3 posts tagged “movies”

Last night, I went to the New York premier of Been Rich All My Life, Heather MacDonald's documentary about the Silver Belles, a group of five tap-dancing elderly women who continue to gather as a group and perform in public 70 years after their early involvement as chorus girls in Harlem hot spots such as the Apollo and the Cotton Club.

Blending more current and archival footage, the film operates at several levels. It's a lively and insightful look at the big band era in New York City. It's the story of a group of female friends and their enduring love for each other, as well as for tap dancing. It's an exploration of the racial and economic issues surrounding jazz in Harlem during the first half of the 20th century. And it's an inspiring example of how people can face aging with grace and enthusiasm.

Reviewed by Film Threat, Cinematical, and the New York Times, the film has gotten surprisingly cautious and mixed feedback -- but is still worth seeing. Now showing at Quad Cinema (34 W. 13th St.) through July 27, the movie makes me want to learn more about Harlem's heyday. I'll start with my copy of Jazz Guide: New York City. What other books and resources should I check out?

Jim Munroe, one of my favorite Canadians, will be in Brooklyn in early August for one of the Rooftop Films screenings. This weekend'spromising Animation Block Party is closer on the horizon, but Aug. 6's program also looks solid. Jim's four-minute short "Yoga Deathmatch" will be among more than a dozen independent shorts shown.

When I first moved to Greenpoint, the northernmost neighborhood of Brooklyn, in 2004, one of my first frustrations with my new neighborhood was that there weren't any movie theaters nearby. In this age of video rentals and Netflix, when you can have a steady stream of DVDs flowing in and out of your mailbox, as well as your DVD player, you might not think that a paucity of movie theaters within easy walking distance would be a problem. Yet it is. Especially because Greenpoint was once the proud home of six movie theaters.

Six movie theaters! In less than two square miles.

Some of the structures have been torn down and replaced with other buildings. Others have been refurbished and put to other uses that still allow visitors to detect some of the original features.

Drawing on a variety of sources, here's what I've been able to learn about the long-gone movie theaters of Greenpoint. I've organized this as a walking tour of sorts, but you don't need to explore them in this order. If you're interested in following the easy-to-follow route I've mapped out, start at the Nassau Avenue subway stop on the G line.

Our first stop is a few shops east of Manhattan Avenue on the south side of Nassau Avenue. Pass two bodegas and the pizzeria, and take in what is now Princess Manor.

Nassau Theatre
88 Nassau Ave.
Screens: 1
Seats: 599

A movie theater operated here between about 1910 and 1953. It is now a catering hall.

The next stop is a little out of the way, so you might want to skip it or save it for when you have more time. Regardless, if you continue walking east on Nassau Avenue, you'll eventually reach Russell Street and McGolrick Park (formerly Winthrop Park). The park is worth some exploration in its own right because of the pavilion designed by Helmle and Huberty, a World War I memorial, and the Monitor and the Merrimac sculpture. Across from the southwestern corner of the park is a Met supermarket. It wasn't always a grocery store.

Winthrop Theater
135 Driggs Ave.
Screens: 1
Seats: 580

Between 1922 and 1959, this movie theater showed late-run movies. It featured a Wurlitzer organ Opus 599 Style 135A. In 1961, the theater became a grocery store.

Now, head back to Manhattan Avenue by heading west on Driggs. Once you reach Manhattan, take a right and walk north along the west side of the street. The rest of our stops all line Greenpoint's main drag, Manhattan Avenue.

Meserole Theatre
723 Manhattan Avenue
Screens: 1
Seats: 1,200

Luckily, this theater still remains in some shape and form. Despite a conversion into a roller skating rink and then its current incarnation as an Eckerd drug store, you can still see elements of the original auditorium from a vantage point in the back of the store. Behind the cosmetics counter, you can see the outline of the original screen on which they now project slides about sales, and the ceiling still supports a mirrored disco ball from when it was a roller rink. The pharmacy is located beneath what was once the balcony. While promoting the Batman movie in the mid-'60s, Adam West and Burt Ward made an appearance at the theater with the Batmobile.

Continue north.

RKO Greenpoint
825 Manhattan Avenue
Screens: 1
Seats: 1,673

Opening as a vaudeville theater in 1908, the Greenpoint became a full-time movie theater around 1925 and may have been the grandest of Greenpoint's theaters. In direct competition with the Meserole, the theater featured an ornate auditorium featuring ceiling murals and a proscenium arch. Three levels of boxed seats were located on either side of the stage, and there were two balconies. When RKO acquired the theater, it showed first-run double features. Music was performed on a Wurlitzer organ Opus 1113 Style E. In 1961, Jerry Lewis appeared at the theater to promote his new movie "The Ladies Man." The building has since been demolished.

Cross to the east side of Manhattan Avenue.

American Theater
910 Manhattan Avenue
Screens: 1
Seats: 592
Other names: Chopin Theater

For most of its life, this theater showed second-run movies. Advertised as a twin theater, the American had only one screen. The house charged different admissions for each film, and the staff would clear the theater of viewers between each screening. One former resident remembers the theater being replaced by a Polish theater that continued to screen movies into the '80s. The layout of the building is somewhat confusing. There were two entrances, one on Manhattan Avenue and one on the Greenpoint Avenue. There was also a billiards hall -- and later, a bingo hall -- located upstairs, and until earlier this year, a Burger King filled the old lobby area. Now Quest Diagnostics takes up the ground floor, and Club Exit, a dance club, takes up much of the old bingo hall space. Be sure to look for the sculpted Eagle perched at the peak of the building's roof on the Manhattan Avenue side.

Continue north on the west side of the street.

Midway Theater
1059 Manhattan Ave.
Screens: 1
Seats: 598
Other names: Manhattan Theatre

Located between Freeman and Eagle streets, this movie theater was active at least between 1938 and 1954.

Even though the closest movie theater, the Loews Kips Bay -- as the crow flies -- is across the East River, the ghosts of Greenpoint's cinematic past linger on and can still be seen every day.

Special thanks to CinemaTreasures.org and Greenpt.com for much of the above information. Any errors are my own.