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Loew's Bijou Theatre
26 Smith Street at Livingston Street
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201
The Bijou Theatre, located at the corner of Livingston and Smith Streets, was built on the site of the old Livingston mansion. As designed by John B. McElfatrick, the interior of the house was decorated in the Renaissance style and featured a sounding board with allegorical figures. About 1,500 patrons could be seated in orchestra chairs upholstered in red plush, and there were twelve boxes arranged in three tiers of two each on a side. The stage was 42 feet deep and was framed by a proscenium arch measuring 70 feet wide by 70 feet high. The Bijou was equipped with the most modern electrical appliances available at the time, requiring 1,700 incandescent lamps, 700 of which were on and about the stage. There were 26 exits that opened to the fire alley, and onto both Smith and Livingston Streets.
When the Bijou Theatre opened on November 13, 1893, it was as a playhouse managed by Harry C. Kennedy, one of the lessees. Due to its convenient location in downtown Brooklyn, the Bijou Theatre proved an instant success and soon became one of the most profitable theatres in the country. When the ailing Kennedy retired in 1900, he sold the Bijou Theatre to Hyde & Behman, which operated it for a time and then leased to the Spooner Repertory Company. In 1908, Marcus Loew, encouraged by the success of his first Brooklyn theatre, the Royal Theatre, took over the Bijou and converted it to movies with vaudeville. Noted theatre architect Thomas Lamb carried out alterations in 1912 and again in 1917.
The Royal Theatre and Bijou Theatre became second-run situations after Loew built the much larger and grander Metropolitan Theatre in the same area. The Bijou Theatre and adjoining property were actually owned by the estate of Louis Wechsler, which sold them in December 1928, to Henry Kornblum, a local builder and developer. Kornblum planned to raze the theatre in 1930, after the lease with Loew's Theatres expired, and erect a thirty-story office building on the site. However, Loew's negotiated an early end to its lease and presented the last program at the Bijou Theatre on May 26, 1929. The photo in the upper right corner was taken in 1932, suggesting that redevelopment plans were likely delayed or canceled due to the onset of the Depression. |
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M.P. Möller, Inc.
Hagerstown, Md. – Opus 2492 (1918)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 34 stops, 16 ranks
The handwritten Agreement (Apr. 1, 1918) between M.P. Möller and People's Vaudeville Co., 1893 Broadway, New York, shows that Möller agreed to build an organ for the Bijou Theatre in Brooklyn for a consideration of $6,000. Möller indicated that the organ would be "ready for use on or before April 1, 1918, or as soon thereafter as possible." A note on the bottom of the Agreement read, "Organ shipped 6/20/18." |
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Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
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16 |
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Violin Diapason [TC] |
73 |
2 |
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Piccolo [Fl. Harm.] |
OR |
8 |
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Open Diapason |
85 |
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Mixture III ranks |
derived |
8 |
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Viol d'Orchestre |
73 |
16 |
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Bass Clarinet [TC] |
OR |
8 |
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Doppel Flute |
73 |
8 |
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French Horn |
73 |
4 |
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Octave [Op. Diap.] |
— |
4 |
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Octave Horn |
— |
4 |
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Zart Flute [Quintadena] |
OR |
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| Cathedral Chimes |
20 Notes |
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Orchestral Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
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8 |
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Violin Diapason |
GT |
4 |
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Flute Harmonic |
73 |
8 |
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Horn Diapason (syn) |
— |
16 |
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Fagotto [TC] |
— |
8 |
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Quintadena |
73 |
8 |
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Orchestral Oboe |
73 |
8 |
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Viol d'Orchestre |
GT |
8 |
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Clarinet
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73 |
8 |
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Viol Celeste [TC] |
73 |
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Solo Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
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8 |
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Gross Flute |
85 |
4 |
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Gemshorn [TG] |
— |
8 |
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Concert Flute |
73 |
16 |
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Bass Tuba [TC] |
— |
8 |
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Gemshorn |
85 |
8 |
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Tuba |
73 |
8 |
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Violoncello |
73 |
8 |
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Vox Humana |
73 |
4 |
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Flute Overte [TG] [Gross Fl.] |
— |
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Pedal Organ – 32 notes
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16 |
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Sub Bass [ext. Gross Fl.] |
12 |
8 |
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Violoncello |
SO |
16 |
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Gemshorn [ext.] |
12 |
8 |
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Flute |
SO |
16 |
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Lieblich Gedeckt [lo-press.] |
— |
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Couplers
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Great to Pedal 8', 4' |
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Orch. to Solo |
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Orch. to Pedal 8' |
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Solo to Orch. 8' 8' |
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Solo to Pedal 8' |
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Great 4' |
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Orch. to Great 16', 8', 4' |
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Orch. 16', 4' |
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Solo. to Great 16', 8', 4' |
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Solo 16', 4' |
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Mechanicals
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Orchestral Tremulant |
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Crescendo Indicator |
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Solo Tremulant |
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Adjustable Combinations
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| Orchestral Organ |
Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb) |
| Great Organ |
Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb) |
| Solo Organ |
Pistons 1-2-3-4 (thumb) |
| Pedal Organ |
Pistons 1-2-3 (thumb) |
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Piston Couplers
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Corresponding Orchestral and Solo Pistons to Great Pistons |
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Corresponding Pedal Pistons to Manual Pistons |
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Pedal Movements
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Balanced Solo Pedal |
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Great to Pedal Reversible |
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Balanced Orchestral Pedal |
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Orchestral to Pedal Reversible |
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Grand Crescendo Pedal |
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Thunder Pedal |
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Sources:
"Brooklyn's New Theatre," The New York Times (Nov. 5, 1893).
Cinema Treasures web site: http://cinematreasures.orgtheaters/15323
Junchen, David L. Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ, Vol. 1. Pasadena: Showcase Publications, 1985.
Miller, Mike. Notes on the Bijou Theatre.
M.P. Möller, Inc. Agreement (Apr. 1, 1918) of M.P. Möller organ, Op. 2492 (1918). Courtesy Larry Trupiano.
"To Build on Theatre Site," The New York Times (Dec. 4, 1928).
Illustrations:
Public Domain. Exterior (1932). Courtesy Brooklynpix.com.
Public Domain. Interior (1890s). |
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