Kings Theatre (Brooklyn)

The Loew's Kings Theatre was designed by the architectural firm of Rapp and Rapp.{{cite web |last=Spellen |first=Suzanne |date=January 4, 2016 |title=The Once-Opulent Venue Comes Back to Life |url=https://www.brownstoner.com/history/kings-theatre-brooklyn-restoration-history/ |access-date=November 10, 2024 |website=Brownstoner |archive-date=November 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110183647/https://www.brownstoner.com/history/kings-theatre-brooklyn-restoration-history/ |url-status=live }} It is one of three theaters that Rapp and Rapp designed in New York City, the others being the Brooklyn Paramount and the Times Square Paramount.{{Cite magazine |last=Stein |first=Elliott |date=March–April 1979 |title=An Acre of Seats in a Garden of Dreams |magazine=Film Comment |pages=32–51 |volume=15 |issue=2 |id={{ProQuest|210267141}}}} The Loew's Kings Theatre was one of five Loew's Wonder Theatres in the New York City area, along with the Jersey Theatre in Jersey City, the 175th Street Theatre in Manhattan, the Paradise Theatre in the Bronx, and the Valencia Theatre in Queens.{{cite news |last=Iverem |first=Esther |date=January 22, 1991 |title=Movie Theaters That Were Palaces Now Playing: Queens History |work=Newsday |page=54 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|278315782}}}} Rapp and Rapp had intended for the theater's elaborate design to impress visitors and make them feel special.{{Cite magazine |last=Calhoun |first=John |date=2019 |title=Loew's Kings Theatre: Restoration of a Palace for the Masses |magazine=Performing Arts Resources |pages=160–176,XIII |volume=34 |id={{ProQuest|2544917211}}}}

The theater is located at 1027 Flatbush Avenue in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City.{{harvnb|National Park Service|2012|ps=.|page=3}}{{cite book |last=Fortier |first=Alison |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BTSACwAAQBAJ&pg=PA194 |title=A History Lover's Guide to New York City |publisher=History Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-4671-1903-0 |series=History and Guide Series |page=194}} The site occupies the center of a city block bounded to the south by Duryea Place and to the north by Tilden Avenue. The Kings Theatre occupies an irregular site and is divided into two sections: the lobby section and the auditorium. The main entrance faces west toward Flatbush Avenue; the lobbies extend east of the entrance before turning 45 degrees to the southeast. The auditorium extends to the northeast of the lobbies. The theater was originally bounded by East 22nd Street to the east, but that street was closed and partially removed to make way for an expanded stage house in the 2010s.{{cite web |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=November 6, 2013 |title=Giving Old Loew's Theater in Brooklyn a Second Chance |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/nyregion/giving-old-loews-theater-in-brooklyn-a-second-chance.html |access-date=November 10, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110070102/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/nyregion/giving-old-loews-theater-in-brooklyn-a-second-chance.html |url-status=live }} Behind the stage house is a public parking lot located east of East 22nd Street.{{Harvnb|AKRF Inc.|Eng-Wong, Taub & Associates|2011|ps=.|page=S3}} The Sears Roebuck & Company Department Store is located immediately southeast of the theater.{{Harvnb|AKRF Inc.|Eng-Wong, Taub & Associates|2011|ps=.|pages=2.4–2.5}}

The facade rises three stories from Flatbush Avenue. The roof of the lobby section measures {{Convert|38|ft}} tall, although the facade on Flatbush Avenue is {{Convert|40|ft}} tall, obscuring the lobby's roof. The auditorium originally had a roof measuring {{Convert|84|ft}} or {{Convert|87|ft}} tall.{{Harvnb|AKRF Inc.|Eng-Wong, Taub & Associates|2011|ps=.|page=S2}} There are {{Convert|3|ft|4=-tall|adj=mid}} parapets surrounding the roof of the auditorium to the west and east. In addition, the originally stage house to the northeast of the auditorium measured {{Convert|35|ft}} tall. The replacement stage house is {{Convert|97|ft}} tall and occupies part of the former right-of-way of East 22nd Street.

The only elevation of the facade with substantial decoration is on Flatbush Avenue, which is {{Convert|40|ft}} wide.{{harvnb|Theatre Historical Society of America|2017|ps=.|page=310}} The main entrance is through a segmentally arched, brass-and-glass storefront, topped by a frieze with text welcoming visitors to the theater. The doors are recessed slightly from the facade, and there is a bronze ticket booth protruding from the middle of the storefront, separating the doors into two sets of five. The storefront itself is polygonal in shape, with a marble base, a half-domed roof, and etched glass windows. There is a marquee above the storefront, which is suspended from two cables that protrude from the upper portion of the facade. The marquee originally had a concave soffit, but this was replaced in 1949 with a rectangular sign flanked by two rectangular light boxes.{{harvnb|National Park Service|2012|ps=.|pages=3–4}} The original marquee was restored in the 2010s.{{cite news |last=Croghan |first=Lore |date=January 23, 2013 |title=Royalty Derelict Loew's Kings Theater to Get $94m Regal Restoration |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-royalty-derelict-loews-kings/159099161/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |pages=11 |issn=2692-1251 |id={{ProQuest|1272125263}}}} The modern marquee contains the theater's name and 800 light bulbs. Unlike the original sign, it lacks the Loews name because AMC Theatres still used that name as a trademark in the 2010s.

The rest of the facade above the marquee is clad in cream-colored architectural terracotta and is divided vertically into three bays. The center bay of the facade includes a bas-relief with decorations such as acanthus leaves, birds, foliage, a mask, shields, and trefoils. This bas-relief is surrounded by a semicircular arch with terracotta moldings. On either side of the arch, within the outer bays, are terracotta pilasters with more bas-reliefs of motifs such as acanthus leaves, fleurs-de-lis, figures, scrolls, and urns. The outer bays also have rusticated terracotta blocks. Above the center of the roofline is a parapet with a segmentally-arched broken pediment with a medallion at the center. The outer corners are topped by finials. A vertical sign existed in front of the central bay until the 1980s.{{harvnb|National Park Service|2012|ps=.|page=4}}

The facades of the lobby section's northern and southern elevations are clad in plain brick and lack windows. The southern elevation is discolored due to the presence of an adjacent one-story building that no longer exists. The facade of the auditorium is also utilitarian, with little decoration, although the auditorium does have some windows. There is a brick chimney above the southeastern corner of the auditorium. In addition, a parapet with terracotta coping runs above the perimeter of the auditorium. There are emergency-exit doorways leading from the northern and southern walls of the auditorium section.{{harvnb|National Park Service|2012|ps=.|pages=4–5}}

The interior was designed by Harold Rambusch, who collaborated with Rapp & Rapp on the design details.{{harvnb|National Park Service|2012|ps=.|page=5}} Anne Dornin{{Efn|Also spelled "Ann"}} was also involved with the interior design. The decorative details were inspired by the decorations inside the Paris Opera House and Palace of Versailles. A contemporary source characterized the interiors as being decorated in the Italian Renaissance Revival style.{{Cite web |date=August 30, 1929 |title=Loew's Kings Theatre |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-chat-loews-kings-theatre/158809430/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=The Chat |page=30 |language=en-US}} There are only two above-ground stories, plus a basement. The interiors include a one-story-high entrance vestibule, a main lobby, an inner lobby, several foyers and lounges, and an auditorium. The back-of-house areas (such as dressing rooms, offices, and storage and mechanical areas) are within the basement, backstage, and near the entrance.

Originally, the theater's interior space totaled about {{Convert|63000|to|68000|ft2}}.{{cite web |last=Ryley |first=Saray |date=March 14, 2008 |title=Loew's Kings Theater in Flatbush could finally be redeveloped |url=https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2008/03/14/loew-s-kings-theater-in-flatbush-could-finally-be-redeveloped/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=The Real Deal}}{{cite web |last=Ohrstrom |first=Lysandra |date=March 14, 2008 |title=Developers, You're On! City Wants To Spruce Up Brooklyn's Kings Theater |url=https://observer.com/2008/03/developers-youre-on-city-wants-to-spruce-up-brooklyns-kings-theater/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=Observer}} Following a renovation in the 2010s, it was expanded to {{Convert|101970|ft2}}. When the theater opened, it had a {{convert|400|ft|m|-deep|adj=mid}} well, which supplied {{convert|400|gal|L|sp=us}} of water for the mechanical equipment every minute. There was also an air-filtering system that could clean about {{Convert|140,000|ft3}} of air per minute. The system drew air from openings on the building's roof, and it pushed out air via "mushrooms" under the auditorium's seats.

File:Kings Theatre entry hall.jpg

Just past the entrance is a north–south vestibule occupying the entire frontage on Flatbush Avenue. The vestibule's western wall has a storefront with brass-and-glass doors leading from the entrance, and the eastern wall has a nearly identical storefront leading to the lobby. There was a ticket booth on the eastern wall, which was identical to the one at the entrance, but no longer exists. On the vestibule's north and south walls are marble panels with mirrors. The floor of the vestibule is made of poured concrete with rubber mats. On the ceiling is a grid of iron beams, with rosettes at the intersections of each set of beams; the ceiling is surrounded by a plaster cornice.

