Posts Tagged ‘ new york city ’
Built in 1926, the Bijou Theatre (which would later be known as the Charles) originally served as a film house, though by the end of its days was used by a church. It now sits, stripped, waiting for demolition to be completed to make way for a new church and high rise apartments.
Sometimes artifacts are left in buildings, sometimes they’re found scattered on the grounds, and in the case of islands, rummaging through the sediment and buildup at low tide can reveal treasures. North Brother Island has unfortunately been heavily scrapped, and very little in the way of artifacts actually remains.
Which is why it was amazing to discover that the facility, known as Riverside Hospital, actually had branded dishware. Two broken pieces of a plate, stamped “Riverside” with laurel leaves and a DH, which I can only assume stands for Department of Health. The back of the plate was inscribed with a very faint “Greenwood China, Trenton NJ” which, after a bit of research, turned out to be from the pottery company Messrs. Stephens, Tanis & Co. established in 1861. The particular mark on the plate was first used in 1886. While it seems difficult to further narrow down the date this plate was created beyond the stamp, knowing Riverside Hospital was founded in the 1850s as a smallpox hospital makes me wonder if these plate remnants really are well over 100 years old, and existed before the General Slocum crash on the island’s shores.
Either way, a fascinating find, giving a little more insight into the daily life of the quarantine patients in the early years of the hospital.
Living in New York City, I’ve been fascinated by the remnants of the 1964 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens. While the Unisphere is obviously the main attraction, I’d always been more interested in the decaying New York State Pavilion, which I only recently learned was also called the Tent of Tomorrow. The entire retro, yet futuristic feel of the World’s Fairs have always appealed to me. As one friend so aptly put it, they were filled with a naive optimism, in a time where countries were racing to be the first into space, and where structures almost looked more like a mix between 1930s art deco mixed with some vague science fiction ideas of what the future may be. In fact I’ve found reference to the style of the structure being Futurist.
A selection of various auditoriums, chapels and other general congregation spaces I’ve shot over the years. Most are contained within larger institutions; I’m not including free-standing theatres.
Photo of hand-painted lettering on a door in an old quarantine building, Staten Island, NY.
Part three of my photos from the Loews Kings Theatre. For an in depth history on the place, take a look at my friend’s blog post here, my previous posts include the lobby and mezzanine as well as a general overview.
A detailed view of the lobby and mezzanine levels of the Loew’s Kings Theatre in Flatbush, Brooklyn as a followup to my previous post on the location.
This is a teaser post featuring a few shots over the past couple years from the Loew’s Kings movie palace, located in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Two separate full posts, documenting both the theatre itself as well as the mezzanine and lobby spaces will be coming in the next few days. The theatre is currently in the process of being renovated back into a performing arts space. Designed by Harold W. Rambusch and constructed by the Rapp Brothers in a french-inspired Baroque style, the Kings was one of the five Loew’s Wonder Theatres, constructed as flagship venues for the Loew’s company and only built in New York City metropolitan area. The Kings is the only of the five that remains vacant, though fortunately all five are still standing.
One of the things I tend to focus on every time I go to North Brother Island in the East River is documenting the buildings throughout the seasons, as best I can. This has been evidenced in my previous posts on the island, though in this particular one I will be posting shots from the outside of all the structures on the island (except for the morgue, gantry and physical plant, as I’ve already made individual posts on these ). It really is amazing how over the last several decades, despite the Parks Department’s efforts, nature has slowly overtaken most of the remaining structures.
Admiral’s Row, also known as Officer’s Row, is located in the heart of the Brooklyn Navy Yard and currently faces a potentially imminent destruction. Former home to naval officers and their families, the Row consists of ten houses spread between six buildings. Additionally there is an old stable building, a greenhouse, tennis courts, a groundskeepers residence, and a plethora of other tiny ancillary buildings between the main houses and the orchard that used to grow out back.
wardnine 