Brooklyn may not be the most famous and popular borough in New York. This borough has a rich culture and is full of historical events. Everybody knows Broadway as the most prominent theater in New York, but Brooklyn also has its cultural roots. There are many successful and famous theaters that appeared and gained recognition on the streets of Brooklyn.
The Kings Theatre is one of Brooklyn’s oldest theaters. When the theater opened in 1929, it was called Loew’s Kings Theatre. It became not only a refuge for theatergoers and great works but also a national historic spot. Find out more at brookly-trend.com.
A spirit of France in New York
The Loew’s Kings Theatre was designed by a famous architectural firm. Harold W. Rambusch projected the interior decor of the lobby, concert hall and corridors. The Palace of Versailles and the Paris Opera House greatly influenced the decorator’s vision. The grandeur and splendor of the Parisian charm left such a profound imprint on the decorator. Being thousands of miles from Paris, he could create a small part of the French spirit on the streets of Brooklyn.
In the 1930s, there was the Loew’s Theatres chain in NY and the theater in Brooklyn was part of it. Moreover, it was included in the top five theaters of this chain. Originally, the theater did not present theatrical productions, but movies and live vaudeville. Speaking of vaudeville is a genre of dramatic art characterized by the combination of songs with a comical situation.
The theater was opened to the public on September 7, 1929. It presented the film Evangeline, as well as live stage plays, vaudeville, live music and even a real pipe organ. As for the latter, connoisseurs of organ music visited the Brooklyn theater to listen to organ recitals. The organ was a musical instrument with 23 ranks of pipes. It was decorated with a four-manual console, which had all the organs of this theater chain. In addition to music concerts, it was used for scoring and entertaining the audience during intermission. Unfortunately, no one has played the organ since 1974. The organ of the Brooklyn theater was given as a gift to the New York City Hall. However, the musical instrument didn’t last long, some parts of it were lost forever. Later, there were attempts to restore the organ, but all to no avail.
The theater had been operating successfully for 48 years. After that, it was closed. Although suspended would be a more accurate word. During its closing period, the interior decor remained almost intact. People didn’t interfere with a normal course of time. Extensive damage was caused to the theater’s decoration and interior by vandals. They did not care that they were destroying one of man’s greatest creations. Vandals considered it as just a derelict building, but true connoisseurs of theatrical art had different opinions of this. The theater was even filmed in the documentary Memoirs of a Movie Palace.
Vaudeville was the reason for the decline of the theater. When this genre fell into oblivion, The Kings Theatre began to show only feature films. The same situation happened to most theaters of the borough and the city.
A new life
Despite the massive destruction and loss of its previous image, many people were willing to renovate this venue. Even after decades of abandonment, The Kings Theatre was considered a promising place that is worthy of a new life. A plan for the reconstruction and reuse of the theater was presented in 2010. The developer ACE Theatrical Group of Houston had to restore the Brooklyn theater. Previously, they dealt with renovations of historical buildings.
About 95 million dollars were spent on repairs. The plan included not only the restoration of the facade but also the former grandeur of the lobby, concert hall and all corridors. It was not easy to restore the upholstery, carpeting and all stucco. But the stage rooms were equipped with the latest technology, so the most modern and daring productions could be staged in The Kings Theatre. The reopening took place in 2015.