To the east of the vestibule is the main lobby, which is oriented east–west and measures about {{Convert|40|by|75|ft}} across.{{harvnb|Binger|1990|ps=.|page=39}} The marble floor is divided into a grid of pink and white tiles with a red-and-black border.{{harvnb|National Park Service|2012|ps=.|page=6}} Originally, the space had brass railings so patrons could form queues. The walls are {{Convert|30|ft}} high; the lower portions are decorated with red marble dadoes, while the upper portions have walnut panels. On the western wall of the main lobby is the archway from the vestibule. The lobby walls contain groups of wooden pilasters with ornate capitals, which flank one arched bay to the north and two to the south. The lower portions of the arched bays have walnut display cases, while the upper portions have mirrors, draperies, and painted plaster decorations. The mirror frames, trim, and pilasters were all carved by hand. The eastern half of the north wall contains an archway, underneath which is a stair that ascends to the mezzanine. The main lobby's eastern wall has two archways, flanked by walnut columns in the Corinthian order; the left (northeast) archway leads to the orchestra-level foyer, while the right (southeast) archway leads to the inner lobby.{{harvnb|National Park Service|2012|ps=.|pages=5–6}} The ceiling, inspired by that of the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, is made of plaster, with elaborate octagonal and square coffers. Three Art Deco lantern-shaped chandeliers with prisms, fleurs-de-lis, and pendeloques hang from the ceiling; each chandelier weighs about {{Convert|1|ST|LT t}}.{{cite web |last=Velsey |first=Kim |date=September 17, 2014 |title=Inside the Nearly Completed Restoration of Brooklyn's Kings Theater [Photos] |url=https://observer.com/2014/09/inside-the-nearly-restored-kings-theater/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=Observer |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112232637/https://observer.com/2014/09/inside-the-nearly-restored-kings-theater/ |url-status=live }}

The inner lobby is {{Convert|80|by|32|ft}} across, extending southeast from the main lobby, and is built of similar materials to the main lobby. On the southwestern wall are protruding wooden pilasters, which divide the wall into three arched bays. Wooden columns divide the northeastern wall into three archways, behind which are the mezzanine and the orchestra-level foyer; there is a cast iron balcony railing at the mezzanine level. A stair to the mezzanine runs along the southeastern wall. There are blind openings with wooden grilles behind the staircase. Red and gold draperies hang from the archways and arched bays. The barrel-vaulted ceiling is made of plaster, with coffers similar to those on the main lobby's ceiling, and has four chandeliers. In addition, the concrete floor is covered with carpeting.{{harvnb|National Park Service|2012|ps=.|page=7}}

Directly northeast of the inner lobby are foyers on both the ground (orchestra) level and the mezzanine level, which have simpler design details than those in the lobbies. The orchestra-level foyer measures {{Convert|30|ft}} wide and {{Convert|185|ft}} long.{{harvnb|Theatre Historical Society of America|2017|ps=.|page=311}} It runs parallel to, and just to the northeast of, the inner lobby. Leading off the orchestra foyer are several lounges and other spaces. These include a men's lounge, a women's lounge, a cosmetic room, a coat-check room, offices, and a stair to the basement.{{harvnb|National Park Service|2012|ps=.|page=8}} The women's lounge had such decorations as draperies, marble fountains, and a marble fireplace mantel. The mezzanine foyer is directly above the orchestra foyer. The men's lounge, women's lounge, and cosmetic room all connect with the mezzanine foyer, and there is also a stair leading from the mezzanine foyer to a projection room. The projection room still exists, but the projector is no longer usable as of 2019; instead, a digital projector is used whenever the Kings screens movies. Three of the theater's four lounges were also restored in the 2010s and are open to the public.

On the southwestern wall of the orchestra foyer are archways leading from the inner lobby. These archways are decorated with patera and foliate ornament, and there are mirrors between each archway. On the orchestra foyer's northeastern wall, seven sets of double doors lead to the auditorium. There are sets of wooden windows between each group of doorways. The ceiling of the orchestra foyer is made of plaster and is mostly flat, except for decorative bas-relief panels and ceiling medallions with lanterns; the southeast end has a coffered ceiling. The walls are decorated with ornamental bas-reliefs and draperies; there is a wood baseboard at the bottom of each wall, as well as a cornice at the top. The floor is covered with a carpet.

The mezzanine foyer is accessed by two stairs, one each from the main and inner lobbies. The main-lobby stair ascends behind the north wall of that room; it is L-shaped with an intermediate landing. The bottom steps of the main-lobby stairs are curved, and the other steps have carpeted treads. In addition, the main-lobby stair has a cast-iron balustrade atop a marble base. The inner-lobby stair is decorated similarly and is also L-shaped, though the stair is within the inner lobby itself rather than behind a wall. There is a trapezoidal opening on the wall underneath the stair, with a metal grate. The mezzanine foyer itself has seven recessed double doors, surrounded by guilloché moldings, which lead to the auditorium's rear aisle. The foyer's floors are carpeted, while the ceiling has plaster decorations such as medallions. The plaster walls contain pilasters and decorative fabric panels, and a cornice runs atop each wall.

File:Kings Theatre - Brooklyn.jpg

The auditorium is symmetrically arranged on a southwest–northeast axis; it faces the stage in the northeast. The auditorium measures {{Convert|155|ft}} deep from front to rear, and it is {{Convert|160|ft}} wide at its rear wall, though the front rows are substantially narrower. The ceiling is {{Convert|90|ft}} tall. In contrast to other theaters with multiple balconies, the Loew's Kings Theatre has only one balcony level, since Rapp and Rapp wanted to improve the auditorium's acoustics.{{Cite web |date=September 6, 1929 |title=Loew's Kings Shows Trend Toward Simplicity of Style |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-times-loews-kings-sh/158804282/ |access-date=November 10, 2024 |website=The Brooklyn Daily Times |page=79 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111000541/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-times-loews-kings-sh/158804282/ |url-status=live }} The balcony level is shallow and horseshoe-shaped.{{harvnb|National Park Service|2012|ps=.|pages=8–9}} Both the orchestra level and the balcony are raked, sloping down toward an orchestra pit in front of the stage. When the theater was renovated in the 2010s, both levels were re-raked to improve sightlines from the rear seats.{{cite web |last=Bonanos |first=Christopher |date=January 15, 2015 |title=Photos: The Most Beautiful Old Movie Palace in Brooklyn, Back From the Brink |url=https://www.vulture.com/2015/01/loews-kings-theater-renovation-photos.html?mid=nymag_press |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=Vulture}}{{cite magazine |last=Petersen |first=George |date=Mar 2015 |title=Theatre Installation Showcase |magazine=Front of House |page=40 |volume=13 |issue=6 |id={{ProQuest|1667737915}}}}

The auditorium originally had 3,690 seats across two levels;{{cite news |date=July 28, 1929 |title=Brooklyn's Largest "Movie" And Be Readv Next Month |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=D2 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1111993727}}}} the balcony had only 800 seats, and the remaining 2,890 seats were on the parterre-level orchestra.{{harvnb|National Park Service|2012|ps=.|page=17}} The capacity was downsized to 3,250 seats after the theater's 2010s renovation,{{cite web |last=Levere |first=Jane L. |date=December 31, 2014 |title=Kings Theater in Flatbush Set to Reopen, and Lift a Neighborhood |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/31/realestate/commercial/kings-theater-in-flatbush-set-to-reopen-and-lift-a-neighborhood.html |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110065246/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/31/realestate/commercial/kings-theater-in-flatbush-set-to-reopen-and-lift-a-neighborhood.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=McGoldrick |first=Meaghan |date=January 23, 2015 |title=Ribbon cut on new-and-improved Kings Theatre |url=https://brooklynreporter.com/2015/01/ribbon-cut-on-new-and-improved-kings-theatre/ |access-date=November 12, 2024 |website=The Brooklyn Home Reporter |archive-date=November 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241113034147/https://brooklynreporter.com/2015/01/ribbon-cut-on-new-and-improved-kings-theatre/ |url-status=live }} with 2,400 seats in the orchestra and 800 in the balcony. Despite the reduced capacity, the theater is the fourth-largest live events venue in New York City as of 2015, behind Radio City Music Hall, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, and the Metropolitan Opera House.

