Mesopotamia in Brownsville

Today’s Photo of the Week features a busy corner in Brownsville, 1501 Pitkin Avenue, where the stately Loew’s Pitkin Theater took up the entirety of the block between Legion Street and Saratoga Avenue. I was drawn to the building by this snapshot showing the random composition and distinctive pinked edges of mid-century candid photography, with the huge structure looming over a Pitkin Avenue filled with passersby. 

Loew’s Pitkin was opened on November 23, 1929, barely a month after the Stock Market Crash. The owners had little to fear - the movie industry fared better than most during the great depression.  

An artist’s rendering published in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on the occasion of the opening shows a dramatic structure in a mix of architectural styles including Roman and Mesopotamian with an interior reputed to lean towards Moorish and Greek influences. It was designed to present both movies and stage revues, was equipped with an organ, and held 3,500 seats. 

Looking for articles about the Pitkin in the Eagle I found a title that made stop: 

Brownsville girl wins $2 and a husband in Screeno, couple to wed Tuesday. 

First, I wanted to know - Screeno? Screeno was a form of bingo offered in movie theaters during the depression that helped to bolster attendance and added the modest price of the screeno card to the admission. An article from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 10, 1939 explains that Ethel went to the movies with her fiancé: 

Philip and Ethel have been sweethearts for the past year and a half. She is twenty-one and her fiancé is four years her senior. They have often discussed marriage but his salary and hers, as a presser in a steam laundry, made marriage a remote dream until she won “Screeno” at the Pitkin.

When Ethel won, the master of ceremonies called her onstage to claim her cash prize and during the usual patter he learned of their romantic predicament. One audience member, a restaurateur touched by their situation, volunteered to give them a wedding supper at his restaurant. Other merchants stepped forward to offer their help: new dresses, flowers, and then the master of ceremonies persuaded the theater manager to offer the Pitkin as their wedding venue. Five days later the couple was wed onstage at the Pitkin by a rabbi, with a 20 boy choir, and the bride was escorted down the aisle by 20 theater ushers.  

The Loew’s Pitkin operated as a movie house until 1971 and afterwards served a variety of other functions, including church and retail space, until it was closed and suffered decades of inevitable decay from neglect. After some years renovation it reopened in 2012 as the Brownsville Ascend Charter School. Its imposing decorative façade still lends an exotic touch to Pitkin Avenue. 

Interested in seeing more photos from CBH’s collections? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images, or the digital collections portal at Brooklyn Public Library. We look forward to inviting you to CBH in the future to research in our entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections. In the meantime, please visit our resources page, or access the resources of the former Brooklyn Collection. Our reference staff are still available to help with your research! You can reach us at [email protected].