RKO Dyker Theatre

Hello Lugosi Research, For whatever it’s worth, Bela presented his Horror and Magic show at the RKO Capitol on Broad Street in Trenton (NJ) around that time. Google it as I believe I read about it in the Trenton Times newspaper.
Good luck.

Photo from Brooklyn Pics uploaded.

On 27 January 1951, Bela “Dracula” Lugosi presented his in person Horror and Magic Stage show at RKO Dyker. Currently I am conducting research on all things Lugosi; if anyone out there actually saw this show and/or has memorabilia (poster, handbill, photos) related to this show, please contact Bill at Thanks in advance for any assistance!

Funny memory about the RKO Dyker: I lived in Dyker Heights but attended the
H.S. of Art & Design in the city. Anyway, I needed a convenient ‘hideout’ one day,
to kill some time (& school wasn’t it) so as soon as the Dyker opened, I made a
hasty entry, oversized zippered art portfolio in tow. As I passed 2 uniformed
ushers I overheard them saying – “I dunno – maybe he’s got a pizza in that thing."
LOL! I never forgot that & always think of the Dyker when I see one of those
leather portfolios.

Warren—

Many thanks for posting the NYT ad for 8 Feb ‘49. Perhaps my memory played tricks in my post of 1 Sept 2005 above— There I recounted a “Stage Party” with an in-person Olsen and Johnson somewhat later that year (associated with a revival of the filmed “Hellzapoppin” that summer and a live O'n'J extravaganza at Madison Sq Garden). But the Tuesday crossover “Laugh Day” with “Crazy House” matches my account as well (sans O'n'J in the “Stage Party”).

I consulted the full-page NYT for 8 Feb ‘49 and was amazed to see how many other films that I saw as a kid were playing that season— “The Paleface” (and “Sealed Verdict”), “Three Musketeers” (and “Mickey”), “Julia Misbehaves” (and “Ruthless”), “Loves of Carmen,” “A Letter to Three Wives,” “Command Decision,” “So Dear to My Heart,” “Down to the Sea in Ships”— Over a period of months my folks took me to see them at various neighboorhood theaters (the RKO Shore Road, Loew’s Alpline and Bay Ridge, the Stanley), but three of them I recall seeing with them on B'way— “John Loves Mary” with Jack Carson on stage at the Strand; “The Bribe” with Arthur Godfrey on stage at the Capitol, and “Joan of Arc” at the Victoria. Our legs must have been run off from attending so much.

My point is not to wax nostalgic about these events (I could bore this page with details about each) but to remark about how common movie-going was in those days, both at the nabes and via hour-long subway rides to Times Square. My family’s penchant for that was not unusual—I remember that other kids my age attended at least as many movies and some even a lot more, with regular weekly seatings at the nabes regardless of what was playing (my experience was comparatively selective, bolstered by compulsive reading of ads and reviews and my pint-sized contempt for critical flops; also, despite my protests, my folks would not take me to see “The Snake Pit,” “Road House,” He Walked by Night,“ or "Force of Evil”).

Where did anyone find so much time to do this? Our jaunts to Times Sq invariably took place on Saturday or holiday mornings (reduced prices before noon). February brought a number of holidays— including the post-war “Coal Week” which closed the schools for ten days to save energy (today we ought to close the schools to save kids from standardized testing). Over-crowded space also meant that the lower grades attended half-day sessions to share classrooms expeditiously. In ‘49 I endured the second grade in morning sessions, and I recall my mom often meeting me afterwards and then walking to the RKO Dyker for afternoon shows (with a bag of home-made sandwiches for nourishment). As my dad worked around-the-clock, he’d often join us. The “Stage Party” beginning at 3:00 pm makes sense.

This account might seem incomprehensible to a generation that views most of its films on DVD— though that medium brings its pleasures too.

Bea-Anita—

Thanks for the wonderful ‘27 photo. That magnificent marquee evidently was the first of what might have been three in the theater’s lifetime. In my post of 10 March 2005 above, I noted that the theater underwent a facelift in early summer 1951, importing the modern marquee in the photo I posted on 26 April 2005. My earlier memory projects another marquee, larger that the one in your photo. It bore the shape of what was then the conventional RKO nabe marquee, approximating a smaller version of the one at the RKO Albee on Albee Square. It would have had four lines of title space, with white letters on black background.

But I also have a hazy memory of yellow letters on blue background—I’m recalling my first nighttime visit to the Dyker to see “Down to the Sea in Ships” (I was/am slightly younger than Dean Stockwell) in April 1949 (I’m associating the date with a family birthday) and was astonished to see lights that I’d never imagined.

Your photo also suggests my memory of the theater’s pre-‘51 box-office, established in the lobby’s right-hand wall-space upon entering the bronze and glass doors from the street. It resembled box-offices in mid-town legit theaters, with a bronze window-grating separating the buyer from the seller. Some of the earliest crayon drawings that I produced as a child represented that wonderful box-office, as its lines were easy to reproduce and the finished picture gave me the thrill of visiting the Dyker for yet another terrific movie.

Warren -
Thanks for the reminder! I am new to all things “digital” and in fact, my son-in-law submitted The Dyker picture to this site before we remembered all photos should be displayed through a link. My apology to the cinematreasures founders.
Also, in reply to your other comments – I am delighted again to learn more about The Dyker, and really wish I could be more helpful. Refer to my original post dated 6/8/07, where I basically wrote everything I know about this theater! I was hoping my oldest sisters would recall something else, but they only have a recollection of attending “Shore Road Academy,” and that my family lived on the 6th floor at “1992 Bayridge (Blvd?) near the Narrows.” Our father was Frederick Huebner, and he did own The Dyker with his partner, Eugene Pulch.

BoxOfficeBill – Thanks for the reply! About 20 years ago, while at work, a gentleman “recognized” my Brooklyn accent and after some conversation told me he – as a teenager, spent many years in the balcony of the Dyker, but couldn’t recall the movies!!

Warren – I see you are on-line. My planned trip to NJ and Suffern) next month will include a search thru old family photo albums. I hope to find a picture of The Dyker.

Hello – I just found this site, and I am truly delighted to read the comments and to view some of the photos. My father, along with one partner, owned the Dyker Theater. I never had the opportunity to visit this building as my family had moved from Brooklyn to Northern NJ in 1934 – eight years before I was born. My father took care of the day-to-day management until his “retirement” at this time, but continued to lease the theater to RKO until his death in 1968. I had always thought the Dyker was sold immediately, torn down and made into a parking lot!! So, it is especially nice to know many people still enjoyed the movies for a few years after and loved this theater building as much as my father did.
As it turns out, our home in NJ was very near Suffern, NY, where another interesting “Cinema Treasures” is located and still in operation – the Lafayette Theater – designed by the same architect as for the Dyker. We went to the Lafayette frequently and especially for the weekly Saturday serials in the late 40’s and early 50’s. For 25 or 30 cents, you could see the continuing adventures of The Lone Ranger and Superman. Also, does anyone remember the Halloween “costume” contests at the Lafayette during those years, too? All the children received prizes of games and toys!! Another fact, my older sister, a florist, rented a shop for her business (from 1945 till ~1965) that was located at one end of this theater building, “Joyce Flowers.” So, although I never got to see The Dyker, I remember the Lafayette Theater well.

Believe me UA Crossbay you wouldn’t want anything saved, there wasn’t really much of value to save. But I like that they saved parts of the theatre, its better than none.

Thanks a lot KenRoe for the pictures, its good that the original ceiling is still intact, I notice a lot that Modells takes a lot of theatres and converts them into retail space pretty well.