B.F Keith’s Prospect Theatre opened on September 7, 1914 in the Prospect Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. The 2,381 seat theater was constructed on the site of a synagogue and three apartment buildings. It was designed by architect William McElfatrick for the Keith Vaudeville Company. The Prospect was dubbed “the woodless and postless theater” while it was being built due to the fact that no wood was used in its construction and there were no posts helping to support the balcony. Woodwork was left out of the building so that the theater would be much safer if a fire broke out. The balcony was supported by a 65 ton steel beam, which eliminated the need for support beams that could have obstructed views during performances. Opening advertisements boasted that the balcony was strong enough to support the world’s ten heaviest locomotives.

According to an article in the New York Clipper, a weekly entertainment newspaper, the Prospect originally presented shows from the Keith’s Palace Theatre in Manhattan, which was the flagship theater of the Keith’s circuit at the time. Brooklyn Borough President Lewis H. Pounds was unable to attend the opening celebration, but sent along a message that read, “By building one of the finest theaters in the United States in the heart of Brooklyn, the Keith interests have paid a tribute to the wonderful growth of the borough.” The Prospect opened with a stage show called The Bride Shop as well as performances from Sam & Kitty Norton, Nellie V. Nichols, Joe Jackson, Lyons & Yosco, The Great Asahi, Kluting’s Entertainers, Gliding O’Mearas, and Weber & Capitola. Vaudeville acts performed at the theater twice a day until May 15, 1916, when the theater switched to showing silent films in conjunction with the live acts. A Moller organ was installed in 1920, and replaced by a Wurlitzer Opus 1497 in October 1926.

In 1922 Ted Healy, a comedian from Brooklyn, was scheduled to perform at the theater but the acrobat in his act quit. As luck would have it, Moses Horwitz, an old childhood friend of Healy’s who was also a vaudeville performer, was backstage waiting to say hello to him. Healy asked Horwitz, better known today as Moe Howard, to temporarily join his act and Horwitz agreed. The show was a huge hit and soon after Moe’s brother Samuel (Shemp) joined them as Ted Healy and his Stooges. The temporary partnership ended up lasting over ten years before splitting up. In 1934 Howard, his other brother Jerome (Curly), and Larry Fine signed with Columbia Pictures as the Three Stooges.

In October 1928, The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) combined with the Keith-Albee-Orpheum (KAO) vaudeville theater circuit, and the Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) to form Radio-Keith-Orpheum also known as the RKO Corporation. A little over a year after the merger the theater was renamed the R.K.O Prospect Theatre. Around the same time vaudeville acts had begun to be phased out in favor of motion pictures, and when they did perform it was as a short opening act for the feature films. However, vaudeville returned to the Prospect five years later on July 16, 1932. This was partially due to patrons writing the theater and promising to support vaudeville shows. Tap dancers Cherry Blossom and June, the Radio Rogues, comedians Bud and Jack Pearson performed during the opening night. The famous illusionist Hardeen, the brother of Houdini, performed at the theater on March 28, 1933, and escaped from a specially constructed packing case.

The Prospect played a very small role in the USSR/USA conflict known as the Cold War. On August 3, 1948, Whittaker Chambers, a former Communist Party member, testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities that he introduced Alger Hiss, who worked for the State Department, to a Soviet spy in the balcony of the Prospect Theatre in early 1937. On Sunday January 28, 1962, the Three Stooges, which at the time consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly-Joe DeRita, returned to the theater while on a promotional tour for their film “The Three Stooges Meet Hercules.” Accompanying them on the bill was Dave Ballard, an almost eight foot tall man known as “The Herculean Giant”, and DJ Clay Cole.

