Irving Theatre
1533-1537 Myrtle Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11237
1533-1537 Myrtle Avenue,
Brooklyn,
NY
11237
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Here is a STUNNING photo of the Irving Theater when it was operating as the Mozart in 1941. Marquee and all.
http://nycma.lunaimaging.com/luna/servlet/detail/NYCMA~7~7~772009~789643?sort=borough%2Cblock%2Clot%2Czip_code
Well, perhaps people adding photos should announce when they are adding photos (some do). Then the email notification would go out to all who have asked for an update. Probably easier than reprogramming. There seem to be minimal people adding photos.
Wow that is a wonderful historic photo. I wish the update emails would send out emails when people add photos to a theater we are watching, like when someone makes a comment. the only way to know is when someone makes a comment when adding a photo like this.
Thanks so much Ken for this terrific vintage photo.
Obviously, the Capri lasted for only one YEAR or so – not “one your”, whatever that is!
Bway, while CT’s rule of crediting the theater’s most recent name on title makes eminent sense and works in most cases, there are situations where exceptions should definitely be made.
An extreme example concerns the Graham Theatre, in Williamsburg, where after having served the community for decades under that name was turned into a porn house and “rechristened” The Capri. It only lasted a your or so in that capacity before closing for good. In the Graham page, I argued that it would make absolutely no sense to use the name of a theater that not only lasted for a brief time but did not, in any way, reflect the tastes and memories of thse thousands of people who patronized the Graham over its long lifetime.
That was an easy one. The Irving/Mozart provides a much closer question, since the name change did not, in all probability, reflect any change in programming. Still, I agree with you that the Mozart’s relatively brief lifespan works against its use. I am sure that practically everyone who patronized this theater remembered it as The Irving and only viewed The Mozart, if at all, as a footnote.
So, let’s keep the Irving’s name at the top while also hearing other views on this subject.
Sorry, my message above got messed up, ignore my above message, this is the way it was supposed to be typed:
Yes, the address should be changed to the proper address, as in the index, as that is what the address of the building is currently to. Perhaps the number listed at the top was the address for the adjoining airdrome?
In any event, I agree that this theater probably should be called the “Irving Theater” as opposed to the Mozart which it was for barely a year, while the whole life, the theater was the Irving Theater.
The policy of the site (for better or worse – I can see it both ways) is to name the theater title for the current or last operating name of a theater. It’s for consistency. That unfortunately means that some very WELL known names for their past namkes of the theater, are not the name listed, but the current, or last known operating name of the building.
That means that a theater that is now a Performing Arts Center, and operating as a theater would be found as it’s current name, but is good, but the side effect of that would be places like the famous Wonder Theater, the 175th Street Theater in Manhattan is listed as the “United Palace Theater”, the Mayfair Theater in Times Square is listed as the Embassy 2 3, and they modest Irving Theater is listed as the Mozart.
It’s sort of a shame that a theater like the Mayfair or 175th St Theater have to be delegated to their much less known names, but for consistency, it has to be this way. Again, I can see it both ways, but the list can be beneficial either way too with this policy.
Wonder Theater, the 175th Street Theater in Manhattan is listed as the “United Palace Theater”, the Mayfair Theater in Times Square is listed as the Embassy 2 3, and they modest Irving Theater is listed as the Mozart.
It’s sort of a shame that a theater like the Mayfair or 175th St Theater have to be delegated to their much less known names, but for consistency, it has to be this way. Again, I can see it both ways, but the list can be beneficial either way too with this policy.
In consulting the Brooklyn Theatre Index – and the results of my recent site visit – the following observations can be made.
The building’s address should be given as either 1533 Myrtle Avenue – as noted in the store’s address – or 1533-37 – as provided in the Index. (Given the current address sequence, the Index’s address is probably the more accurate one.) In any case, the address noted in the intro needs to be changed.
In addition, the Index provides an operating date history of 1914-40 for the Irving and a 1940-42 run for the Mozart. Since this theater was, for the bulk of its run, known as the Irving, it should continue to be designated as such in CT. (Sorry WAM.)
Finally, the Index does note the one time existence – in 1914 – of a 1,600 seat Airdrome at this location. It probably had a very short run.
