The address was a movie theater for many years, first the Bijou in 1926, then the Charles. (The theater closed in 1975, and a church took over the space.) A fire broke out in the building in October 2006.
Two weeks ago, Brooklyn-based photographer Matt Lambros photographed the space for After the Final Curtain, his excellent photo site on abandoned architecture.
Here are four of the photos that he posted yesterday. (Reposted here with permission.)
Matt said that workers removed the seats about a month ago...
Matt provides a little history of the space too. "By 1937 the Bijou had been sold to the Bell Theater Company. The same year, the Motion Picture Operators Union started a strike for higher wages from the Bell Theater Company; during the strike, two operators locked themselves in the projection booth in protest. Their demands were met 12 hours later and wages were increased to $27.00 a week."
...and here is the former projector room...
Check out the rest of his photos here.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Revival planned for church and theater on Avenue B
Inside the Charles
Former landmark countercultural theater now for rent on Avenue B
7-story building in the works to replace former countercultural theater/church on Avenue B
You can't blame the church for selling it, more money and power to them. It served its purpose now it has to go. Who cares if Jack Kerouac or Allen Ginsburg wandered past it in the old days, that's life.
ReplyDeleteWho is blaming the church, Mick?
ReplyDeleteAs I understand it, the church will be part of the new building. Rev. Torres of the Elim Pentecostal has said that the ground-floor would house the church and a community center. The upper levels of the new building would be designated for some combination of housing.
Good for them that they are staying in the community and aren't being pushed out by NYU or others.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to Matt's site, great photos and history!
ReplyDeleteMy friends and I tried to cut a deal with Rev. Carlos a few years ago, whereby, with not a dime out of his pocket, we would have gotten funding to fix up the theatre to be used by our people and by Carlos' church group. The store rental spaces along Avenue B would have covered the construction loan payments, so it would have been a win-win-win for all.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, Carlos was facing threats of lawsuits from others he'd agreed to hand the theatre over to for development and he'd already taken money from them.
This could have been resolved with a little assistance from us, but the deal killer was Carlos' insistence that whatever films or performances we did in the restored theatre would not have dirty words or content he didn't like and that everything had to be approved by his church. He even insisted that we'd have to pay one of his people to watch us whenever we used the place, just to make sure!! (I wonder if Carlos will enforce this requirement on the tenants who will reside in the sure-to-be-ugly-as-shit market rate housing that will be built above the boxy space he'll get for his church group.)
The loss of this nice old cozy neighborhood theatre is soooo unnecessary and could have easily been prevented, if not for Rev. Carlos. His uncle, who gave him the theatre to KEEP as a theatre (Carlos told me this himself!) must be spinning in his grave....
Beautiful photos!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in HS and college, used to go to the Charles all the time for their double bills, 2 movies for $2. Saw lots of great previously released films. We would go up to balcony and smoke weed. No problem. One memorable double bill, Ken Russell’s “The Devils” and Mark Rydell’s “The Cowboys”. I was more shocked by the “Cowboys”. “I can’t believe it, they killed John Wayne!”.
ReplyDeleteI remember the Charles from when my dad had a butcher shop across the street. Sorry to see it go.
ReplyDelete