The Prospect closed in 1967, and the main level was converted into a supermarket in 1970. The lobby, and orchestra sections were gutted, while the balcony and stage area were closed off. In 1986, two Brooklyn developers, Gary Rosen and Jacob Bouganim, bought the 16,000-square-foot stage area as well as the 100 by 700 foot lot beneath it for $500,000, and turned it into 15 condominiums. According to Bouganim, they were interested in the building because it’s much high than most of the buildings in the neighborhood, and has unobstructed views of Manhattan. The balcony is all that remains of the original Prospect Theatre.

I’m getting married this October so I’m having a print sale to help us go on our honeymoon! Use the code “HONEYMOONSALE” at http://www.afterthefinalcurtainprints.com/ when checking out to get 25% off your order. I’ve added some images from upcoming blog posts as well as new photographs from old favorites (including some shots of the renovated Kings Theatre) to the prints page.

If you have any questions please e-mail me and I’ll be happy to answer them for you.

Kodak Professional Supra Endura Luster paper is used for all print sizes.

The Fox Theatre in Inglewood, CA opened on March 31, 1949. It was built on the site of the Granada Theatre which had been destroyed by a fire five years earlier. Fox West Coast Theatres (FWCT) purchased the site for $376,375.45 soon after the fire and began making plans for the site. Charles Skouras, the president of FWCT, requested that the theater be designed in a neo-baroque style instead of the more modern style which was typical of the late 1940s. To achieve they hired architect S. Charles Lee to design the building and Carl G. Moeller to design the interior. Newly low cost aluminium sheeting was used to create ornamentation that would have been much more expensive and harder to mass produce if created with plaster. Moeller went on to redesign a number of Fox’s pre-war theaters this way, which came to be known as “Skouras Style.”

The 1008 seat Fox was the last theater to be constructed by 20th Century Fox before the Supreme Court Case the United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. The case, also known as the Hollywood Antitrust Case of 1948, decreed that movie studios were no longer allowed to own theaters and hold exclusive rights on where the films they produced were shown. Even though they no longer owned the theater, 20th Century Fox often held sneak previews of upcoming films at the Fox so they could observe people’s reactions to the movies. The Fox also had a soundproof room dubbed the “cry room” so that people could bring babies to the movies without disturbing the other patrons.

“Mr. Belvedere Goes to College” starring Clifton Webb and Shirley Temple was the first film shown at the theater. Webb and Temple both made appearances at the premiere along with an estimated 10,000 people crowding the streets around the theater. The Fox changed hands and formats a few times, switching to exploitation, and finally spanish language films before closing in 1988.

In 2009, the Inglewood Fox Theatre Alliance was formed to raise awareness and gain support for restoring the theater. Through their efforts the theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in January 2013. It was the second location in Inglewood to be added to the NRHP after the Centinela Adobe. The building is currently for sale.

*Sorry for the delay. There was a slight error when this was supposed to post earlier.

Located in the Fine Arts Building in the Historic Michigan Boulevard District of Chicago, the Studebaker Theatre as it is today opened in September 1917. Built between 1885 and 1887, the building was commissioned by the Studebaker Company and designed by architect Solon S. Beman. The part of the building that would eventually become the theater was used as a showroom from 1887 until 1898 when the Studebaker Company moved to a new building on South Wabash Street.

Renamed the Fine Arts Building, it eventually became known as the first art colony in Chicago. Three new stories were added to the building for artist studios and offices. In 1898 the showroom was converted into two music halls; Studebaker Hall which could seat 1500 people and the smaller University Hall which could seat 700. The upper floors attracted some notable tenants during this time including; Frank Lloyd Wright, L. Frank Baum and organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Chicago Women’s Club.

For the first twenty years Studebaker Hall was used for plays, opera and musical acts. Klaw & Erlanger, the theatrical production company that was responsible for the Iroquois Theatre fire of 1903, ran the hall for a time beginning in August of 1913. Four years later the Shubert Organization took over the hall, and together with Klaw & Erlanger, converted it into an actual theater. The only part that was untouched during the conversion was the ceiling. Samuel Insull, a British-born American businessman, took over the theater in 1927, but was forced to give it up two years later when the stock market crash caused the collapse of his business empire.

