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Loew’s Boulevard Theatre – Bronx, NY

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This was originally posted on After the Final Curtain’s Patreon in January 2022. For expanded early posts, as well as video walkthroughs and other exclusive content, you can become a patron at: https://www.patreon.com/afterthefinalcurtain

Balcony, Loew's Boulevard Theatre - Bronx, NY

View of the remains of the balcony.

On November 1, 1913, the Loew’s Boulevard Theatre opened in the Bronx, NY. Marcus Loew, founder of Loew’s Incorporated, was one of the 2,800 people who attended the opening night celebrations. Loew announced ‌the theater would feature “small time” vaudeville and motion pictures. Thomas W. Lamb, famed theater architect, redesigned the interior of the Boulevard in 1917. During the remodel, a three-manual Möller organ was installed to accompany the films and live performances. Loew’s Inc. remodeled it again in 1932, but this time to better equip it for talking motion pictures. 

Organ Chamber, Boulevard Theatre - Bronx, NY

Most of the organ chambers were destroyed when the balcony was separated from the orchestra level.

The Boulevard was one of 24 nearby theaters to start a program of one night vaudeville in June 1949. Vaudeville continued into late 1950, but by then the Boulevard was one of only ten other theaters in the program. They discontinued it soon after. Loew’s closed the Boulevard in the late 1960s, and it soon reopened as an independent theater dropping the “Loew’s” from its name. It continued showing motion pictures, but hosted live events from time to time, including a Circus in September 1972. The Boulevard changed formats and became a Spanish language theater in the late 1970s before closing for good in the mid-1980s. 

Five Brothers Furniture took over the building soon after it closed and gutted the lower level, turning it into their showroom. Five Brothers remained in the building until the late 2000s, when it was replaced by Planet Fitness, a fitness club franchise. Planet Fitness cleaned up the facade of the building, but did not touch the balcony, which is the only part of the original theater that remains to this day.

 

You can hear the sounds of workout machines and fitness classes while you’re in the balcony.

Digital Theater Reconstructions

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Mark Jabara, an artist from Australia, has been taking some of my theater images and restoring them in Photoshop. The Boyd Theatre, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s only art deco movie palace, opened on Christmas day in 1928.  It closed in 2002, and the auditorium was demolished in the spring of 2015.

Auditorium of the Boyd Theatre in Philadelphia, PA

Digital Restoration of the Boyd with original colors.

The Madison in Peoria, IL was originally designed in the Adamesque style and was remodeled in 1936 in the simpler art deco style to ease the maintenance of the building. Mark restored some of the lost adamesque details near the stage.

Auditorium, Madison Theatre – Peoria, IL

A digital restoration of the madison theater in Peoria IL

Digital Restoration of the Madison Theatre with some original details restored.

The United Artists Theatre in Detroit, Michigan opened on February 3, 1928 and closed in August 1972. It’s one of the most dangerous and deteriorated theaters I’ve ever photographed.

Decaying auditorium of the United Artists Theatre in Detroit

Auditorium, United Artists Theatre – Detroit, MI

Digital Restoration of the United Artists Theatre with original colors.

The Boyd Theatre is featured in my first book, After the Final Curtain: The Fall of the American Movie Theater. The Madison and United Artists are featured in my latest book, After the Final Curtain: America’s Abandoned Theaters. Both are available on my site, Bookshop.org, and bookstores everywhere.

Warner Huntington Park Theatre

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View from the side of the balcony.

The Warner Theatre in Huntington Park, California opened on November 19, 1930. Warner Bros hired Seattle based architect B. Marcus Priteca and interior designer Anthony Hiensbergen to collaborate on three theaters in the Los Angeles area. The result of the collaboration were three theaters designed in the Art Deco style; the Warner Beverly Hills, the Warner Grand in San Pedro, and the Warner Huntington Park.

The ceiling of the auditorium.

The 1,468 seat Warner opened with a showing of “The Life of the Party” starring Winnie Lightner and Charles Butterworth. “The Life of the Party” was a musical comedy released on Vitaphone, which was an early form of talking motion pictures, and filmed entirely in Technicolor. Joe E. Brown, an actor and comedian, served as the master of ceremonies for the opening celebration.

The main level of the auditorium.

In 1948 Warner Bros was forced to split into two separate companies, Warner Bros Studios and the Stanley Warner Corporation, due to the results of the Supreme Court antitrust case, United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. Stanley Warner Corp (SWC) was created to operate all of Warner Bros theaters as the case ruled that movie studios could not own the theaters where their movies were shown. The Warner Huntington was renamed the Stanley Warner Huntington Park, but the signage on the building’s exterior never changed. SWC operated the theater until 1968, when it was sold to Pacific Theatres. Pacific twinned the Warner in the 1980s, separating the balcony and orchestra levels, and renamed it to Pacific’s Warner 2. The Warner closed in the early 1990’s after a stint as a spanish language theater.

