Brooklyn Theatre
2524 E. Cesar E. Chavez Avenue,
Los Angeles,
CA
90033
2524 E. Cesar E. Chavez Avenue,
Los Angeles,
CA
90033
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This theater appears in the movie Falling Down, starring Michael Douglas, filmed in 1992. His character is the target of a drive-by shooting while standing at a pay phone on the sidewalk in front of the former theater.
The Mighty WurliTizer Theater Pipe Organ, Opus 1092, was shipped to this theater from the WurliTizer Factory in North Tonawanda, New York on June 26, 1925. It was a 2/4 (Manuals/Ranks, Keyboards/Sets of Pipes) with a curved console. It had a total of 292 pipes, cathedral chimes, xylophone, glockenspiel, bass drum, kettle drum, cymbal, snare drum, tambourine, castanets, Chinese block, horse hoofs, surf, bird, train, auto horn, fire gong, steamboat whistle, siren, tom tom and door bell. These sound effects were real not some electronic gizmos! Does anyone know how long the organ was in the theater and what happened to it?
“Gee Dad, it was a WurliTizer!
Excellent history on the Brooklyn Theater Paul R. Spitzzeri, Assistant Director, Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum, City of Industry.
http://boyleheightshistoryblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/brooklyn-theatres-mysterious-blast-1926.html
An earlier poster mentioned the Variety’s Boys Club Christmas parties that were held at the Brooklyn Theater back in the day. I went to a couple of them as a member of the club as a 5th and 6th grader in the early 60’s.
They had a crying room for mom’s with babies in which alot of us 8/9/10 year olds would sneak into to get a new perspective on the movies that we had been watching all day.
The Brooklyn was more of place to meet the girls from our school (Sheridan Elementary School) down the street. For most of us it was where we experienced our first kiss and “made out” as much as we were able to. The ushers tried to control the pre-adolescent crowd by blinding us with their flashlights. We just moved to another location where they couldn’t see us.
Wednesdays or Thursdays were when families attended being drawn in with a 2 for 1 admission.We would walk to the Brooklyn from our converted garage on Mott street about 5 blocks away. That place is still there.
Notable movies that we saw there on Saturdays were “The Hustler”, “Days of Wine and Roses”, “Psycho” and alot of “Three Stooges” shorts. They generally had a more mature marquee where kids like me learned to appreciate good acting and great films. I think this was before they tried to address the changing demographics in the area. There were still many lingering Jewish families in the area and they would just have special nights a couple times a month to show Mexican cinema.
The Brooklyn Theater was definitely a neighborhood institution.
HELLO!
I went through my old photos, and found a COLOR snapshot of the old BROOKLYN THEATER, that I took in MAY, 1980.
I will post it on this site, just as soon as I figure out how!
It’s a close-up of the right (west) half of the building.
The stucco was beige, with a reddish-clay-tile mansard fascia, and ornate terra-cotta capital trim, at the front of the roof.
The “BROOKLYN” sign atop the marquee had white lettering on a faded red backgound.
The marquee read:
MIERCOLES 2 X 1 … . . JUEVES KENO 650
… A N T O N I O . A G U I L A R …
… . S A B O R . A . S A N G R E …
E L . C H E L E L O . E N . E L . R E Y .
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And, there was a white FORD F-150 Pick-up
parked in front… with no license plates!
ONE FINAL NOTE:
While it was open and operational, the theater was ALWAYS on “Brooklyn Avenue”. The theater reportedly closed in 1989.
The street was not re-named East CESAR E. CHAVEZ Avenue
until after Mr. Chavez’s death in 1993, in his honor.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
IN MEMORIAM:
CESAR E. CHAVEZ (actually CESAR CHAVEZ ESTRADA)
born March 31, 1927 in Yuma, Arizona, U.S.A.
died April 23, 1993 in San Luis, Arizona, U.S.A., age 66
World War II veteran, U. S. Navy, 1944-1946; VOLUNTEERED
at age 17, served 2 years aboard ships in the Pacific.
The Brooklyn was well inside the city limits of Los Angeles, not in East Los Angeles. Here’s a 1987 photo from the LAPL.
This is from the LA Times in December 1927:
Glib Chandrowsky, the basso profundo who attracted notice in the role of the High Priest at Grauman’s Chinese Theater during the showing of “The King of Kingsâ€, will make his first personal appearance since his engagement in the Grauman prologue at the Brooklyn Theater, 2524 Brooklyn Avenue, Sunday Monday and Tuesday. Chandrowsky was the outstanding soloist with the Ukranian Choir which appeared throughout the country.
This site has a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/cwdwyf
No, a subway station has not been built yet. MTA uses the site for several vehicles though. The subway is being built south of this location on 1st Street.
Here is an LA Times article from June 1926 discussing an explosion at the theater:
http://tinyurl.com/2px6rq
http://tinyurl.com/3cba2g
http://tinyurl.com/3aods8
http://tinyurl.com/2ndakz
http://tinyurl.com/2p5mck
Did they ever build a subway station at this location?
This movie theater was such a great landmark in Boyle Heights in the early 80’s. I personally have fond memories of this theater. The Varieties Boys Club would have an annual Christmas gift give away and free matinee movie for all the kids in the neighborhood. I remember E.T. was one of the films they screened one season.
The best memory of the Brooklyn Theater was seeing the first three Cheech and Chong movies all in one day with no adult supervision. I was only 10 years old!
I lived a block away from the Brooklyn Theatre. I saw Nightmare on Elm Street. After the movie house closed in the late 80s, they converted into a swap meet. The MTA bought the propert to build a subway station.
I remember watching the first run Kung Fu movies there. At xmas time the local boy’s club would have it for a day for their holiday program. That’s when Monty Hall would make his appearance.
When the Brooklyn Theatre opened it was known as the Lido Theatre.
as of 21 feb 2003, that address is a vacant lot, the movie theater is gone.
Is it is or is it ain’t open!! make up cho mine.
This theatre was located at 2524 Brooklyn Ave. (which is now called Cesar Chavez Ave.) Before Metropolitan theatre ran this theatre it was part of the Statewide theatres and then Century Cinemas.
Brooklyn Avenue is now Cesar Chavez Avenue, located primarily in the Boyle Heights section of the city.
This theater opened in 1926 and the architect was L.A. Smith.