The theater went through many different uses over the years including a Church from 1944 to 1950, and a studio for NBC from Feb 1950 – 1955. DuMont Television Network’s Cavalcade of Stars, one of the first live television shows, was filmed at theater during that time. The Studebaker returned to its theatrical roots in 1956, but was only used occasionally until it closed in 1982.

In December 1982, the M&R Amusement Company converted the Studebaker and the former University Hall, now known as the World Playhouse into a multiplex. The Studebaker auditorium became the 1200 seat Theatre 1 and the Studebaker stage was closed off to create the 240 seat Theatre 3. The Playhouse auditorium became the 550 seat Theatre 2, and its stage became the 158 seat Theatre 4. At first the new multiplex mainly showed art and independent films, but M&R sold their theater chain to Loews in 1988 it switched to playing mostly Hollywood films.

Loews closed the theater on Sunday November 26, 2000 citing that the small size of the size of the theaters as well as the competition from other cinemas in the area made it no longer economical for them to continue operating it. The final films shown at the four screen theater were “Red Planet”, “Cleopatra’s Second Husband,” “Billy Elliott,” and “Dancer in the Dark.”

Both the Studebaker and the Playhouse were restored in 2015 and are scheduled to reopen in October 2015. More information can be found at: http://www.studebakertheater.com/

The Colonial Theatre in Augusta, Maine opened in 1913 and was designed by architect Harry S. Coombs, who was known for designing many local libraries.  In 1926 the theater was damaged by a fire, and much of the auditorium had to be rebuilt. The owners took advantage of this and expanded the size of the theater. Originally the 1,240 seat theater showed silent films, and had an orchestra pit directly in front of the stage so music could accompany the films, but this was covered over as silent films gave way to “talkies” or motion pictures with sound.  

During World War II, bond drives were held at theaters across the country where you could only gain admission by purchasing a war bond, which were certificates issued by the government to help finance military expenses, and the Colonial Theatre was no exception. At one bond drive held at the Colonial, actress and singer Dorothy Lamour made a appearance to help drive bond sales.

The theater closed in the late 1960s due to declining ticket sales. Mothballed and only used for storage, the building’s roof began to deteriorate. Without regular maintenance, water began to leak into the building and eventually causing three large holes in the wooden auditorium floor.

Colonial Theatre, Inc. was founded in 1995 with the purpose of buying and restoring the building. A number of developers expressed an interest in rehabilitating the theater, but no plan worked out and the building continued to deteriorate. In 2009, Colonial Theatre, Inc. began the process of getting the theater listed on the National Register of Historic Places as that status would offer some protection and tax breaks if the theater was restored. Five years later, they succeeded and the theater was listed in the summer of 2014. The theater is open for tours on Saturday mornings during the spring, summer and fall months.

In June 2015, an art installation and screening of “A Home for Women,” a documentary by Caroline Losneck, Betsy Caron and Kate Kaminski, was held in the lobby of the Colonial, which was the first movie shown at the theater in almost 50 years. More information about the theater is available at https://www.facebook.com/ColonialTheater and http://www.augustacolonialtheater.org/

It’s December so that means it’s time for our annual Holiday Print Sale!

From now until December 31, 8×12, 12×18 and 16×24 prints are 50% off when you use the coupon code holiday2015 at checkout.

http://www.afterthefinalcurtainprints.com/

If you have any questions feel free to email me at matt@mlambrosphotography.com

After the Final Curtain is a personal project, and all profits from your print purchases help me to continue photographing endangered theaters across the United States.

The Varsity Theater in Evanston, IL opened on Christmas Eve in 1926. It was designed by Chicago architect John E. O. Pridmore, who is also known for the nearby Vic Theatre. Clyde Elliot, an Evanston native who had worked in Hollywood before returning to his hometown to open the theater, commissioned it. Upon opening the 2,500 seat Varsity was one of the largest neighborhood theatres in the Chicago area, and the largest in Evanston beating the nearby Coronet, Hoyburn, New Campus, and Valencia Theatres.