Aisles extend through the orchestra level from the rear to the front, dividing the space lengthwise into seven sections. There is an additional cross-aisle partway through the orchestra level. Originally, the seats were {{Convert|22|in}} wide, larger than typical movie-theater seats of the period, which tended to be {{Convert|18|to|19|in}} wide. In addition, each row of seats was about {{Convert|40|in}} deep from one seatback to the next; by comparison, other theaters had seating rows that were only {{convert|32|in}} deep.{{Cite web |date=September 6, 1929 |title=New Edifice Shows Progress Made in Theatre Building Art |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-times-new-edifice-sho/158771861/ |access-date=November 10, 2024 |website=The Brooklyn Daily Times |page=79 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110161320/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-times-new-edifice-sho/158771861/ |url-status=live }} In the 2010s, the seats were widened, and legroom was increased as well. Approximately 300 seats in the modern-day theater, mostly near the stage and orchestra pit can be removed to increase capacity for standing-room only audiences. The stage measures {{Convert|34|by|80|ft}} across, and the orchestra pit, which can fit 40 musicians, measures {{Convert|50|by|14|ft}} across.{{harvnb|Theatre Historical Society of America|2017|ps=.|page=312}} The modern-day orchestra pit has a {{convert|350|ft2|adj=on}} orchestra lift.{{Cite magazine |date=Mar 2016 |title=Built for Industry, Ideal for the Stage |magazine=Stage Directions |page=74 |volume=29 |issue=3 |id={{ProQuest|1784965954}}}} In addition, the orchestra pit has a removable barricade for events where the front rows of seating are removed.

The orchestra pit at the front of the theater is surrounded by a plaster-and-marble balustrade.{{harvnb|National Park Service|2012|ps=.|page=9}} On the auditorium's northeastern wall is a segmental proscenium arch measuring {{Convert|60|ft}} high. Above the center of the arch is a protruding medallion. Under the archway, the theater originally had a triple-width screen.{{cite magazine |last=Allen |first=Kelcey |date=August 19, 1929 |title=Amusements: "The Dance Of Life" |magazine=Women's Wear Daily |pages=16, 24 |volume=39 |issue=35 |id={{ProQuest|1653694626}}}} The archway has Baroque decorations such as acanthus leaves with rope motifs, in addition to guilloche leaves, fleurs-de-lis, and medallions. On either side of the proscenium arch are recessed niches, which contain equipment for the theater's organ. These niches rise the height of the theater and are elaborately decorated, with spiral column and garlands on either side of each niche. At the orchestra level, there are deep alcoves on either side of the proscenium arch. The side walls are {{Convert|50|ft}} high, and they contain Corinthian columns measuring {{Convert|35|ft}} high and {{convert|3|ft}} across.

The underside of the balcony has an elaborate fascia and soffit made of plaster. There are round and square plaster columns under the balcony, which obstruct views from parts of the orchestra. In addition, a fulcrum truss supports the balcony. The balcony level itself has cast-iron lighting stanchions, and there are VIP seating areas on that level.

The rear and side walls contain a colonnade of distyle columns in the Corinthian order. These columns flank parabolic arches with red-and-gold draperies, which provide access to the mezzanine seats from the mezzanine's side aisles. The arches are set between wide piers, which contain fabric panels and small niches at the orchestra level. There are also murals on the balcony level.{{Cite web |last=Naylor |first=David |date=January 31, 1988 |title=Masterpiece Theaters |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-masterpiece-theaters/159043296/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |pages=239, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-masterpiece-theaters/159043349/ 240], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-masterpiece-theaters/159043373/ 241], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-masterpiece-theaters/159043397/ 242] |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} Above each of the piers are pendentives, which support the ceiling. The ceiling is made of plaster and is split up into colorful octagonal and square coffers. At the center of the ceiling is a recessed quatrefoil panel. The ceiling's color scheme was intended to harmonize with the decorations in the rest of the auditorium. The top of the ceiling dome is {{Convert|75|ft}} high and is decorated in a red, gold, and blue scheme.{{harvnb|Theatre Historical Society of America|2017|ps=.|pages=311–312}}

Like the other Wonder Theaters, the Loew's Kings Theatre featured a "Wonder Morton" theater pipe organ manufactured by the Robert Morton Organ Company.{{cite web |date=September 7, 1929 |title=Loew's Kings Theatre |url=http://www.nycago.org/Organs/Bkln/html/KingsTheatre.html |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=The New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists |archive-date=March 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330185626/http://www.nycago.org/Organs/Bkln/html/KingsTheatre.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Johnston |first=Laurie |date=January 28, 1974 |title=Organ's Farewell to Brooklyn Stirs Ghostly Echoes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/01/28/archives/organs-farewell-to-brooklyn-stirs-ghostly-echoes-ghostly-cymbals.html |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241113031519/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/01/28/archives/organs-farewell-to-brooklyn-stirs-ghostly-echoes-ghostly-cymbals.html |url-status=live }} The organ featured a console with 4 manuals and 23 ranks of pipes. There were 3,000 pipes in total, divided evenly between two organ lofts. When the theater was built, the organ cost $75,000 ({{Inflation|index=US|value=75000|start_year=1929|r=-3|fmt=eq}}). The organ remained at the theater until 1974, when Loew's disassembled the organ, with the intention of donating it to Town Hall in Manhattan. However, the instrument was never reinstalled; it was vandalized extensively, and parts of the organ were stolen.{{cite web |last=Hughes |first=Allen |date=November 28, 1980 |title=Pipe Organ Reresounds At Movies; Began in High School in Alabama Midwest and Coast Revival Biggest Wurlitzer of Them All New Audience for Silent Films |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/11/28/archives/pipe-organ-reresounds-at-movies-began-in-high-school-in-alabama.html |access-date=November 12, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241113040755/https://www.nytimes.com/1980/11/28/archives/pipe-organ-reresounds-at-movies-began-in-high-school-in-alabama.html |url-status=live }} An organ collector from the Bronx, Donald Schwing, had acquired the remains of the organ by 1980. Paul Van Der Molen acquired the console in 1998 and rebuilt it in his house in Wheaton, Illinois.{{cite web |title=The 5 Wonder Mortons – Where are they now? – Garden State Theatre Organ Society |url=https://gstos.org/organs/the-bob-balfour-memorial-wonder-morton-theatre-pipe-organ/the-5-wonder-mortons-where-are-they-now/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=Garden State Theatre Organ Society |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112224505/https://gstos.org/organs/the-bob-balfour-memorial-wonder-morton-theatre-pipe-organ/the-5-wonder-mortons-where-are-they-now/ |url-status=live }}

File:Kings Theatre organ console.jpg

The Van Der Molen family donated Wonder Morton to the New York Theatre Organ Society in 2011.{{cite web |title=Van Der Molen 4/26 Robert Morton |url=http://www.wheatonfox.com/index2.htm |access-date=May 11, 2010 |publisher=wheatonfox.com |archive-date=September 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930182422/http://www.wheatonfox.com/index2.htm |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Jaeger |first=Max |date=October 16, 2014 |title=Kings Theatre needs organ transplant |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/kings-theatre-needs-organ-transplant-2/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=Brooklyn Paper |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112225410/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/kings-theatre-needs-organ-transplant-2/ |url-status=live }} The organ was removed from the family's home and placed in storage for an anticipated return to the restored Kings Theatre.{{cite web|title=Welcome to the Former Wheaton Fox Studio|url=http://wheatonfox.com/|publisher=Linda Van Der Molen|access-date=July 11, 2014|archive-date=December 18, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218135231/http://wheatonfox.com/|url-status=live}} The renovation budget, however, did not include the $650,000 cost of relocating and reinstalling the organ.{{cite news|last1=Jaeger|first1=Max|title=Kings Theatre needs organ transplant|url=http://www.brooklyndaily.com/stories/2014/42/all-kings-organ-controversy-2014-10-17-bk_2014_42.html|access-date=December 20, 2014|issue=42|publisher=Community News Group|date=October 16, 2014|archive-date=December 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220203838/http://www.brooklyndaily.com/stories/2014/42/all-kings-organ-controversy-2014-10-17-bk_2014_42.html|url-status=dead}} In December 2014, the theater's developer ACE Theatrical Group agreed to help develop an electronic reproduction of the Wonder Morton. The donated pipe work would be sold or donated to a suitable venue.{{cite web|title=Kings Theatre Organ – Latest News|url=http://www.nytos.org/kings.html|publisher=New York Theatre Organ Society|access-date=February 18, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150218014930/http://www.nytos.org/kings.html|archive-date=February 18, 2015}} The rest of Van Der Molen's organ, which was not part of the original Wonder Morton, is in the collection of the University of Oklahoma.

