NEW YORK | Kings Theatre Renovation

[NYguy]

Website: http://www.kingstheatre.com/


Brooklyn's newly restored Kings Theater is the 3rd larest theater in the City behind Radio City and the theater at MSG.

It will reopen February 3.

A look at this beautifully renovated theater that returns a gem to the City.



http://gothamist.com/2015/01/24/phot...th.php#photo-1

Photos: Stunningly Restored Kings Theatre Reopens After $95 Million Makeover

Built in 1929, the Kings Theatre is the largest indoor theater in Brooklyn with over 3,000 seats, but it closed in 1977 and was acquired by the city in 1983. The $95 million work has made sure its grand flourishes—inspired by Versailles and the Paris Opera House, no less—are glowing, with original fixtures like chandeliers restored and new carpets, tapestries and curtains, based on archival photographs and remnants, designed.

The venue will offer "a wide spectrum of programming from local, national and international performing artists," with more than 200 performances annually.

[NYguy]

A look at what they had to work with...


http://urbanomnibus.net/2012/12/the-...e-on-flatbush/

The Fall of the American Movie Palace (especially that one on Flatbush)

by Gabriel Silberblatt
December 11th, 2012

Photos by Matt Lambros















http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/e...icle-1.2062374

[NYguy]

More gorgeous views of this classic...


http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2015/0...eatre.php#more

[wrab]

Awesome!

[ethereal_reality]

Amazing renovation. -absolutely breathtaking.

[NYguy]

They did a fantastic job. The theater is stunning.

Originally Posted by NYguy

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2015/0...eatre.php#more

Some of the photos from Max Touhey


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http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/ny...lory.html?_r=0

Across the New York Area, Restoring ‘Wonder Theater’ Movie Palaces to Glory

By NATHANIEL ADAMS
JAN. 15, 2015

On Feb. 3, concertgoers will walk into a world of Jazz Age beauty at the newly renovated Kings Theater on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. A grand lobby of walnut-paneled walls and Corinthian columns will be lit from above by massive Art Deco chandeliers, and almost 4,000 feet of newly woven gold and scarlet carpet — reconstructed from a remnant discovered beneath an old candy counter — will stretch underfoot. The theater’s grand reopening, 86 years after it was first introduced to the public, will feature a performance by Diana Ross.

Sept. 28, 1929, saw a similar celebration in Journal Square in Jersey City. Just a month before the stock market crashed, people streamed through the gleaming brass doors of the Loew’s Jersey for its grand opening. The approximately 3,000-seat movie theater rivaled the opulence and glamour of Radio City Music Hall. According to advertisements in The Jersey Journal, patrons were treated to a stage revue, orchestral performance, live jazz band, acrobats, comedians, chorus girls and the new MGM movie “Madame X,” starring Ruth Chatterton, all for either 25 or 35 cents, depending on the seat.

...The Kings and the Jersey are two of the five “Wonder Theaters” built in the New York area by the Loew’s Corporation in 1929 and 1930. The other three, currently managed by religious groups, are the Valencia on Jamaica Avenue in Queens, the United Palace on 175th Street and Broadway in Manhattan and the Paradise on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx.

The trajectory of the Kings Theater, with its $95 million renovation, is being watched closely in Jersey City, where the Loew’s Jersey is at a crossroads. The municipal government and the Friends of the Loew’s, a community group, have for years been battling over how the theater should be managed and by whom. If the Kings renaissance succeeds, it may well tip the balance in that dispute. Gary Martinez, the president of Martinez & Johnson Architecture, who along with ACE Theatrical Group of Houston renovated the Kings, seems to understand the stakes. “This case here will be the study for the next one. Wherever that may be,” he said.

The architect George Rapp, whose firm designed the Jersey and the Kings in a French Renaissance style, called his spaces “a shrine to democracy where there are no privileged patrons.”

“The wealthy,” he said, “rub elbows with the poor — and are better for this contact.”

Whether the rich and poor will mingle at the Kings in Brooklyn — and whether the newly refurbished theater will alter the local economy — remains to be seen. But there clearly has been an effort.

[texcolo]

This is AWESOME. I love old theatres, and this is one of the best I've ever seen. What are they doing to the vacant lot next to the main entrance???

[ColDayMan]

Now THAT'S a theater!

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by ColDayMan

Now THAT'S a theater!

The details are amazing. Going out to a movie or show in that era was an event, and theaters like this were the ultimate experience.

I honestly could be happy inside this theater just sitting there and looking at it. Even the lighting treatment is nice.






They are having sort of an open house for anyone who can make it on February 7th...
http://www.kingstheatre.com/shows/community-open-house

Originally Posted by texcolo

What are they doing to the vacant lot next to the main entrance???

I think it's something theater related from the rendering.

From this old photo, you can see there were once stores there...

[MolsonExport]

Beyond Gorgeous. Gives me hope for other similarly-decayed but still glorious structures (e.g., Michigan Central Station)

[Busy Bee]

Looks like they aren't going to install the vertical marquee even though they originally planned to. That minor gripe aside, this renovation is simply fantastic.

[photoLith]

I'm super glad they restored that. But I can't believe thats nyc's third largest theater. Hell, Pittsburgh has two theaters that appear to bigger and grander than that one. Oddly enough Pittsburghs Loews theater was restored about two decades ago and this is what it looks like now.

DSC_3520
Photo by me

On another note, those before restoration photos are amazing and it goes to show that when any idiot off the street says that a building is too far gone to restore they have no idea what they're talking about. Must have been a pretty monumental task restoring that theater though. Wish someone would have made a documentary about it.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by photoLith

I'm super glad they restored that. But I can't believe thats nyc's third largest theater. Hell, Pittsburgh has two theaters that appear to bigger and grander than that one.

