerial shots it is definitely still the same building on that lot, but who knows what the interior has become.
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My guess would be that a major alteration took place sometime after 1959 and much of the theater was carved up into classrooms. If I spoke yiddish or hebrew I might try to sweet talk my way in there to check it out!
working link to historic interior photos…
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I have seen the inside. The balcony level has been gutted and turned into a small chapel, but the main floor level has not been significantly altered and looks much as it must have in the glory days.
here are working links to two historic photos:
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I’m fairly certain this shows the same scene as in the historic photo linked above, now.
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The tenement on the corner is quite similar in design and decoration to the one in the historic photo here:
http://brooklynpix.com/photo1/W/wburg76.jpg
If I’m right, it looks as thought the property was demolished and turned into a large postwar apartment building.
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this is a link to the certificate of occupancy for the current “iglesia carismatica espiritu de hermanda,” which is the old Metro Theatre
it lists a current legal capacity of 536