An Atmospheric theatre, the Varsity was designed to give the illusion that you were sitting in a courtyard under the night sky and in the case of the Varsity it was the courtyard of a French Royal Chateau. The side walls featured marble imported from Italy, and the stage area resembled a lowered drawbridge. As with other atmospheric theatres, it also featured small twinkling lights in the ceiling to give the appearance of stars, with clouds projected across the ceiling from projectors located on both sides of the auditorium.

The Varsity opened with with a short serial “The Collegians” and the feature “Man of the Forest” which starred Jack Holt and Georgia Hale. In the early 1930’s the theater became part of the Balaban & Katz theatre chain, which was controlled by the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, a forerunner of Paramount Pictures. A Geneva organ was installed in the theater when it opened, and the console was painted to resemble a cottage with roof tiles made of terra cotta. As with many of its contemporaries the organ did not see much use later in the theater’s life and was eventually removed. It was acquired by Karl Werner, who installed it in his home. Werner later moved to Arizona and took the organ with him, but when he passed away his family disposed of the organ.

In the 1980’s the nearby Evanston Theater, originally known as the Stadium Theatre, was purchased by the Loews Corporation, and enlarged from a single screen to a five-screen theater. As multiplex theatres became to be the norm, single screen theaters like the Varsity struggled to stay open.  The Coronet Theatre, another Evanston single screen, closed because of this in 1984, and the Varsity followed in 1988.

Almost immediately after the theater closed, the main level and lobby were gutted and turned into retail space, which is currently occupied by a Gap clothing store. In 2010, the City of Evanston received a $50,000 grant from the National Endowments for the Arts to conduct a feasibility study on reopening the Varsity as a performing arts center. In July 2011, the study concluded that given that the first floor of the theater was currently occupied by a retail store, and not available for redevelopment, that the performing arts needs of Evanston are greater than the Varsity Theatre could accommodate alone. They recommended developing a number of performing arts spaces in downtown Evanston, instead of just one central location.

The Moreland Theatre opened on January 12, 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio. It was designed by the local architectural firm of Braverman & Havermaet for A. T. (Adolph) Wallach, a real estate entrepreneur. The 1,296 seat theater is located in the Buckeye neighborhood, which had the largest concentration of Hungarian immigrants in the country at the time the theater was constructed. A press release for the opening of the theater describes it as having, “the most modern system of indirect side lighting,…newest type of projection machines,…and every facility and resource to contribute to the complete enjoyment of its patrons.” The Moreland cost $300,000 to build, equal to a $4,156,421 budget today when adjusted for inflation.

Originally built for vaudeville and silent films, the Moreland was part of the Universal-Variety circuit and opened with, The Cat and the Canary, starring Laura LaPlante. The film was accompanied by a live performance by George Williams and his band, the music box Merrymakers. Larry Jean Fisher, “The Texas Organist,” played the $40,000 Kimball organ throughout the opening night. The owners made sure to program for the theater’s Hungarian community soon after opening by scheduling the Hungarian Elite Mixed Choir, who performed in March 1928.

In October 1929, theater operator Paul Gusdanovic took over the Moreland Theatre. He already had a partnership interest in the Regent Theatre, which was located a few blocks away from the Moreland. Gusdanovic began jointly operating them, but was forced to close the Moreland in December due to the Stock Market crash of 1929. He reopened it a few times showing primarily Hungarian films as well as hosting community events.

The G&P Amusement Company of Cleveland acquired the lease to the Moreland in 1937. They remodeled the theater, adding a new RCA sound system, and began showing daily double features of Hollywood films. However, G&P ran into problems early on as they faced competition from the Gusdanovic’s Regent Theatre and the newly opened Colony Theatre in Shaker Square. In March 1949, G&P filed suit against the owners of the Regent, along with four other studios — 20th Century Fox, Loew’s, Warner Bros and Universal Studios — claiming that the Gusdanovic conspired with the studios to ruin the Moreland. G&P were eventually forced to close the theater in 1950. The Cleveland District Court ruled against G&P in 1952 — the judge said that the neighborhood could not support two theaters. G&P appealed the decision to the Sixth Court of Appeals who upheld the lower court’s decision.

