Designed by Harrison G. Wiseman, Loew’s Oriental in Bensonhurst opened on October 13th, 1927 with Ronald Colman in “Beau Geste” and vaudeville on the stage. The theater had lavish Moorish style décor. At the time of opening the auditorium seated nearly 2,800 without a single obstructed view. It had a grand lobby with a sculpted dragon in the ceiling. Wiseman also designed the still active Alpine at 6817 5th Avenue in Bay Ridge. 



It was twinned in February 1977 with 1,076 seats on the orchestra level and 1,140 seats on the former balcony level. In February 1984 the balcony was divided into two auditoriums, making the theatre a triple-screen operation. It was closed on May 21, 1995.



Abe Boritz was the projectionist at the time of its closing and had worked in this theatre for 26 years. The final ticket prices at the time of its closing in 1995 were $4.00 for a matinee show and $7.00 all other times.



The ground floor and storefronts around the theater were soon converted into a retail space, with Marshalls moving in a few years later. Only the ground floor has been gutted, and much of the orchestra level remains in an unknown state of disrepair. Twenty years ago people would ask Marshalls employees to use the restroom. They’d found an original theater staircase behind a closed door. It still had some of the original brasswork. People would sneak upstairs for a peak, but Marshalls caught wind and put a stop to it. 



I'm old enough to have seen movies there. The last one I saw in theaters at Loew's Oriental was The Mask, starring Jim Carrey in 1994. What films do you remember seeing there?



Why am I bringing this up? Because I'm debuting a brand new tour on August 24th of Old New Utrecht that I'm very excited to give! It takes us into Bensonhurst and continues to build out the history of my Old Bay Ridge Tours. Both neighborhoods were part of New Utrecht and the history is completely intertwined. I'm running tours in both neighborhoods over the next few weekends and if you're interested here's more info below:



Murder, Mayhem, Money and History in Old Northern Bay Ridge — Sun. 8/10 @ 12:30PM — [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/murder-mayhem-money-and-history-in-old-northern-bay-ridge-tickets-1508238033559?aff=oddtdtcreator](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/murder-mayhem-money-and-history-in-old-northern-bay-ridge-tickets-1508238033559?aff=oddtdtcreator) 



Murder, Mayhem, Money and History in Old Southern Bay Ridge — Sun. 8/17 @ 12:30PM — [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/murder-mayhem-money-and-history-in-old-southern-bay-ridge-tickets-1508238765749?aff=oddtdtcreator](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/murder-mayhem-money-and-history-in-old-southern-bay-ridge-tickets-1508238765749?aff=oddtdtcreator)



Old New Utrecht, Brooklyn Walking Tour — Sun. 8/24 @ 1PM — [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/old-new-utrecht-brooklyn-walking-tour-tickets-1507960533549?aff=oddtdtcreator](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/old-new-utrecht-brooklyn-walking-tour-tickets-1507960533549?aff=oddtdtcreator)



Labor Day Weekend Old New Utrecht Walking Tour — Sun 8/31 @ 1PM — [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/labor-day-weekend-old-new-utrecht-walking-tour-tickets-1507960854509?aff=oddtdtcreator](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/labor-day-weekend-old-new-utrecht-walking-tour-tickets-1507960854509?aff=oddtdtcreator)



And for those who can't make it out, but are still interested in learning more about Bay Ridge history, I've got a webinar next Thursday 8/7 at 7PM eastern time— [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/old-bay-ridge-history-webinar-tickets-1534092194049?aff=oddtdtcreator](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/old-bay-ridge-history-webinar-tickets-1534092194049?aff=oddtdtcreator)



The B Train, riding over the West End Elevated Line, Bklyn, passes Loew's Oriental movie theater at 1832 86th Street — 08/02/1981, photo by Doug Grotjahn from the collection of Joe Testagrose. The theater closed in 1995 and the 1st floor interior was completely gutted. Marshalls clothing moved.