The basement has a lounge and restrooms. There are several back-of-house spaces in the basement, such as a utility-meter room, an ushers' suite, refrigeration rooms, and machine rooms. There are storage rooms under the stage, along with rooms for the organ, piano, and musicians. The basement also had a basketball court; according to the New York Daily News, ushers were obligated to exercise there.{{Cite web |last=Kravis |first=Hedi |date=February 12, 1978 |title=The Best First-Run Movie Houses! |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-the-best-first-run-movie-hous/158874381/ |access-date=November 12, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-the-best-first-run-movie-hous/158874346/ 426], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-the-best-first-run-movie-hous/158874381/ 427], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-the-best-first-run-movie-hous/158874435/ 439], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-the-best-first-run-movie-hous/158874459/ 442] |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251 |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112230908/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-the-best-first-run-movie-hous/158874381/ |url-status=live }} In the 2010s, more restrooms were added to the basement, replacing the basketball court.{{cite web |last=Adams |first=Nathaniel |date=January 16, 2015 |title=Across the New York Area, Restoring 'Wonder Theater' Movie Palaces to Glory |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/nyregion/across-the-new-york-area-restoring-wonder-theater-movie-palaces-to-glory.html |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126083319/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/nyregion/across-the-new-york-area-restoring-wonder-theater-movie-palaces-to-glory.html |url-status=live }} When the theater was expanded in the 2010s, the original back-of-house spaces in the rear were partly demolished, and a new stage house was constructed. The back-of-house spaces on stage right are approximately {{Convert|12|ft}} wider than in the original stage house, and there are also a freight elevator, dressing rooms, offices, and restrooms. The expanded stage house has a loading dock and fly gallery as well.

Movie palaces became common in the 1920s between the end of World War I and the beginning of the Great Depression.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|pages=5–6}}{{cite book |last=Hall |first=Ben M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tWIMAQAAIAAJ |title=The Best Remaining Seats: The Story of the Golden Age of the Movie Palace |publisher=C. N. Potter |year=1975 |isbn=978-0-517-02057-9 |page=12 |access-date=December 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214154802/https://books.google.com/books?id=tWIMAQAAIAAJ |archive-date=December 14, 2021 |url-status=live}} In the New York City area, only a small number of operators were involved in the construction of movie palaces. Relatively few architects were responsible for these theaters' designs, including legitimate theater architects Thomas Lamb, C. Howard Crane, and John Eberson. By the late 1920s, numerous movie palaces were being developed in outlying neighborhoods in New York City; previously, the city's movie palaces had been concentrated in Midtown Manhattan.{{Cite New York 1930|page=262}} The five Wonder Theatres were developed by Loew's Inc., which at the time was competing with Paramount-Publix.{{harvnb|National Park Service|2012|ps=.|page=16}} In 1927, Loew's president Nicholas Schenck agreed to take over five sites from Paramount-Publix, in exchange for agreeing not to build competing theaters in Chicago; these five sites became the Wonder Theatres.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|pages=7–8}}

Prior to the development of the current theater, the site at 1027 Flatbush Avenue had been occupied by a Brooklyn City Railroad railyard. William Fox bought the site in November 1919.{{Cite web |date=December 23, 1919 |title=Flatbush to Have Biggest Theater in Brooklyn |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-eagle-flatbush-to-have-biggest/159100240/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |page=22 |language=en-US}} He hired Thomas Lamb to design a 3,500-seat theater on the site,{{Cite web |date=December 25, 1919 |title=Fox to Erect Brooklyn Theater to Cost $1,000,000 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-fox-to-erect-brooklyn-t/159100312/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |work=New-York Tribune |page=21 |language=en-US |issn=1941-0646}} but that theater was never completed.{{cite web |last=Lambros |first=Matt |date=September 13, 2018 |title=Loew's Kings Theatre Part 1 – Building and Opening |url=https://afterthefinalcurtain.net/2018/09/13/loews-kings-theatre-part-one/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=After the Final Curtain |archive-date=November 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241113033721/https://afterthefinalcurtain.net/2018/09/13/loews-kings-theatre-part-one/ |url-status=live }} Allied Owners Inc., which was established in 1927 to develop the Kings, Paramount, Pitkin, and Valencia theaters,{{cite web |date=November 2, 1933 |title=Zukor Tells of Aid by Allied Owners; He Appears as Witness in Ex- amination of Bankrupt Concern in Brooklyn. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/11/02/archives/zukor-tells-of-aid-by-allied-owners-he-appears-as-witness-in-ex.html |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111004910/https://www.nytimes.com/1933/11/02/archives/zukor-tells-of-aid-by-allied-owners-he-appears-as-witness-in-ex.html |url-status=live }} subsequently acquired the site.{{cite news |date=November 2, 1933 |title=Family Doesn't Interfere With Zukor's Business |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=15 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1125462634}}|postscript=none}}; {{Cite web |date=January 12, 1934 |title=Settlement Plan Seen Near in Case of Allied Owners |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-settlement-plan-seen-near-in/158851771/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=Times Union |page=3 |language=en-US}}{{cite magazine |date=July 31, 1935 |title=Pictures: Valencia, Jamaica, Kings and Pitkin, B'klyn, 100% Loew's |magazine=Variety |pages=35 |volume=119 |issue=7 |id={{ProQuest|1475846228}}}} The theater became known as the Kings,{{cite web |last=Lyons |first=Richard D. |date=March 18, 1990 |title=Postings: A Bid for Restoration; The Kings Of Flatbush |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/18/realestate/postings-a-bid-for-restoration-the-kings-of-flatbush.html |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times}} after its location in Kings County, New York, which is coextensive with Brooklyn. The Famous Players–Lasky Company announced preliminary plans for the theater in March 1927, before the deal with Loew's had been finalized.{{Cite web |date=1927-03-20 |title=Auditorium Seating 3,920 Is to Have No Balcony Overhang |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-auditorium-seating-3920-is/159491177/ |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=Times Union |page=19 |language=en-US}}{{cite magazine |date=Mar 16, 1927 |title=Pictures: Publix's N. Y. Neighborhood Policy 9 New Theatres; $20,000,000 |magazine=Variety |pages=4, 14 |volume=86 |issue=9 |id={{ProQuest|1475703994}}}} These plans called for a 3,920-seat theater with a deep stage, a shallow balcony, and five or six stores extending north along Flatbush Avenue to Tilden Avenue.

Paramount-Publix reassigned its leases of the Kings, Pitkin, and Valencia theaters to Loew's in November 1927.{{cite magazine |date=Nov 20, 1934 |title=Pictures: Paramount Retains B'klyn Par For 20 Yrs. as Part of $23,644,255 Claim Settlement with Allied Corp. |magazine=Variety |pages=7, 25 |volume=116 |issue=10 |id={{ProQuest|1475806627}}}} For the Kings Theatre's construction, Loew's Inc. agreed to pay Allied Owners Inc. $20,000 a month for 181 months, in exchange for receiving financing from Allied Owners Inc.,{{cite magazine |date=April 18, 1933 |title=Pictures: $19,000,000 Worth of Par-Publix Creditors Elect Hilles, Horowitz, Leake, Non-Showmen, Trustees |magazine=Variety |pages=7, 11 |volume=110 |issue=6 |id={{ProQuest|1475761460}}}} and Paramount-Publix agreed to guarantee the Kings Theatre's construction.{{Cite web |date=September 18, 1934 |title=Allied Owners Files Its Plan to Reorganize |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-eagle-allied-owners-files-its-p/158810495/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |page=3 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111010840/https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-eagle-allied-owners-files-its-p/158810495/ |url-status=live }} Loew's Inc. was to have taken ownership of the property in 1945, once the bonds had been paid off. Since sound films were becoming prevalent at the time, the Kings Theatre was the first Loew's theater that was designed specifically to accommodate the acoustics of sound films. The Thompson–Starrett Company was the general contractor for the theater, while Leon Fleischmann of Loew's Theaters supervised the theater's construction.{{Cite web |date=August 2, 1929 |title=Loew's Kings Theatre Opens August 24 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-chat-loews-kings-theatre-opens-augu/158809295/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=The Chat |page=47 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111004905/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-chat-loews-kings-theatre-opens-augu/158809295/ |url-status=live }}

Loew's announced in early 1928 that it would begin constructing four of the theaters, including the theater in Flatbush.{{cite magazine |date=Feb 22, 1928 |title=Pictures: Loew's 4 New N.Y. Neighb'hoods; 1st Presentations in Suburbs |magazine=Variety |pages=14 |volume=90 |issue=6 |id={{ProQuest|1475748363}}}} Construction began with the demolition of the railyard. Afterward, workers constructed the foundation, steel superstructure, and roof; to speed up construction, workers built the lower and upper portions of the theater concurrently. By early August 1929, decorators were finishing up the interiors. The project cost $1.3 million in total. The Kings Theatre was supposed to have opened on August 24, 1929,{{cite magazine |date=July 31, 1929 |title=Two New Loew's in August |magazine=Variety |pages=38 |volume=96 |issue=3 |id={{ProQuest|1505687562}}}}{{cite magazine |date=August 10, 1929 |title=Pictures Presentations: Stage Band Policy For New Loew House |magazine=The Billboard |page=18 |volume=41 |issue=32 |id={{ProQuest|1031912488}}}} but the opening was postponed three times.{{cite magazine |date=August 28, 1929 |title=Pictures: Opening of new Loew's Kings |magazine=Variety |pages=34 |volume=96 |issue=7 |id={{ProQuest|1505733314}}}} When the theater was completed, the New York Herald Tribune called it "Brooklyn's largest residential picture house".{{cite news |date=July 28, 1929 |title=The Infinite Variety |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=F6 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1111996337}}}} The theater opened to the public at 11 a.m. on September 7, 1929, and was dedicated that night.{{Cite web |date=September 9, 1929 |title=Kings Premiere |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-eagle-kings-premiere/158775286/ |access-date=November 10, 2024 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |page=19 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110183653/https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-eagle-kings-premiere/158775286/ |url-status=live }} The first show was a program that included the film Evangeline, a live stage show, orchestra, and solo pipe organ; the film's star, Dolores del Río, made a special live appearance.{{Cite web |date=September 8, 1929 |title=Crowd of 4,000 Hails Del Rio at Opening of Kings Theatre |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-times-crowd-of-4000/158797387/ |access-date=November 10, 2024 |website=The Brooklyn Daily Times |page=6 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110221912/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-times-crowd-of-4000/158797387/ |url-status=live }} When the Kings opened, it was surrounded by at least six other movie theaters.