The Moreland opened, closed and reopened throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. It was remodeled into a musical dinner theater in 1963 by Gerard Gentile, William Boehm and Eugene Woods. The trio had experience in theaters in the Cleveland area and were determined to revitalize the Moreland. It opened as Players Theatre Café in January 1964. Once again, the reopening was short lived and the theater closed in April 1964. It reopened again as the Beach Party Room in July 1967, with three inches of sand and artificial palm trees in the auditorium to help give the illusion that patrons were attending a party on the beach. This venture only lasted four months, after which it was turned into a dance club called “Second Shadow Lounge” in October 1967. This too did not last very long, and the theater became a Hungarian playhouse in June 1969. By 1975 the theater was closed again, and three years later it was sold to the Church of God in Christ (CGC). CGC became the theater’s longest tenant, using the building as a worship space for almost thirty years.

The CGC sold the theater in 2007 to the Buckeye Area Development Corporation (BADC), a not-for-profit community development corporation serving the area. BADC planned to restore the theater as a cultural center, but have yet to raise the estimated $6.1 million needed to renovate the building.

I’m excited to announce that I’ll once again be partnering with photographer/founder of Abandoned America, Matthew Christopher for photo workshops in 2016!

First, we will be returning to the Victory Theatre in Holyoke, MA on April 9, 2016.  The Victory Theatre opened on December 30, 1920 and closed 58 years late on December 15, 1978. It is currently owned by the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts, who plan to renovate the theater and reopen it as a performing arts center. Past workshops have generated over $4000 for MIFA.

More information as well as how to purchase tickets can be found at: http://www.abandonedamerica.us/after-the-final-curtain1abandoned-america1

We will also be returning to the Variety Theatre in 2016. The details for that workshop will be announced at a later date.

The Variety opened on November 24, 1927 and after a number of different uses (including a wrestling gym called the Cleveland Wrestleplex) closed in the late 1980s. The building was purchased by the Friends of the Historic Variety Theatre on June 12, 2009, and they plan to restore the theater as a multi-use venue.

For more information go to: http://www.abandonedamerica.us/the-variety-theatre-an-after

Hey Everyone! There are a couple big events coming up – the 5 year anniversary of After the Final Curtain, the release of the Kings Theatre book, the AFtC Facebook page reaching 10,000 (!) followers, and one other announcement I’m going to keep secret the moment. To celebrate, I’m going to give away a signed copy of my upcoming book, Kings Theatre; the Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of Brooklyn’s Wonder Theatre when it’s released to one person who shares or likes a post on the AFtC Facebook page from now until the page reaches 10,000 followers.

Thank you for all your support over the years and good luck everyone!

For more on the book visit: http://afterthefinalcurtain.net/book/

Remember in the last post how I said I had an announcement I was going to keep secret for the moment? Well, here it is – Jonglez Publishing is going to be publishing a book featuring my photography of abandoned theaters!

After the Final Curtain: The Fall of the American Movie Theater consists of 24 theaters from New York to California, including some that have never been posted on this site.

It’s being released on October 1, 2016 and can be pre-ordered at the following link: After the Final Curtain: the Fall of the American Movie Theater.

Post 3 in the Snapshot Series  – Occasionally in my travels I come across a theater that I can’t find a lot of information on, or that I only have a chance to photograph for an hour or two. They’re still beautiful and fascinating, so they definitely have a place on After the Final Curtain.