New York has had larger or similar sized theaters, but they are either gone, demolished, or simply no longer being used as theaters. It's the sheer number of New Yorks theaters that also contributed to size and demise. Most Broadway theaters average between 1,000 to 2,000 seats.

On another note, those before restoration photos are amazing and it goes to show that when any idiot off the street says that a building is too far gone to restore they have no idea what they're talking about.

Being able to restore and being able to restore to proper use are different things however. The Paradise Theater in the Bronx (larger than this one) was restored, but sadly could not make it as a theater. It's now part of a church, as is the Valencia in Queens.

Lots of detail in the others, but I don't think any of them match the beauty of the Kings.


Valencia



http://gothamist.com/2014/05/23/loew...vie_palace.php



gigi nyc










































Paradise


JeffReuben




Dean Keim

[NYguy]

Guess Brooklyn is on a roll with old theaters...


http://www.billboard.com/articles/64...amount-theater

Exclusive: Barclays Inks Booking Deal at Brooklyn's Paramount










By Ray Waddell
January 29, 2015

Barclays Center affiliate Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment has formed an alliance with Long Island University, in which BS&E will bring entertainment back to the historic Brooklyn Paramount Theatre.

"This collaboration will bring the LIU Brooklyn Paramount Theatre back to life," says LIU president Kimberly R. Cline, "creating endless opportunities for LIU and our neighbors."

he move will resurrect the 1,500-capacity venue, which opened in 1928, as an active entertainment venue for the first time in more than half a century, with the BS&E team focusing on booking emerging talent in a variety of areas, including music, comedy, and boxing. Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark tells Billboard that the Paramount represents an opportunity in the growing BS&E portfolio, and will begin hosting shows as soon as this quarter.

The Paramount deal is the latest move by this increasingly aggressive group, led by Yormark, which opened the $1 billion, 19,000-capacity Barclays Center in September of 2012 as the home of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. By the end of 2013, Barclays Center was the third highest-grossing arena in the world for concerts and events, reporting $83.5 million to Billboard Boxscore. Post-honeymoon period, Barclays Center has remained among the busiest arenas in the world, reporting $60 million in concerts and events for the same period this year.

...The Brooklyn Paramount has a strong live music pedigree. Originally built as a movie palace, the venue was the site of renowned jazz shows of the 1930s and '40s, hosting such artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald. Pioneering DJ Alan Freed, and later TV personality Clay Cole, staged a number of rock 'n roll shows there, including Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Bobby Vinton, Brenda Lee, and Jackie Wilson. LIU purchased the facility in 1960 for basketball, which it used until the school opened a new gym in 2005, leaving the Paramount mostly dark.

Now the Paramount will be resurrected just as Brooklyn continues to heat up as a separate and distinct concert market from Manhattan. The deal was only signed last week, and Yormark says the Paramount will be hosting shows "soon."

While he declined to confirm capital investment by BS&E in the Paramount, given the team's recent history it is highly likely that, if the venue is a hit with fans, agents, and artists, a significant renovation project would be in the works.

As it is, Yormark says the venue is ready to host a show right now, and next month, the theater will play a role in the NBA All-Star weekend as the host of the debut of the NBA House presented by BBVA Compass. "The NBA is going to help bring back the name recognition of the Paramount in Brooklyn, and on the heels of that we'll continue to look for programming."

Brooklyn is already a competitive music market, beyond a wealth of Manhattan venues vying for talent and fans. The 3,000-seat Kings Theater will re-open Feb. 3 with Diana Ross after a $94 million renovation; Brooklyn Academy of Music spaces range from 350 to 2,100; Brooklyn Bowl cap is 600; and Barclays Center has its own theater configuration currently capped at 7,000.

As a gym...

http://gothamgal.com/wp-content/uplo...14/11/yves.jpg



Hobo Matt




More old details here...
http://www.scoutingny.com/scouting-t...movie-theatre/

[NYguy]

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2015/...e-in-brooklyn/

Diana Ross Christens Renovated Loew’s Kings Theatre in Brooklyn





By KATHRYN LURIE
February 4, 2014

Diana Ross took the stage last night to perform the inaugural concert of the stunningly renovated Loew’s Kings Theatre in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Former Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz – a big proponent of the $95 million renovation – was in attendance, brimming with excitement. He said that being at the theater made him feel young.

“Now we have the Apollo and the Beacon in one, and it’s in Brooklyn,” Markowitz said. He added that he hoped that the theater would be a catalyst for other development in the neighborhood.

See the Kings Theatre Before and After Renovations

“You can’t make a theater like this anymore,” he said.

Audience members were dressed to the nines and milled around, admiring the renovated space and taking photos before finding their seats. There was palpable excitement in the air and everyone from the ticket takers to the ushers and bartenders seemed happy to be there. The theater, closed since 1977, underwent an extensive renovation beginning in 2013 to recreate its original 1929 design.

Clad in teal tulle, Ross opened the concert singing “I’m Coming Out” while walking from the back of the house down the center aisle to the stage, delighting the crowd.

The very diverse audience stayed on their feet as Ross, 70, performed a slew of Motown and disco favorites, including classics from her days of heading up the Supremes, like “Stop, In the Name of Love,” “Baby Love” and “Come See About Me.”

Ross herself was impressed with the space. “Isn’t this palace beautiful?” she asked. “I feel like a queen!”

A little more on the performance itself...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-...b_6616200.html



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A look back at plans for a restoration

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[BVictor1]

Spectacular restoration jobs. Such a shame that we allow our landmarks deteriorate into a state of such disrepair.