File:Kings Brooklyn Oct2014.jpg

The Loew's Kings presented first runs of films along with stage shows when it opened.{{cite magazine |last=Allen |first=Kelcey |date=September 6, 1929 |title=Amusements: Paul Robeson Signed For |magazine=Women's Wear |pages=6 |volume=39 |issue=48 |id={{ProQuest|1654164881}}}} Initially, the Loew's Kings presented stage shows that had already been performed at the Capitol Theatre in Manhattan.{{cite magazine |date=August 31, 1929 |title=20 Weeks Seen for Loew Units |magazine=The Billboard |page=19 |volume=41 |issue=35 |id={{ProQuest|1031909663}}}}{{Cite web |date=August 19, 1929 |title=Kings Theater Opening To Be Community Event |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-eagle-kings-theater-opening-to/158780795/ |access-date=November 10, 2024 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |page=19 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110183637/https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-eagle-kings-theater-opening-to/158780795/ |url-status=live }} In addition to films and stage shows, the Kings Theater hosted events such as beauty pageants, merchandise displays,{{cite magazine |date=March 10, 1930 |title=Flatbush Merchants In "Prosperity Week" |magazine=Women's Wear Daily |pages=12 |volume=40 |issue=48 |id={{ProQuest|1653558333}}}} fundraisers,{{Cite web |date=June 26, 1945 |title=$1,000,000 Bond Show at Kings Friday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-eagle-1000000-bond-show-at-k/158857017/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |page=13 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112222732/https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-eagle-1000000-bond-show-at-k/158857017/ |url-status=live }} and awards ceremonies.See, for example: {{Cite web |date=October 28, 1930 |title=Popular Postmen Receive Awards |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-times-popular-postmen/158807336/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=The Brooklyn Daily Times |page=3 |language=en-US |postscript=none |archive-date=November 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111004918/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-times-popular-postmen/158807336/ |url-status=live }}; {{Cite web |date=November 6, 1931 |title=Erasmus to Get Football Trophy |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-times-erasmus-to-get/158855661/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=The Brooklyn Daily Times |page=10 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112223424/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-times-erasmus-to-get/158855661/ |url-status=live }} The theater frequently hosted high-school graduations, as it was one of the few venues in Brooklyn that were large enough to accommodate large student bodies. Among the students who had their graduation ceremonies there were the U.S. senator Chuck Schumer and the musician Carole King. Other activities at the Kings Theatre included Christmas parties for orphans, in addition to contract bridge lessons.

In the theater's early years, the balcony area was so popular that it was often filled to capacity before all the orchestra seats had been occupied. The theater's managers checked the equipment every week. To prevent overcrowding, patrons lined up in the main lobby before each show; the theater's ushers silently led patrons to their seats, one row at a time.{{harvnb|Binger|1990|ps=.|page=40}} The Kings employed 18 ushers, as well as numerous doormen, captains, cashiers, projectionists, janitors, cleaners, engineers, and electricians.{{harvnb|National Park Service|2012|ps=.|page=18}} The staff over the years included Sylvester Stallone and Henry Winkler, who worked there as ushers.{{Cite news |last=Bernard |first=Audrey J. |date=January 29, 2015 |title=Regal Diana Ross to open majestically restored Kings Theatre |work=New York Beacon |page=18 |id={{ProQuest|1653069844}}}}{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Laura |date=December 9, 1996 |title=He wants to restore Loews Kings' reign |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-he-wants-to-restore-loews-kin/159050387/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |pages=456 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} Local legend has it that Barbra Streisand was an usher at the theater as well, though she never worked there; however, Streisand did watch movies at the theater frequently.

During the 1930s, the Kings Theatre's performers included Gracie Allen, Milton Berle, George Burns, Cab Calloway, Jimmy Durante, and Bob Hope. Ben Vereen, whose mother worked at the theater, also danced there. Other celebrities performed at the theater throughout the years, including Chuck Berry, Marlon Brando, Eddie Cantor, Florence Henderson, the Nicholas Brothers, Little Richard, and Bojangles Robinson. In its last two decades as a cinema, the Kings hosted celebrities such as Muhammad Ali, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, and Olivia de Havilland.

Edward Douglas, who had trained more than 3,000 musicians for U.S. military bands,{{Cite web |last=Hastings |first=Charles |date=October 20, 1929 |title=Equipped for His Big Task Is Manager of Loew's Kings |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-times-equipped-for-hi/158806595/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=The Brooklyn Daily Times |page=73 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111000538/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-times-equipped-for-hi/158806595/ |url-status=live }} was the theater's first director.{{Cite web |date=September 7, 1929 |title='Evangeline' Screened in 3 Loew Theatres |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-evangeline-screened-in-3-l/158799124/ |access-date=November 10, 2024 |website=Times Union |page=36 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=September 6, 1929 |title=Douglas, at Capitol 10 Years, in Charge |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-times-douglas-at-cap/158799152/ |access-date=November 10, 2024 |website=The Brooklyn Daily Times |page=79 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110221914/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-times-douglas-at-cap/158799152/ |url-status=live }} The Kings Theatre originally had a 40-piece orchestra,{{cite magazine |last=Hitchens |first=Gordon |date=May 9, 1979 |title=International: Films About Film: Focus On Palaces With Orchestras |magazine=Variety |pages=11 |volume=295 |issue=1 |id={{ProQuest|1286025473}}}} which at the time of the opening was led by a 29-year-old conductor, David Pesetzki.{{Cite web |date=September 6, 1929 |title=Pesetzki Wields Baton at Loew's Kings |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-times-pesetzki-wields/158798925/ |access-date=November 10, 2024 |website=The Brooklyn Daily Times |page=75 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110221900/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-times-pesetzki-wields/158798925/ |url-status=live }} The theater mostly screened movies produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a subsidiary of Loew's. In late 1929, Loew's orchestras began playing at alternating theaters, so the Paradise Theatre's orchestra was moved to the Kings Theatre.{{cite magazine |date=November 30, 1929 |title=Loew Introduces New Touring Unit Shows |magazine=The Billboard |page=20 |volume=41 |issue=47 |id={{ProQuest|1031933898}}}} In 1930, Loew's installed a Trans-tone wide screen at the Kings Theatre.{{cite magazine |date=18 Jan 1930 |title=Fox, Loew, Publix, RKO Swinging to Wide Films |magazine=The Billboard |page=3 |volume=42 |issue=3 |id={{ProQuest|1031930018}}}} Loew's announced that June that the Kings would no longer host live vaudeville shows during the summer.{{cite news |date=June 2, 1930 |title=Theatrical Notes |work=The New York Times |pages=29 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|98938648}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite magazine |last=Allen |first=Kelcey |date=June 2, 1930 |title=Amusements: Amusements Notes |magazine=Women's Wear Daily |pages=16 |volume=40 |issue=107 |id={{ProQuest|1727890802}}}}

