Rob Foley, host of the Bridgeport cable access show Bridgeport Now, interviews Bridgeport historian Charles Brilvitch about the history of the city’s theatrical jewels, the Palace and Majestic theaters. Brilvitch has advocated for years that a redevelopment of the theaters can be a pride point not just for Bridgeport but also the entire state. Any theater restoration champions out there?
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Why was the Majestic Theatre in Waterbury restored and not the one here in Bridgeport?
It’s time for the truth to be told. The theatres should be torn down. They have been vacant since the early ’60s at least. I would have liked to have seen a school for the performing arts go into that building but it will not happen.
Bridgeport has been plagued by administrations that have done nothing but talk about this structure.
We now have an economic development department head who advertises pole-dancing classes and reports nothing on economic development.
The reality is when people come downtown this is the first thing they see. Take it down, this way public facilities will have another downtown lot they can pile snow or storm debris in.
Unfortunately, I agree with Andy. As much as I would like to see these restored to their previous splendor, I think they are beyond salvation. Their condition and the costs associated with it is prohibitive. Rescue what we can for display elsewhere.
The reason the Palace in Waterbury was restored was because it was in the center of then-governor Rowland’s universe.
We still have the Klein which is a wonderful venue to see music and other productions.
Until the late 1980s there were two theaters on 96th Street and Broadway in Manhattan … the Riverside and the Riviera. The Riverside was a vaudeville stage theater and the Riviera was always a movie palace. Both were of the same ilk as the Majestic and the Poli in Bridgeport.
Regretfully, one night the structure of the Riverside and Riviera collapsed and the building imploded leaving a pile of rubble. Fortunately no one was injured.
The Bridgeport theaters probably have a weakened structure and I’m surprised they are still standing.
The one interesting theater that was fully restored was the Beacon Theater on 74th and Broadway. It was modeled after the Roxy Theater that was torn down in the 1960s. When the Depression hit, the Beacon Theater was relegated to being just a movie house. Somewhere in the late 1970s the Beacon Hotel (in which the theater was housed) was sold to a developer. He discovered a magnificent formal chandelier, a full concert organ, five levels of dressing rooms, storage rooms and a moveable stage. It was completely restored and is now a viable concert venue in New York City.
Unfortunately, there are not enough visionaries like Charles Brilvitch or Rob Foley around. What is this destructive gene present in so many Bridgeporters? One blogger says we need a place for Public Facilities to place more snow and two others say it is structurally unsound. The first blogger must be kidding, the second two bloggers are woefully incorrect that the structures are unsound. In fact they are extremely structurally sound. A guided tour would be in order with an invite to all the naysayers.
It would be amazing to see it restored. The last thing they should do is tear it down.
*** Would be nice but show me the money! If not then lets move on to the future and learn from the past.*** MOVING ON ***
I’ll show you the value, the embodied energy, the structure, the aesthetics, the foundation, the walls, the roof, the layout. These have value, a lot of value. This value will leverage the money. Start a non-profit to own it that would raise funds to stabilize it. Fix it one section at a time. A restaurant in the foyer, a renovated hotel, an adaptive reuse. Start with the substantial sum it would take to tear it down and apply it to its restoration instead. Do a tax adjustment as subsidy. Get the Governor involved. Hire a decent Economic Development staff person. Market the structure to the right markets. Don’t forget, other buildings have been quite a mess as well such as the Read’s Building. We didn’t force the issue that we had to put a department store back in. We did an adaptive reuse and now it has served as a main anchor to our downtown revitalization. The right people can find the right funding: charitable trusts, foundations, grants, tax credits. We don’t have to tear everything down here in Bridgeport. We have to save what is of value and what makes Bridgeport unique. We just lost the GE and Remington Buildings. We lost the whole Calf Pasture Point area. What do we have? More vacant lots? Out leaders are trying their hardest to make Bridgeport the Detroit of the East. Those who believe, please don’t give up!
*** Let’s be realistic OIB readers, Bpt is not the past anymore. Time to move on! ***