Originally billed as the “Pride of the East Side,” the Hollywood Theatre, located in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, opened on March, 11 1926. It was operated by the Mayer and Schneider (M&S) Circuit, and designed by architect Harrison G. Wiseman, who is also known for the nearby Village East Cinemas. According to an account in the Motion Picture News, the crowd on opening night was so large that the police had to cordon the entrance prevent them from storming the theater. The opening was attended by a number of that era’s stars of stage and screen including; George Walsh, Wally Van, Julia Faye, and Edna Purviance.

The 1,303 seat theater was later managed by RKO and Loew’s Inc. before closing in 1959. After the theater closed, the orchestra level of the auditorium and the lobby were converted into separate retail spaces. The former orchestra level became a series of grocery stores, beginning with a Pioneer Supermarket in 1960. In early 2012, it was announced that the East Farms Supermarket, the latest tenant to occupy the space, would close and the building would be demolished to make way for an eight-story condo building with retail space on the main floor. Demolition began in 2014, and the new building is scheduled to open in the winter of 2016.

I just received copies of my upcoming book, After the Final Curtain: The Fall of the American Movie Theater! I can’t wait for all of you to see it. It comes out this November and is available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and many other book stores.

I’ll be announcing some live events as we get closer to the book’s release date. Stay tuned!

The State Theatre in Stoughton, Massachusetts opened on December 8, 1927. It was built on the site of Atwood’s Market, a local shopping center that was destroyed by a fire earlier that year. The Interstate Theatre Corporation purchased the lot and hired the Boston architecture firm of Funk and Wilcox, who were mostly known for designing apartment buildings, to design the theater. John P. Curley, a Boston contractor, constructed the 1,100 seat atmospheric theater for $100,000, or $1.4 million when adjusted for inflation.

The opening day kicked off with a performance by Ed Andrews and his Nautical Garden Orchestra, followed by “Revue Les Arts,” a vaudeville comedy review. The main attraction was a showing of the silent film “Smile, Brother, Smile,” starring Jack Mulhall, Dorothy Mackaill and E.J. Ratcliffe. A newsreel and two other vaudeville acts capped off the festivities. John Kenne, the State’s organist, played the Estey Pipe Organ throughout the day.

By 1940, the theater was renamed the Interstate State Theatre, and had been converted into a talking motion picture house. The nearby Stoughton High School held class plays and graduations at the State. The theater was modernized in 1970 — the box seats and some of the atmospheric ornamentation in the auditorium were removed and covered with red drapes, and modern seats were installed on the orchestra level. The theater then became the Stoughton Cinema.

By the 1990s the theater had been renamed once again and was known as the Stoughton Cinema Pub, a second run movie house that served beer. The theater closed just six days short of its 80th birthday on December 2, 2007. The final production was a live performance of “A Christmas Carol“ by local theater troupe The Little Theatre of Stoughton, who had been performing at the theater since 1999. According to Mike Harmen, the manager at the time of the theater’s closing, it cost close to $3,000 a month to heat the auditorium in the winter, and it was the cost of utilities that caused the theater to close.

The Friends of the State Theatre was formed shortly after the theater closed, intending to restore and reopen the theater as a performing arts center. To that end, they have signed a 20-year lease and were awarded non-profit status in February 2013. They have received grants from the town of Stoughton and the state of Massachusetts, and around $700,000 in donations from private donors and businesses. The Friends aim to raise between $2.5 and $3 million to restore the theater.

Hi Everyone – I’ll be speaking about my upcoming book, After the Final Curtain: The Fall of the American Movie Theater, at the Somerville Theatre in Somerville, Massachusetts on November 13 at 6:30 PM.

If you want to get a copy of my book a few days before the official release this is your chance. Tickets are only $5 and can be purchased here. Hope to see you there!

You can preview the book at the following link: After the Final Curtain. Pre orders are available at the following locations: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Indiebound.

