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The
"Radio City Music Hall" of Brooklyn Must Not Be Left to Rot!
END THE MADNESS: Register as a
"Friend of the Loew's Kings"
A HIDDEN GEM: MAP
- SATELLITE
The Loew's Kings Theater as
Filmed by A&E, Summer 2006
2006 A&E
Television Networks. All Rights Reserved
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2006 A&E
Television Networks. All Rights Reserved
A&E
"Breakfast with the Arts" to feature Loew's Wonder Theaters
Our own sadly neglected
Loew's Kings will be one of the theaters featured this Sunday June
18th on A&E between 8 and 10am in a series of segments on the
original Loew's Wonder Theaters. |
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The Death of a
Landmark - This Never Should Have Happened!
All of the 5 original
Loew's Wonder Theaters, except for the Loew's Kings, are either
renovated or being maintained as churches. The Loew's Kings has
been left to rot which is perhaps New York City's most shameful
act of neglect towards an irreplaceable landmark building. Many
highly trumpeted plans to restore the building over the years
have gone nowhere. We contacted the Borough President who
had this to say about the Loew's Kings renovation:
Marty Markowitz:
"The Loew's Kings project is one of my priorities for
the next few years and all efforts are focused on restoring this
gem of Brooklyn as a performance venue for this and future
generations of Brooklynites. It will not be easy, ..there will
be a significant cost in the renovation and restoration
requirements and the final outcome cannot be predicted
yet, but we are taking the first few steps towards this
goal." 6/15/2006
Statement from Councilmember Yvette Clarke:
"Councilmember Clarke would prefer that the future of
the Loew's Theater is determined by a fair and impartial RFP
process, which will allow for a discussion between the community
and elected officials on how best to proceed. This project can
be the cornerstone in the future economic revival of Central
Brooklyn and she looks forward to working with the EDC and the
Borough President toward's this end." 5/23/2006
PlanetPLG thanks A&E for generously providing us with these images.
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ARCHIVE OF OUR LOEW'S KINGS
COVERAGE:
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Is a
Renovation Deal on the Loew's Kings Quietly Going Forward?
Marty
Markowitz is mum on specifics but may offer more details in July
We have a real bee in our bonnet
over this once glorious theater. We think it would be amazing to
have one of the city's most beautiful performance centers down
the street from PLG. The Planet has been working the phones
trying to find out what is going on with a renovation which has
been promised, but never delivered, many times over the past 2
decades.
The city's Economic Development Corporation, the theater's
owner, has in theory been working on an RFP (a major step
towards opening the project up for development). Yet, when
reached by phone, the EDC property manager assigned the project
denied an RFP was in the works before telling us he couldn't
comment further. He referred us to the EDC's spokesperson who
gave us a vague "we are exploring various options with a
number of stakeholders" statement.
We started to think that either the project had stalled out, and
no one wanted to admit it, or that some kind of behind the
scenes negotiations were taking place which no one wanted to
talk about before a deal is signed. While we have nothing
concrete to back up the latter idea, Brooklyn Borough President
Marty Markowitz, when reached by the Planet for comment, had
this to say;
"I am putting the entire effort of my office in saving
and in restoring the Loew's Kings as a performance venue for
this and future generations of Brooklynites. It will be a
challenging assignment but one that will really benefit
Brooklynites."
When pressed for specifics
Markowitz stated "I will discuss in further details
sometime in July". Hmmm... this sounds promising but,
unless we find someone willing to talk off the record, it looks
like we'll have to wait until July to see if our optimistic
hunch is on the mark.
Quick facts on the Loew's Kings theater:
▪ It's on Flatbush Ave., 7 blocks south of
PLG's southern border
▪ It opened in 1928 and closed in the 70s
▪ It was one of Loew's five flagship "Wonder
Theaters"
Status of the Five
Loew's "Wonder Theaters":
1) Loew's Jersey -
restored
2) Loew's Paradise
- restored
3) Loew's
Valencia- now
a church
4) Loew's 175th
Street - now
a church
5) Loew's Kings - left
to rot for 3 decades
▪ It is the 3rd largest performance space in New York City
▪ It hosted both movies and live performances during its
history
▪ It's owned by the city's Economic Development
Corporation
▪ There's a basketball court in the basement
▪ Magic Johnson once announced his intention to restore
the theater
▪ Sylvester Stallone, Henry Winkler, and Barbra Streisand
were ushers here
▪ Ben Vereen danced at the Loew's Kings as a child
▪ Its closing was the subject of a film: "Memoirs of
a Movie Palace"
▪ Plans have included adding retail space, a multiplex or
a boutique hotel
▪ More recent talk has centered on a "Caribbean
Performance Center" |
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A
Neglected Gem in Our Midst - The Loew's Kings Theater
Renovation
plans have come and gone and still she quietly waits
Looking north on Flatbush
Ave in 1950 - The Loew's Kings Theater
(that's Tilden Avenue just past the theater to the
right) |
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In the 70s (left) and as it appears today:
See rare shots of the interior of the cinema as it looks
today .
Description from the Cinema
Treasures website:
The Loew's
Kings Theatre opened its doors to Flatbush Avenue on
September 7th, 1929. One of the five 'Wonder Theatres'
built by Loew's in New York City, it opened the same day
as its sister theatre in the Bronx, the Loew's Paradise.
Loew's dominated the market in Brooklyn, and this was
their flagship in the very grandest French Renaissance
style designed by the prestigious firm of Rapp and Rapp of
Chicago.
The theatre occupied a massive site built diagonally
across an odd assortment of lots and had a seating
capacity of nearly 3,700. It had the unsual feature of
having the majority of the seating in the orchestra level.
There was a vast entrance lobby that opened onto an even
more spacious inner lobby and then on to a foyer at the
rear of the orchestra. There was no balcony but instead a
shallow mezzanine that was entered by stairs off the inner
lobby.
The mezzanine level lounges overlooked the entrance lobby.
The paneling in the lobby areas was real mahogany and
throughout instead of crystal chandeliers there were
massive stylized Art Deco light fittings with elaborate
etched glass and tassels.
The sumptuous interior decoration was the work of
Rambausch Studios of New York under the supervision of Ann
Dornin of Loew's. The balcony containing only 800 seats
was set way back in the very high auditorium creating a
luxurious and spacious feel, even though it was crammed
with detail and lavish drapery. The proscenium opening was
60 feet and the stage had full facilities and a 'wonder'
Morton organ. Originally presenting stage shows with the
feature, this disappeared in the depression and the
theatre remained film only for the rest of its life.
The Kings had a steady decline from the 1950's onwards and
managed to last into the mid-1970's before it was forced
to close due to poor attendances. The theatre was never
divided and remained virtually unchanged throughout its
history. Loew's relinquished the theatre in 1977 and
basically locked the theatre and left it.
Over the years this most stately monument has just sat and
deteriorated quietly on Flatbush Avenue. The marquee still
remains but the vertical was removed in the late 1990's
for safety reasons. Now owned by the Flatbush Redevelopment
Corporation, (ed. the theater is actually owned by the
NYC Economic Development Corporation) this most
majestic building awaits revitalization.
Its interior is still majestic despite the ravages time,
vandals and water damage.
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INVOLVED:
Register as a "Friend of the Loew's Kings"
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