Empire Theatre

That would be wonderful to see!

Hi – I just learned that my great grandfather helped build this theatre. He was a cabinet maker and built extraordinarily ornate tables, so I would guess he was involved with some of the finishing/artwork kind of stuff. Is there a way to find out anything about that?

My posting, two comments up, should read Canarsie Depot, not Canardie.
Sorry for the typo.

They are looking at an old 4500 convertible trolley on a fan trip. At this point there was a switchback where double end cars could change direction. It dated from a time when people comuting to and from the City could ride the EL from Park Row in downtown Manhattan and take the Lexington Ave. EL to Broadway, then board the Cars on Ralph and homeward. The Cars coming down Broadway from Williamsburg were already loaded during the rush hour and so extra Cars from Canardie Depot were run up the line, loaded and switched back by the Empire Theater. A starter over saw the operation and helped pre collect fares with a portable fare box on the street at the normal exit doors to speed up the operation.

Thanks, Joe From Florida, for posting your Bklyn memories.

Thanks, Jayar1 and Bway for the links.

Bway, that’s a great shot of the Empire. I’ve seen it before.

Some more photographs of interest at…

http://www.topix.net/city/brooklyn-ny

Joe..

Thanks for your memories. Those converible cars were great in the warm weather. As you say, they were widely used on the Canarsie shuttle during WW2 and into summer of 1946. Did you ever ride the convertible L cars on Myrtle Avenue and Lexington lines ? As a kid I used to ride back and forth from Fresh Pond Road to Bridge Street just to cool off. In the photo I don’t see the Lexington L Tower on Broadway. I can’t recall if it was visible from this angle but I think it would be partially. If so, that would also date photo after December 1950 and as people are in shirts, except for a couple of guys in wind breakers, that would put date in late spring 1951.

Hello Joe..
The Empire and other Brandt run theaters would some times show reissues of movies several years old as an economy measure. This theater was not making big bucks and some times old movies that appealed to the neighborhood crowd would draw better than what a newer pair of films in current release near the end of their loop around the distribution chain in the city. The two movies on the marquee have different release dates in the 40’s. The were probably packaged as reissues for the Brandt,and, or also the Interboro circuits.

The trolley in the picture, 4550, was an old convertible car painted in brown. Brown was the color of service cars. This was a special run and not a regular route run.The cars of this type were withdrawn after WW2 and most were scrapped. Some continued in use as service cars for towing, salting and breaking ice in tracks and switches. They were very heavy and would not derail as easily as newer cars.
The last 20 years of the Ralph-Rockaway line, which 4550 is signed for, the 8000 class cars dating from the mid-20’s were usually assigned to this route.

The 4550 was purchased by a group of trolley fans and cleaned up and painted, with missing parts restored by the shop crews of the Board of Transportation for the fans to run special charters before it was sold to them and moved to a museum before the end of all the trolleys.

I would guess that the date is May 27, 1951, the last day of service for most conventional trolleys in Brooklyn. You can see the way people are gathered around, looking at the car, that it is something unusual. Also, the girl in the dungarees is dressed early 1950’s with cuffs rolled up.

Here is a link to a photo maentioned above in an earlier posting that is no longer available at listed URL:

http://brooklynpix.com/photo1/B/bedstuy31.jpg

It shows Empire as looked in 40’s and 50’s.

Probably, or at least the most “pleasant” anyway. Once school lets out, even the best of neighborhoods can be miserable to walk around in, and of course that is more pronounced in not as nice neighborhoods.
Personally, I have driven through Bushwick, even in the evening, 9:00, 10:00, and also found it to be fine. If I am visiting people I know in Ridgewood yet, I often take the “long way” back from Ridgewood to the JR Parkway, via Bushwick Ave, usually stopping at the White Castle at Gates and Wyckoff….or the Mc Donalds near the old RKO Bushwick if I didn’t eat yet….

I have walked that area quite often, and really have no problem with the area anymore…..it’s come a long way in the last 10 years, and definitely the last 20…..
As long as you don’t walk around with a camera around your neck, like a “tourist”, you should be fine. I have become quite stealth in order to take photos. And NEVER take photos directly of people if you can help it. That could cause problems in the best of neighborhoods.
Also, I prefer the mornings to the afternoons, but that’s just me…

PKoch…I feel most at ease wandering around Brooklyn’s Broadway district. In fact that goes for most areas I have ventured into in N.Y.C. in recent years. Being a ‘city’ person I am generally aware of my surroundings. My digital camera is the size of a credit card, so its not too noticable and I usually don’t hang around too long…as I know there’s usually another theatre to ‘discover’ further along the block!