I finally visited this site – or more likely passed by what I now know was once a movie house. The 99 cent store is still doing well and – as Bway previously noted – the building, or at least a portion thereof, is being offered for sale.
While the interior has definitely been gutted, the exterior is in very good shape. This is particularly the case of the Spanish tile roof awning, which is quite attractive. The overall facade is, however, solid but very modest, as was the case of this old “nabe” theater.
Finally, as I noted in my Wyckoff Theatre comment, I really cannot see how nearly 600 people could have been crammed into this very small apace.
The Irving Theater is currently for sale:
View link
Here’s a current google street view image of the old Irving Theater:
View link
Never mind, I found it….but for some ODD reason, it wouldn’t come up in the search results, I found it by looking through my profile. Very strange that it didn’t come up by searching “Imperial”.
/theaters/8166/
I figured I would ask this here, as this was the “Irving Theater”. I am trying to find the listing for the Imperial Theater which was at 157 Irving Ave. We had a listing here on the site, and I accidentally posted a recent photo of it in the Imperial Theater listing on Halsey St, forgetting there were two Imperial Theaters.
Why can’t I find the Imperial Theater that was at 157 Irving Ave on the site? I know we had a listing for it here, but perhaps it’s under another name now? I can’t find it under “former” names searching “Imperial” either. Any help on this would be appreciated.
Here’s the current photo I was trying to post here of it, at the corner of DeKalb Ave and Irving Ave (157 Irving Ave) in Brooklyn:
Click here for Recent photo
Here’s an old photo I took of it back in 2004:
Click here for photo from 2004
The film “Victory in the West” mentioned above was released in 1940. It was a documentary compiled from German newsreels of the blitzkrieg in Western Europe when France was defeated and British forced from Continent at Dunkirk in June 1940. Afga colour prints were struck for foreign distribution. It is similar to 1943 British documentary “Desert Victory” which was distributed to US theaters during the war.
Thanks, Bway. I can’t open your link; it’s blocked from my computer. Could you please e-mail me your photo ? Thanks.
Here’s a photo of the Irving-Mozart Theater I took about 2 weeks ago…. It is now a dollar store on the main level, and a gym on the second floor. Compare to the wreck it was in my August 3, 2004 photos I posted above….
I went into the theater, and some features remain, like the theater’s original oak floor in the front (stage) side of the building. They did eliminate the slope by removing part of the floor in the back of the theater, and that now makes you have to walk down a ramp from sidewalk level, and slowly decends in the store. There is an old stairway in the back that leads up to othe gym, but it’s hard to say if it’s original or not. I don’t know if the upstairs was a balcony or not, or if it was just offices or something when it was a theater.
Click here for photo
Thanks, Warren. Interesting name combination.
Correct Metz, I was just mixed up when I mentioned the Wagner. I meant the Irving/Mozart.
the wagner was on wyckoff avenue nowhere near the irving or mozart
i remeber the wagner in about 1950 i saw a double bill of That Hamilton Lady and Destination Tokyo with cary grant
i remeber the wagner in about 1950 i saw a double bill of That Hamilton Lady and Destination Tokyo with cary grant
Ignore the last part of this comment, I was copying and pasting this from the Wagner Theater when I made this post in error….only this part of the above post applies to the Mozart/Irving:
I past by the Wagner last week, and peaked in the 99 cents store as I drove by (I was stuck at the light at the corner anyway). It has glass doors now, and inside it has a drop ceiling. A quick glance doesn’t reveal any original interior, and there is a fake drop ceiling in the store.
I past by the Wagner last week, and peaked in the 99 cents store as I drove by (I was stuck at the light at the corner anyway). It has glass doors now, and inside it has a drop ceiling. A quick glance doesn’t reveal any original interior, and there is a fake drop ceiling in the store.
As for the Brooklyn thing, this theater is the one in the immediate area out of all the ones that they adevertised in Brooklyn, but are really in Queens (Parthenon, Madison, Ridgewood, Oasis (how dumb), etc, and then the one that is CLEARLY in Brooklyn, the Wagner, they say is in Queens!
Heh, I like lostmemory’s comment….put porn in the theater, and then, and only then say it’s in Queens…..
Still in retail use as a 99 cents store when I visited in early June 2005