Loew's defaulted on the theater's mortgage loan in June 1933, and the Kings' owner, Allied Owners, filed for bankruptcy protection that October. Manufacturers Trust also moved to foreclose on a $9 million mortgage that it had placed on the Kings and four other Allied theaters.{{cite magazine |date=Jan 16, 1934 |title=Pictures: Threaten Mortgage Foreclosure on 4 Brooklyn Theatres |magazine=Variety |pages=23 |volume=113 |issue=5 |id={{ProQuest|1475839569}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite web |last=Bratton |first=David |date=1934-01-12 |title=Ask Foreclosure on Five Theaters of Allied Owners |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-ask-foreclosure-on-five-thea/159505206/ |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=Times Union |page=4 |language=en-US}} Allied Owners subsequently presented a reorganization plan in 1934,{{cite web |date=June 23, 1934 |title=Allied Owners Files Plea to Reorganize; New York Investors Subsidiary Lists $10,178,256 as Excess Assets. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/06/23/archives/allied-owners-files-plea-to-reorganize-new-york-investors.html |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111010832/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/06/23/archives/allied-owners-files-plea-to-reorganize-new-york-investors.html |url-status=live }} and a federal judge approved the plan in March 1935, allowing Allied to transfer ownership of the Kings, Pitkin, and Valencia theaters to Loew's once the debt on these three theaters had been paid off.{{cite news |date=March 23, 1935 |title=Real Estate News: Broadway Block Front Resale Brings Profit Samuel Brener Disposes of Manhasset Acquired Recently and Held at $1,900,000; Other Deals |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=25 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1254360186}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite web |date=March 22, 1935 |title=Court Approves Reorganization of Allied Owners |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-court-approves-reorganizatio/158851924/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=Times Union |pages=3, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-court-approves-reorganizatio/158851953/ 4] |language=en-US}} Allied Owners agreed to sell the three theaters to Loew's for $12,875,000, which would be paid out over 25 years.{{Cite web |date=April 16, 1936 |title=Allied Owners Trustees Deed Back Assets |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-eagle-allied-owners-trustees-de/158853784/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |page=4 |language=en-US |archive-date=November 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111192642/https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-eagle-allied-owners-trustees-de/158853784/ |url-status=live }} As part of the agreement, Loew's would pay $500,000 for the first ten years and $525,000 for the next fifteen years. The Kings experimented with double features (in which two films were screened back-to-back) in 1935, but the theater had switched to screening only one film at a time by that October.{{cite magazine |date=October 23, 1935 |title=Pictures: 11 Loew's Back to Singles |magazine=Variety |pages=5, 62 |volume=120 |issue=6 |id={{ProQuest|1475932135}}}}

By the late 1930s, the Kings no longer presented vaudeville at all, but it still presented some live shows.{{cite magazine |date=March 11, 1939 |title=Night clubs-vaudeville: Brandt Circuit Idea Starts With Full Week Stand |magazine=The Billboard |page=25 |volume=51 |issue=10 |id={{ProQuest|1032186467}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite magazine |date=August 2, 1939 |title=Vaude-Night-Clubs: Brandts' N. Y. Vaudeville Plans May Touch Off Rivalry With RKO, Loew's |magazine=Variety |pages=45 |volume=135 |issue=8 |id={{ProQuest|1475961079}}}} One of the theater's former ushers recalled that the organ loft and the orchestra pit were no longer being regularly used at the time. Instead, double features were screened for almost 12 hours a day, seven days a week; the theater also screened newsreels and short films. Typically, the double features were followed by a cartoon, a newsreel, a short travel film, and a trailer.{{Cite web |last=Adler |first=Jerry |date=May 27, 1979 |title=When the World Went to the Movies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-when-the-world-went-to-the-mo/158874754/ |access-date=November 12, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=729 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251 |archive-date=November 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241113035615/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-when-the-world-went-to-the-mo/158874754/ |url-status=live }} During World War II, a nurse-recruitment booth operated in the theater's lobby,{{cite news |date=September 10, 1942 |title=2 Brooklyn Booths Open For Enrollment of Nurses |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=16 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1320079149}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite web |date=September 2, 1942 |title=Boro Red Cross Adopts Plan for Nurse Recruiting |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-eagle-boro-red-cross-adopts-pla/158856638/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |page=11 |language=en-US}} and the theater hosted charity balls and war-bond sales along with movies. Following the U.S. Supreme Court's 1948 ruling in United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., Loew's Theaters was forced to split up its film-production and film-exhibition divisions.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|page=12}} As part of the split, Loew's Theatres was compelled to either sell the Kings Theatre or limit the types of shows that were to be presented there.{{cite magazine |date=January 30, 1952 |title=Pictures: Loew's Wins Some Unique Points—And Loses a Few—In Final Decree |magazine=Variety |pages=3, 18 |volume=185 |issue=8 |id={{ProQuest|962823999}}}}{{Cite magazine |date=February 2, 1952 |title=Text of Loew's Inc. Consent Decree |magazine=Boxoffice |page=18 |volume=60 |issue=14 |id={{ProQuest|1529093223}}}}

File:Kings Theatre Interior Pano.jpg

The Kings Theatre first hosted jazz concerts in 1952;{{cite magazine |date=March 19, 1952 |title=Jazz Displacing Films In Loew Theatre Test |magazine=The Hollywood Reporter |page=3 |volume=118 |issue=25 |id={{ProQuest|2320445505}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite web |date=March 27, 1952 |title=Barns Fight Equity Again; 'Tony' Award Dinner Tickets |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-barns-fight-equity-again-to/158863030/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=353 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251 |archive-date=November 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241113032900/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-barns-fight-equity-again-to/158863030/ |url-status=live }} the theater hosted more concerts after the first one opened to generally positive acclaim.{{cite magazine |date=April 5, 1952 |title=Loew's Continues Pic Theater Jazz |magazine=The Billboard |page=1 |volume=64 |issue=14 |id={{ProQuest|1040187248}}}} The theater slowly declined after World War II, and it screened films almost exclusively. By the 1960s, Loew's Theaters Inc. had begun to struggle financially, and the chain closed some of its larger theaters due to high expenses.{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016|ps=.|page=14}} In addition, urban residents had begun to move to the suburbs, and neighborhood movie houses had to compete with shopping-mall multiplexes and household televisions. The theater had a single screen, limiting the number of films that could be shown there. The Loew's Kings began hosting events such as a televised boxing match in 1964,{{cite magazine |date=November 9, 1964 |title=Loew's and RKO Theatres In New York Book Fight |magazine=Boxoffice |page=E-2 |volume=86 |issue=3 |id={{ProQuest|1673754191}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Eskenazi |first=Gerald |date=February 25, 1964 |title=Theater-TV Tickets for Fight Expected to Make Good Showing |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/02/25/archives/theatertv-tickets-for-fight-expected-to-make-good-showing.html |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112224809/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/02/25/archives/theatertv-tickets-for-fight-expected-to-make-good-showing.html |url-status=live }} and it started screening multiple first-run films the same year as part of the Showcase program.{{Cite magazine |date=February 17, 1964 |title=Fox Has 'Community Unit' Concept For 'Man in the Middle' Showcase |magazine=Boxoffice |page=E-4 |volume=84 |issue=17 |id={{ProQuest|1670973430}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite magazine |date=February 19, 1964 |title=Pictures: Showcase—One Big Community |magazine=Variety |pages=17 |volume= |issue=1 |id={{ProQuest|962650114}}}} Over the years, the original color palette of the auditorium was obscured due to successive repaintings, in addition to accumulations of soot from cigarette smoke.

The theater's original pipe organ was played for the last time in 1974, after which it was disassembled and relocated. After a tax on theater admission tickets was proposed the next year, the theater's manager Dorothy Panzica wrote letters to four newspapers to protest the proposed surcharge.{{Cite magazine |date=July 7, 1975 |title=Manager Uses Newspapers To Protest Theatre Tax |magazine=Boxoffice |page=NE3 |volume=107 |issue=13 |id={{ProQuest|1476166379}}}} In its final years, the Kings Theatre showed low-budget films as well as blaxploitation, horror, and kung fu movies. By 1976, community organizer Marty Markowitz of the Flatbush Tenants Council had proposed converting the Kings Theatre to accommodate large stage shows. Markowitz claimed these shows would attract patrons and revitalize Flatbush Avenue.{{Cite web |last=Cosgrove |first=Vince |date=July 4, 1976 |title=He Envisions Bright Lights on Flatbush |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-he-envisions-bright-lights-on/158868902/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=205 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251 |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112225035/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-he-envisions-bright-lights-on/158868902/ |url-status=live }}

The Kings Theatre briefly closed in early 1977. The theater was sold to the Kings Royalty Production Corporation that May at a cost of $718,385.{{cite web |last=Lambros |first=Matt |date=January 18, 2023 |title=Loew's Kings Theatre – Part 4 |url=https://afterthefinalcurtain.net/2023/01/18/loews-kings-theatre-part-4/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=After the Final Curtain}} The Tabernacle of Prayer for All People, a Brooklyn–based church, negotiated to buy the Loew's Kings, but when these negotiations failed, the church moved to the Loew's Valencia Theatre.{{Cite web |last=Rabin |first=Bernard |date=July 11, 1977 |title=Switch Valencia Seats to Pews |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-switch-valencia-seats-to-pews/158869515/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=302 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251 |postscript=none |archive-date=November 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241113032831/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-switch-valencia-seats-to-pews/158869515/ |url-status=live }}; {{cite web |last=Shepard |first=Richard F. |date=March 9, 1978 |title=Loew's Valencia in Queens. Goes From Movie House to House of God |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/09/archives/new-jersey-pages-loews-valencia-in-queens-goes-from-movie-house-to.html |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112225557/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/09/archives/new-jersey-pages-loews-valencia-in-queens-goes-from-movie-house-to.html |url-status=live }} The theater reopened in June 1977 and was renamed the Kings Theatre, without the Loew's name. Ultimately, the theater was unable to continue operating due to high costs and low attendance.{{cite web |last=Blau |first=Eleanor |date=March 6, 1986 |title=Rescuing the Loews in Flatbush |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/06/nyregion/rescuing-the-loews-in-flatbush.html |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231218170431/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/06/nyregion/rescuing-the-loews-in-flatbush.html |url-status=live }} Unlike other large theaters that were divided into multiplexes, the Kings could not be subdivided, both because the balcony was too narrow and because the orchestra level was too wide.{{cite news |last=Liff |first=Bob |date=February 14, 1990 |title=A Silent Screen on Flatbush Ave. A Once and Future King? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-a-once-and-future-king/159046163/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=Newsday |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-a-once-and-future-king/159046163/ 124], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-a-silent-screen-on-flatbush-ave/159046334/ 132] |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|278225869}}}} The Kings closed on August 30, 1977; the last films screened there were Islands in the Stream{{cite web |last=Carlson |first=Jen |date=February 3, 2010 |title=Loew's Kings Theater Will Get $70MM Makeover |url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/loews-kings-theater-will-get-70mm-makeover |access-date=November 12, 2024 |website=Gothamist}} and The Death of Bruce Lee.