The snack bar was not original to the theater.

Huntington Park declared the Warner a historic landmark in 2007. However, that status only protects the building’s facade from alteration. The theater sat dormant until Pacific sold it in June 2013 for $1,600,000 to Pacific Blvd. Pacific Blvd applied for a special re-use permit, which would allow them to convert the interior into retail space. Despite opposition from preservationists and residents, Huntington Park’s historic preservation commission unanimously approved the permit. The alteration work began soon after with the removal of the seats, stage, snack bar, and the wall separating the lobby from the auditorium. Blink Fitness, a primarily East Coast based Gym, opened one of their first West Coast locations in the Warner in early 2018.

The main floor was leveled and most of the balcony removed to help entice retail clients

View from the balcony before the division was removed.

The theater’s projection room.

Strand and Capitol

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Strand New Bedford

Strand Theatre, New Bedford, MA

Yesterday I attended a photography workshop at the Strand Theatre in New Bedford, Massachusetts hosted by Bryan Buckley of Vanishing New England. I love hosting workshops, but it was very nice to be on the other side of one this time. The Strand Theatre originally opened as the Vien Theatre in 1905, and is going to be turned into a community center in the near future.

Capitol Theatre, Fall River, MA.

While I was in the area I also visited the former Capitol Theatre in Fall River, MA. The Capitol originally opened on February 2, 1926. I believe it closed in the 1960s, but haven’t been able to verify that yet. Part of the orchestra level was converted into a bowling alley sometime after it closed.  The proscenium and organ chambers were removed so that a large steel support beam could be installed as part of the conversion.

I’ll be posting full write ups on both of these theaters very soon.

Prospect Theatre

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View of the remains of the Prospect Theatre.

View of the remains of the Prospect Theatre.

B.F Keith’s Prospect Theatre opened on September 7, 1914 in the Prospect Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. The 2,381 seat theater was constructed on the site of a synagogue and three apartment buildings. It was designed by architect William McElfatrick for the Keith Vaudeville Company. The Prospect was dubbed “the woodless and postless theater” while it was being built due to the fact that no wood was used in its construction and there were no posts helping to support the balcony. Woodwork was left out of the building so that the theater would be much safer if a fire broke out. The balcony was supported by a 65 ton steel beam, which eliminated the need for support beams that could have obstructed views during performances. Opening advertisements boasted that the balcony was strong enough to support the world’s ten heaviest locomotives.

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Return

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Prospect Theatre, Brooklyn, NY

Prospect Theatre, Brooklyn, NY

 

Is this thing on? I’m happy to announce that the hiatus is over! I’ve reached a point with the book (more on that soon, I promise) where I can start making regular updates to the site once again. The first post goes live tomorrow and will be familiar to those of you who follow AtFC on Facebook – The Prospect Theatre in Brooklyn, NY.

Theater Updates

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In light of the recent demolition of the Boyd Theatre in Philadelphia, I thought I’d post an update for some of the theaters I’ve visited over the years.

 

View from the balcony of the Loew's Kings Theatre during renovation.

View from the balcony of the Loew’s Kings Theatre during renovation.

The Loew’s Kings Theatre in Brooklyn has undergone a $94 million restoration, and will reopen as a performing arts center in late 2014/early 2015.

The large mirrors in the Boyd's lobby are some of the art deco features that will be preserved.

The large mirrors in the Boyd’s lobby are some of the art deco features that will be preserved.

The Boyd Theatre was demolished in the spring of 2014, despite the efforts of the Friends of the Boyd. This demolition means that Philadelphia is one of the only large cities in America without at least one restored downtown movie palace. Fortunately, the Friends of the Boyd were able to come to an agreement with the owners to preserve some of the art deco features of the theater.

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Snapshot: Empress Theatre

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Post 3 in the Snapshot Series  – Occasionally in my travels I come across a theater that I can’t find a lot of information on, or that I only have a chance to photograph for an hour or two. They’re still beautiful and fascinating, so they definitely have a place on After the Final Curtain

The remains of the Empress Theatre's proscenium arch.

The remains of the Empress Theatre’s proscenium arch.

The Empress Theatre opened in 1927 in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The 1,595 seat theater was built by architect Charles A. Sandblom, who is also known for the Gramercy Theater in Manhattan. Originally part of the Century Circuit, the theater became part of the RKO circuit in 1929.

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