Bay Ridge Theatre
7120 3rd Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11209
7120 3rd Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11209
3 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Fox Circuit, Loew's Inc.
Architects: Robert T. Rasmussen
Functions: Gymnasium, Restaurant, Retail
Styles: Renaissance Revival
Previous Names: Loew's Bay Ridge Theatre, Italian Lyric Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Bay Ridge Theatre was opened on December 27, 1915 with 1,919 seats. It was closed on October 13, 1959 with Alan Ladd in “Shane” & Hedy Lamar in “Samson & Delilah”. It became a bingo club for many years. In a later conversion, the Bay Ridge Theatre’s 1,796-seat auditorium was gutted to make way for retail space.
Today, candy is still sold at the theatre’s location, but only at the drug store which now occupies the former theatre’s lobby. There is also a Mcdonald’s restaurant, and a gymnasium on the upper levels.
Contributed by
John Chappell
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Recent comments (view all 34 comments)
Here’s a photo of the Loew’s Bay Ridge c.1959
http://twitpic.com/3gz4o4
The 1959 photo has been moved to the following website:
http://yfrog.com/h80mohj
Great photo of this theater. A block away and across the street was Lento’s. Taking in a show at the Bay Ridge theater then getting a pizza at Lento’s must have been a good night.
The architect for the Bayridge was my great uncle Robert T. Rasmussen. He and my grandfather George Rasmussen owned several RKO theaters in Brooklyn and other boroughs. I wold appreciate any information regarding them. Thanks for the article and the picture. Definitely part of NY history.
The Hubert Selby, Jr., short story “Double Feature,” in his book SONG OF THE SILENT SNOW, is set inside the Bay Ridge Theatre; it’s about two friends who sneak a bottle of wine into the balcony, and then goof off and get pretty high (and drink a few more bottles) before fighting with management, which calls the cops. Surely not everyone’s memories of this theater, but an interesting read!
To Richard Rassmussen: I have a digital copy of the original 1915 opening brochure for the theater which mentions your two ancestors prominently. Please contact me at and I will e-mail it to you
I just came across this photo of the Bay Ridge Theater and I was surprised to see that the car parked at the corner was my 1958 Olds Super 88. I was probably in Andresen’s Ice Cream Parlor which was next door. Spent a lot of time there.
jackfegs, I greatly enjoyed your comment and particularly your reference to Andresen’s which was a fabulous ice cream store. I lived in the apartment store directly across 3rd Avenue, at 307 72md Street, attended PS 102. The picture of the theater was taken just shortly after we moved to Long Island.
On the Alpine site it mentions that when Loew’s acquired the Bay Ridge is was relegated to being a second run house.
Loew’s Bayridge Theatre closed on October 13, 1959 with a double feature of Alan Ladd and Brandon deWilde in “Shane” and Heddy Lamar in “Samson and Delilah.” It also suggests that the theatre was gutted and equipped with gutters as a bowling center.