Hi Everyone! My first book, After the Final Curtain: The Fall of the American Movie Theater, launched this week. It’s available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or at your local bookstore. Signed copies are available at my site: http://www.afterthefinalcurtainprints.com/product/after-the-final-curtain-the-fall-of-the-american-movie-theater

Thank you to everyone who came to the lecture/launch party for the book at the Somerville Theatre in Somerville, MA! There are plans for similar events in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and even London. Details for those will be released soon. If you’d like me to come speak at your local theater or bookstore let me know!

The blog will return to regular updates on Monday November 21 with the Ritz Theatre in Carteret, NJ. Here’s a sneak peek at some theaters I recently photographed to tide you over until then.

The Ritz Theatre in Carteret, New Jersey originally opened on September 1, 1927. According to an article in “The Carteret Press,” which ran the the week before the opening, “it [was] the first modern theater to be erected in the borough and is up-to-date in every respect.” The 1,000 to 1,200 seat Ritz (accounts on the number of seats differ) was designed by local architect John Gliva. It was a vaudeville and silent film house until September 1928, when a Western Electric sound apparatus was installed to allow for the showing of “talkie” films.

The theater closed on January 31, 1965, and the building was converted into a sewing factory. However, during the conversion the building was not gutted — instead, walls were built inside the auditorium, which covered and protected the ornate plasterwork. After the bakery that had been occupying the building since the 1980’s closed in 2013, the borough of Carteret took possession and discovered the protected auditorium behind the interior walls.  

Carteret planned to restore and expand the Ritz into a 1,600 seat performing arts center and movie theater. In 2015, the borough received a $6 million grant from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund to be used for the new performing arts center. However, a structural survey conducted during the planning stages revealed that the cost of restoring the existing structure could be cost prohibitive. Moving forward, the borough will either demolish a portion of the theater and incorporate what remains into the new performing arts center or they will demolish the whole building and honor the Ritz in the design of the new one. The opening of the Carteret Performing Arts Center is planned for 2018, and will host live music and cultural events, off-broadway plays and comedy acts.

My first book, After the Final Curtain: The Fall of the American Movie Theater is out! It’s available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or at your local bookstore. Signed copies are available on my site.

Hi Everyone! I’m giving away two copies of my book, “After the Final Curtain: The Fall of the American Movie Theater”, on the After the Final Curtain Facebook page. All you have to do is like, share or comment on any new post in the next week. I’ll announce the winners on Facebook on December 15th.

If you don’t have a Facebook account – just comment on this post to enter!

What was the original name of the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn? Is there a reason it was painted in red and gold? What famous architect almost designed the Kings? These questions and more are answered in my new book, “Kings Theatre: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Brooklyn’s Wonder Theatre”, which is available now!

It was published by the Theatre Historical Society of America, and contains never before seen historic and modern photographs of the Kings, as well as a complete history of the theater. The book can be ordered on Amazon and signed copies are available via my site.

Hi everyone! I’ll be making appearances across the US to promote my two books, “After the Final Curtain: The Fall of the American Movie Theater” and “Kings Theatre: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Brooklyn’s Wonder Theatre.”

Here are the kick off events for 2017:

I’ll be speaking and signing books at the Red Room at KGB Bar in New York City on March 21, 2017 at 7PM. Tickets can be purchased at: http://www.atlasobscura.com/events/after-the-final-curtain

On April 22 and 23 I’ll have a table at the New Bedford Bookfest in New Bedford, MA. There will be a lecture with a Q&A session on Saturday, April 22 from 1:30PM to 3PM at the fest. Tickets are $10, or $50 with a signed copy of “After the Final Curtain: The Fall of the American Movie Theater.”

Have you ever wanted to tour an abandoned theater with me? Well, you’re in luck! On May 4 at 6PM I’ll be speaking at the Hyde Park branch of the Boston Public Library, then taking everyone who attends on a tour of the Everett Square Theatre! Visit Art Week Boston for more information.

Copies of both books will be available at all events.

There will be more events throughout 2017 so if there’s somewhere you’d like me to speak, let me know in the comments below!