Rentals underway at the Hub on Avenue B

The all-new 185 Avenue B, the 7-floor, 40-unit building between 11th Street and 12th Street, is now ready for tenants.

The building is called The Hub. Here are details via their website:

This 7 story building was designed to offer residents the most amount of space, light, high ceilings and views. It offers a large amount of amenities, such as a laundry room, residents bike storage, 2 elevators, a sun roof and a roof terrace with spectacular open views. Some units have private outdoor spaces. There are spacious and well lit common areas on each floor, that compliment the spacious apartments and create a good sense of openness and spacial consistency. This 40 unit boutique rental building truly stands out from anything else in the neighborhood.

...and here's a shot of the model unit...



There are four units posted on the site. There isn't any pricing on the apartments.

There are also flyers posted along Avenue B noting that the Elim House of Worship is moving into the building, on the 12th Street side...





As previously reported, the Elim Pentecostal Church was in the former building on the site. The Rev. Carlos Torres reportedly worked out a deal to sell the property to a developer to ensure that the church had a future home. (A fire nearly destroyed the building in October 2006. That two-level structure was KO'd in 2012 after a few attempts to renovate it.)

The demolition-construction dragged on here for nearly four years. Nearby residents endured months of relentless pile driving and other building-rattling noise. There were complaints about cracks next door at No. 183.

The space here at 193 Avenue B opened in 1926 as the Bijou, a 600-seat theater with a balcony. It eventually became the Charles Theatre, with some programming curated by Jonas Mekas.

As Cinema Treasures points out: "In later years it was one of the early New York theatres to program off-beat and independent films. It showed early Warhol and had open film nights where young filmmakers could get an audience."

[Image from 1966 Via.]

Previously on EV Grieve:
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

Construction site at 185 Avenue B remains shut down for now

[Updated] The 'insane' noise and pounding are back at 185 Avenue B

[Photo from November 2011]

What's going on at 185 Avenue B?

Last Wednesday, demolition crews arrived at 185-193 Avenue B to start work on the former theater-church... (photos from last week are here and here...)

The building is now all snug in a sidewalk shed, slowly coming down piece by piece...

There are still plans waiting approval at the DOB for a mixed-use seven-story building ...

Meanwhile, the sign on the sidewalk bridge offers up details above the space's future:

"[A] new seven-story mixed use building is being built that will include a 12,915 square foot community facility condominium in a portion of the cellar and ground floor, to be used by Iglesia De Dios Pentecostal Elim, Inc., as well as a 35,426 square foot residential apartment condominium, consisting of 40 studio and one-bedroom apartments in a portion of the cellar, ground floor and the entirety of floors 2-7."

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

More demolition shots from 193 Avenue B

Earlier today, we noted that workers were now demolishing the old theater on 185-193 Avenue B... EVG reader Rik Rocket shared some photos from the start of work yesterday....

Demolition finally starting at formerly historic counterculture theater

After a few false starts, demolition is under way at the long-empty 185-193 Avenue B at East 12th Street. EVG reader Ron Z sent along these shots from today....

There are plans waiting approval at the DOB for a mixed-use seven-story building with 44 units. (You can read a short history of what's happening with the space here.)

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.

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

Demolition starts tomorrow at former counterculture theater on Avenue B

EV Grieve reader Ron Z. spotted workers and a new sign up this morning at the long-empty 185-193 Avenue B at East 12th Street.

According to the DOB, demolition will start here tomorrow...

There are plans waiting approval at the DOB for a mixed-use seven-story building with 44 units. (You can read a short history of what's happening with the space here.)

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.

Earlier this year, Brooklyn-based photographer Matt Lambros took shots of the space for After the Final Curtain, his photo site on abandoned architecture.

You can find 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

Inside 193 Avenue B

The Rev. Carlos Torres, senior pastor of the Elim Pentecostal Church, recently gave me a tour of 193 Avenue B, which was nearly lost during a fire in October 2006. This space between 11th Street and 12th Street was a movie theater for many years, first the Bijou, then the Charles. The theater closed in 1975. At that time, Torres' uncle bought the space to use as a community center and place of worship.

Since the fire, Torres and his congregation have been renting space at another church on Avenue A. Here's a look inside the currently unoccupied building, which opened as the Bijou in 1926...




















There have been several plans to rebuild or redevelop the space. I'll have more on the future of this space another day. Thanks to Rev. Torres for the tour.

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

Revival planned for church and theater on Avenue B

As you may recall in July we did two reports on the former evangelical church/historical theater on Avenue B between 11th Street and 12th Street...A fire nearly destroyed the building in October 2006.



It was a movie theater for many years, first the Bijou, then the Charles. (The theater closed in 1975.)



There's good news on the space in this week's issue of The Villager. Not only is the Elim Pentecostal Church renovating the space for a house of worship, there are plans to revive the movie theater as well. (Check out the photos an EV Grieve reader got from inside the building.)