When the Kings Theatre closed, the interior was almost completely intact,{{cite web |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=March 11, 2007 |title=The Kings Is Dead! Long Live the Kings! |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/11/realestate/11SCAP.html |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110071510/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/11/realestate/11SCAP.html |url-status=live }} and it was maintained by a skeleton crew. Prior to its eventual reopening in 2015, there were at least seven unsuccessful attempts over the years to redevelop the theater. In June 1978, Brooklyn borough president Howard Golden allocated $1.2 million in community development funds for the acquisition of the Kings Theatre.{{Cite news |date=July 1, 1978 |title=Feds set $12 million for Brooklyn projects |work=New York Amsterdam News |page=B2 |id={{proQuest|226619019}} |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |date=June 8, 1978 |title=12M to Buy Housing in Brooklyn |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-12m-to-buy-housing-in-brookly/158871067/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=775 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} Golden planned to renovate the interior into a cultural center. The planned renovation was part of the Overall Economic Development Program, a wider-ranging development plan for Brooklyn.{{Cite web |last=Kappstatter |first=Bob |date=July 17, 1978 |title=Brooklyn Sends Its List of Dreams to Washington |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-brooklyn-sends-its-list-of-dr/158871790/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=254 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251 |archive-date=November 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241113033833/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-brooklyn-sends-its-list-of-dr/158871790/ |url-status=live }} Another proposal called for the theater to be converted into a roller rink. The Flatbush Development Corporation (FDC) acquired the theater for $780,000 and planned to spend $8 million to $10 million converting the building into a live-events venue. To raise money for the renovation, the FDC hosted a fundraiser at the theater in May 1979; it was the first event to be hosted at the venue in two years.{{cite magazine |date=May 9, 1979 |title=International: Flatbush (Brooklyn) Dreams Of Loews Kings For Culture |magazine=Variety |pages=557 |volume=295 |issue=1 |id={{ProQuest|1286036081}}}}{{Cite web |date=May 4, 1979 |title=King size celebrations |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-king-size-celebrations/158873195/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=653 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251 |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112230852/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-king-size-celebrations/158873195/ |url-status=live }} Supporters of the theater's conversion also wanted the building to be designated as an official landmark. At the time, the FDC described the theater as still being in relatively good shape,{{Cite web |last=Shepard |first=Joan |date=March 25, 1979 |title=A film palace fit for kings |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-a-film-palace-fit-for-kings/158874986/ |access-date=November 12, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=129 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251 |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112231425/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-a-film-palace-fit-for-kings/158874986/ |url-status=live }} though some of the theater's artifacts were later sold off.{{cite web |last=Blau |first=Eleanor |date=April 15, 1983 |title=Weekender Guide; Friday; Blues Boss at New School |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/15/arts/weekender-guide-friday-blues-boss-at-new-school.html |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times |postscript=none |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524140458/http://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/15/arts/weekender-guide-friday-blues-boss-at-new-school.html |url-status=live }}; {{cite web |date=March 7, 1986 |title=Neighborhood Briefs |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-neighborhood-briefs/159041749/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=181 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251 }}

The city government seized the theater in 1978,{{cite news |last=English |first=Merle |date=July 19, 1992 |title=Long Live Kings Flagship's glory days may return |work=Newsday |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-long-live-kings-flagships-glory/159048554/ 1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-long-live-kings-flagships-glory/159048608/ 9] |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|278498910}}}} after the FDC failed to pay taxes.{{Cite web |last=Dallas |first=Gus |date=August 11, 1991 |title=Historical highs & Loews |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-historical-highs-loews/159045529/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |pages=195 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} The FDC continued to maintain the theater with funds from the city.{{cite news |date=June 27, 1986 |title=Brooklyn Neighborhoods |work=Newsday |page=27 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|285429539}}}}{{Cite web |last=Dallas |first=Gus |date=August 8, 1991 |title=Revival for theater |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-revival-for-theater/159044182/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |pages=343 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} The city wished to spend $2 million on the area, of which $300,000 would go toward acquiring the theater.{{Cite web |last=Fitzgerald |first=Owen |date=January 16, 1981 |title=Expect board OK of Loews Flatbush plan |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-expect-board-ok-of-loews-flat/159033348/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=281 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} The city government also contemplated acquiring the land to the east, along East 22nd Street and Tilden Avenue, for a parking lot.{{Cite web |date=March 26, 1981 |title=Memories Abound as Flatbush Receives Revitalization Nod |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/canarsie-courier-memories-abound-as-flat/159035243/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=Canarsie Courier |page=26 |language=en-US}} The New York City Department of City Planning tentatively approved the plan to renovate the theater and surrounding area in July 1980.{{Cite web |last=Fitzgerald |first=Owen |date=July 17, 1980 |title=Renewal plans gain for Loew's Kings |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-renewal-plans-gain-for-loews/158876336/ |access-date=November 12, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=499 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251 |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112230619/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-renewal-plans-gain-for-loews/158876336/ |url-status=live }} The FDC's plans called for the building to be converted into a performing-arts venue with retail, with connections to the neighboring Macy's, Loehmann, and Sears store buildings.{{cite web |last=Oser |first=Alan |date=October 8, 1980 |title=Real Estate; A Revival Under Way In Flatbush |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/10/08/archives/real-estate-a-revival-under-way-in-flatbush.html |access-date=November 12, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112230600/https://www.nytimes.com/1980/10/08/archives/real-estate-a-revival-under-way-in-flatbush.html |url-status=live }} Local small-business owners expressed concerns that a new mall centered around the Kings Theatre would harm mom-and-pop stores on Flatbush Avenue and Beverley Road,{{Cite web |last=Fitzgerald |first=Owen |date=October 17, 1980 |title=Idea of mall scares some merchants |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-idea-of-mall-scares-some-merc/159034313/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=232 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} so the plan to convert the Kings Theatre into a mall was canceled that December.{{Cite web |last=Fitzgerald |first=Owen |date=December 5, 1980 |title=Plan to convert theater to mall is scuttled |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-plan-to-convert-theater-to-ma/159034558/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=382 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} Nonetheless, the New York City Board of Estimate approved the plan in January 1981.{{Cite web |last=Fitzgerald |first=Owen |date=January 19, 1981 |title=Windsor Terrace housing gets boost |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-windsor-terrace-housing-gets/158876419/ |access-date=November 12, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=240 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251 |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112231026/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-windsor-terrace-housing-gets/158876419/ |url-status=live }} By then, the New York Bank for Savings had foreclosed on the theater.

There were rumors in 1982 that the theater was being sold to the entertainer Ben Vereen, though the FDC denied these claims.{{Cite web |last=Kaner |first=Walter |date=March 18, 1982 |title=Patrice busy by land & sea |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-patrice-busy-by-land-sea/159035751/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=139 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} The FDC continued to pursue the idea of reopening the Kings Theatre either for legitimate shows or as a recording studio.{{Cite web |last=Davila |first=Albert |date=December 6, 1985 |title=Theater's taking front stage in landmark project spotlight |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-theaters-taking-front-stage/159036355/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=183 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} Meanwhile, the empty theater was vandalized,{{cite news |last=English |first=Merle |date=February 10, 1986 |title=Neighborhoods; Brooklyn Closeup; Students Raise the Curtain on Effort to Save Movie Palace |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-neighborhoods-brooklyn-closeup/159042047/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=Newsday |page=27 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|285367885}}}} and the interiors continued to decay, with squatters moving into the vacant space. As part of the citywide Adopt-a-Landmark program, students from South Shore High School "adopted" the theater in late 1985,{{cite web |last=Blau |first=Eleanor |date=October 5, 1986 |title=Landmark In Brooklyn |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/05/nyregion/follow-up-on-the-news-landmark-in-brooklyn.html |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524184047/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/05/nyregion/follow-up-on-the-news-landmark-in-brooklyn.html |url-status=live }} visiting the venue and documenting its history and architecture. The FDC simultaneously commissioned a study, which determined that the theater could be converted either to retail space or an entertainment venue with some retail. After the study was completed, the city government began looking for a developer to renovate the Kings Theatre.{{cite magazine |last=McCain |first=Mark |date=March 3, 1986 |title=Investors Flock to Flatbush, Fuel Redevelopment Boom |magazine=Crain's New York Business |page=13 |volume=2 |issue=9 |id={{ProQuest|219163232}}}}{{Cite web |last=Farrell |first=Bill |date=August 11, 1987 |title=A future sought for fabled Loew's Kings of old |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-a-future-sought-for-fabled-lo/159041394/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=150 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} A request for proposals was supposed to have been launched in July 1986, but it was delayed when city officials expressed concerns that there was insufficient demand for performing-arts programs at the theater. A consultant for the FDC, Jack Freeman, also drew up plans to convert the theater into a mixed-use building.