In addition, the church is fixing up two storefronts along Avenue B. The owner of Continuum Cycles up the street plans to lease the larger space.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Inside the Charles
Former landmark countercultural theater now for rent on Avenue B

Inside the Charles

Yesterday, I did a piece on the former evangelical church/historical theater (the Bijou, then the Charles) on Avenue B that's now for rent.

An EV Grieve reader was able to get some photos inside the old theater. The reader noted that it looked as if many of the original features were still in place.





A few other observations from the reader: There's a bit of a musty smell -- likely the effects from the fire that started on the Avenue B side in October 2006. The back part, where the main theater/church is, looks to have escaped any damage.

After the theater closed, Pastor Carlos's uncle bought the building in 1975. It has been a church since then.

As the reader notes, "Pastor Carlos said he that plans to see if he can raise some funds to fix the place up and continue his church and community work. I hope he succeeds, it's really an incredible space and it would be great to see it back in use."



Meanwhile, the spaces for rent are roughly 1,000 square feet and 1,220 square feet. The entrances to the storefronts are on the Avenue B side. The theater entrance is on 12th Street. The reader even created a diagram of the space (not to scale):



And two shots that I took of the space...

A "Cool Breeze" on Avenue B

I wish I knew more about this screenshot of movie ads...A reader passed it along in response to yesterday's post on the Charles. You can see that the 1972 classic "Cool Breeze" was playing at the Charles....



Note to self: Must find "Tower of Screaming Females."

Oh.

Former landmark countercultural theater now for rent on Avenue B

The long-dormant Hispanic evangelical church that was housed in the building here on Avenue B between 11th Street and 12th Street...



...is now up for rent. Two spaces are available: One at 1,000 square feet and the other at 1,220 square feet. This is a prime chunk of space ripe for something horrible. However. Given the store-bought sign, the lack of a broker and the fact that space is only for rent, and not for sale, we remain hopeful. We're curious about what kind of tenant Pastor Carlos seeks.



Meanwhile. This building is hallowed ground for many cinephiles. The space here at 193 Avenue B opened in 1926 as the Bijou, a 600-seat theater with a balcony. It later bacame the Charles Theatre. As Cinema Treasures notes: "In later years it was one of the early New York theatres to program off-beat and independent films. It showed early Warhol and had open film nights where young filmmakers could get an audience."

You can see the Charles here in this shot from 1949. We're looking north from 11th Street. (Via.)




Here's more info on the Charles via:

[T]he Charles "provided the underground with it's first, semi-permanent base of operations." While the theaters tenure was short-lived (a little over a year--- beginning in 1961) it's legacy was quite impressive. "...it became a landmark of sorts in the creation of an American counterculture."

Jonas Mekas was hired by the owners of the Charles to organize some additional screenings. "Mekas was then in the early stages of his passionate commitment to American experimental cinema" but "had an eye for new talent"...and began holding monthly open screenings which turned out to be great social events. Some audience members quickly made the transition to filmmakers, while others acted/participated as critics.

In light of the above the Charles emerges as a "Great Good Place" because "it was the spiritual home of a particular utopian ideology, a place where the audience was not just the passive recipient of mass-produced fantasies, but an active community, producing movies for itself. The Charles therefore incorporated films and film making into an alternative sense of family and community through freedom and equality.

Here's the Charles in 1966. (Via.)



There's a lot more, of course. (For example, in February 1962, the Arkestra — billed as Le Sun Ra and his Cosmic Space Jazz Group — made their New York debut at the Charles.) But you get the idea for now. I'll have more later. As far as I can find, the use of this space as a theater ended in 1975.

I'll leave you with this letter from the Metropolitan Diary from earlier this summer:

Dear Diary:

Growing up on 16th Street between Avenues B and C before Stuyvesant Town was built meant that respite from summer’s heat was available only if you went to the upscale movie theaters like the RKO Jefferson or the Academy of Music, both farther west on 14th Street. No such luxury could be found at the local movie house, the Bijou Theater, on Avenue B between 11th and 12th Streets.

This two-story theater was strictly a no-frills neighborhood flick house. But when the summer temperature inside became unbearable or cigarette smoke blurred the screen, the ceiling of the Bijou began to ever so slowly slide open from the center toward the edges to provide egress for both heat and Lucky Strike’s blue vapors.

For a 10-year-old like me it was magic — until a sudden thunderstorm came up and the rain began pelting the seats. The roof’s closing speed was also ever so slow, and people scrambled in all directions like it was a fire drill. When it finally closed, we all went back to our seats, gave them a swipe with a handkerchief and never took our eyes off the screen.

The Marx Brothers had their “Night at the Opera.” We had our nights at the Bijou.

Victor Washkevich