In late 1986, a consortium including the FDC, the J. M. Kaplan Fund, and Save the Theatres Inc. announced plans to redevelop the theater into a performing-arts venue.{{cite magazine |last=Graves |first=Michael |date=November 7, 1986 |title=Historic Turn-of-the Century Theatres Scheduled for Restoration in Brooklyn |magazine=Back Stage |pages=A4 |volume=27 |issue=45 |id={{ProQuest|962945061}}}} Two Brooklyn residents, Mark Bender and Bruce Friedman, formed an organization known as Save the Kings. The National Park Service determined that the theater was eligible for designation as a U.S. National Historic Landmark, and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission also determined that the theater was eligible for city-landmark protection.{{Cite web |last=Fleming |first=Robert |date=October 5, 1987 |title=Loew's Kings lives in fotos |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-loews-kings-lives-in-fotos/159041638/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=322 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} In addition, the Prospect Park Environmental Center and Municipal Art Society sponsored walking tours of the abandoned Kings Theatre.See, for example: {{cite web |date=October 15, 1987 |title=Groups start focus on boro tour |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-groups-start-focus-on-boro-to/159043019/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=113 |issn=2692-1251 |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |date=October 14, 1988 |title=The Loews—and its highs |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-the-loewsand-its-highs/159043109/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=690 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} The city government was still looking to sell the theater by 1988.{{cite web |date=March 6, 1988 |title=Postings: The Kings of Flatbush; Movie Palace for Sale |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/06/realestate/postings-the-kings-of-flatbush-movie-palace-for-sale.html |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=January 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130183812/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/06/realestate/postings-the-kings-of-flatbush-movie-palace-for-sale.html |url-status=live }} The next year, city officials provided $200,000 for repairs to the Kings Theatre's roof.{{cite news |last=English |first=Merle |date=July 10, 1986 |title=Brooklyn Closeup B'klyn Brings Back Some Bacon in Talks Over City Budget |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-brooklyn-closeup-bklyn-brings-b/159043857/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=Newsday |pages=19 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|277983501}}}} The city government tried to close the section of East 22nd Street east of the theater, as part of the redevelopment of the parking lot there, but the street was not closed because of a clerical error.{{Harvnb|AKRF Inc.|Eng-Wong, Taub & Associates|2011|ps=.|pages=S3–S4}}

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) finally issued a request for expressions of interest (RFEI) for the theater in 1990. At that point, the city estimated that it would cost $4.5 million just to bring the theater to a state of good repair, plus several million more dollars to restore the decorations.{{Cite web |last=Seaton |first=Charles |date=February 5, 1990 |title=City looks into recrowning of Kings |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-city-looks-into-recrowning-of/158856260/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=228 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251 |archive-date=November 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241113030107/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-city-looks-into-recrowning-of/158856260/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Liff |first=Bob |date=February 1, 1990 |title=At Loew's Kings Theater, An Invitation to a Renovation |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-at-loews-kings-theater-an-invi/158856357/ |access-date=November 11, 2024 |work=Newsday |page=20 |language=en-US |issn=2574-5298 |archive-date=November 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241113030153/https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-at-loews-kings-theater-an-invi/158856357/ |url-status=live }} The city sent out invitations to 170 developers, of which 30 replied. The city government stipulated that the winning bidders had to continue operating the venue as a theater.{{cite web |last=Kershaw |first=Sarah |date=November 3, 1996 |title=The Kings of Flatbush |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/03/nyregion/the-kings-of-flatbush.html |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=December 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231003452/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/03/nyregion/the-kings-of-flatbush.html |url-status=live }} Golden believed that the theater's renovation would lead to the redevelopment of the Flatbush Avenue shopping district. Workers began repairing the roof in 1991, a project that cost $1.2–1.4 million.{{Cite news |date=July 11, 1992 |title=3-day musical extravaganza to benefit Brooklyn theater |work=New York Amsterdam News |page=28 |id={{proQuest|226470752}}}} Workers also repaired the plumbing and masonry.

By 1991, the city government had identified two viable proposals. The restaurateur and developer Bernard James wanted to convert the theater into a community center for Caribbean-Americans in Brooklyn, while the clothing and real-estate company Jordache wanted to divide the theater into a multiplex.{{cite news |last=Liff |first=Bob |date=March 17, 1991 |title=Inside Brooklyn Council's Musical Chairs Leaves Albanese Out |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-inside-brooklyn-councils-musica/159046788/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=Newsday |pages=2 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|278322101}}}} The EDC, which liked both proposals, requested that James and the Nakash brothers (who owned Jordache) submit a joint proposal for the theater. James formed a group known as the Flatbush Universal Corporation to raise money for the theater; among the fundraisers it hosted was a 1992 concert in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with Queen Latifah and Fela Kuti.{{cite news |date=July 10, 1992 |title=Brooklyn Neighborhoods |work=Newsday |pages=23 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|278542843}}}} James said at the time that the building would include a hotel, health spa, restaurant, catering hall, and wax museum dedicated to the black community, along with a restored 3,200-seat auditorium. These plans ultimately never materialized.

File:Lowes Kings Flatbush front jeh.JPG

The city government again requested new proposals for the Kings Theatre's renovation in late 1996.{{cite magazine |last=Simonson |first=Robert |date=November 22, 1996 |title=Long Live the Kings! and BAM Revamps: Happenings in Brooklyn |magazine=Back Stage |pages=2, 30 |volume=37 |issue=47 |id={{ProQuest|963055100}}}} By then, the adjacent section of Flatbush Avenue was already undergoing a commercial redevelopment. Because the theater had never officially been designated as a landmark, developers were potentially allowed to demolish it. Golden, who was still Brooklyn's borough president, endorsed the theater's renovation,{{Cite web |date=February 27, 1997 |title=Borough President Outlines His Plans for Entry Into Next Century |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/canarsie-courier-borough-president-outli/159050617/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=Canarsie Courier |pages=5, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/canarsie-courier-borough-president-outli/159050676/ 34] |language=en-US}} while Bruce Friedman of Save the Kings suggested that the Kings Theatre could be redeveloped as a mixed-use complex, similarly to the New Amsterdam Theatre in Manhattan. Only one developer, Bruce Ratner, had expressed serious interest in the Kings Theatre site by mid-1997, but the EDC rejected his request that he unilaterally be appointed as the theater's developer.{{cite web |last=Rohde |first=David |date=June 22, 1997 |title=Revival of the 'Crown Jewel' Of Brooklyn Is Stalled Again |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/22/nyregion/revival-of-the-crown-jewel-of-brooklyn-is-stalled-again.html |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=June 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240626151144/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/22/nyregion/revival-of-the-crown-jewel-of-brooklyn-is-stalled-again.html |url-status=live }}

Magic Johnson Theatres, operated by the retired basketball player Magic Johnson, submitted a bid to redevelop the Kings Theatre in early 1998.{{cite web |date=February 11, 1998 |title=Metro Business; Magic Johnson Eyes Site |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/11/nyregion/metro-business-magic-johnson-eyes-site.html |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times |agency=The Associated Press |archive-date=January 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131042016/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/11/nyregion/metro-business-magic-johnson-eyes-site.html |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine |last=Boss |first=Shira J. |date=April 13, 1998 |title=No time for bush league |magazine=Crain's New York Business |page=35 |volume=14 |issue=15 |id={{ProQuest|219153591}}}} The plans entailed dividing the theater into a multiplex and constructing a restaurant there.{{Cite web |last=Grant |first=Peter |date=February 10, 1998 |title=Magic has eyes now for B'klyn |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-magic-has-eyes-now-for-bklyn/159053308/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |pages=29 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} Other companies, including United Artists, also submitted bids for the theater's renovation. Though the city government favored Johnson's plan, it debated whether to give the developer $5 million in financing for the theater's renovation.{{cite web |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |date=March 4, 1998 |title=New York Is Tough Market for Magic Johnson's Quest for a Multiplex Site |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/04/nyregion/new-york-is-tough-market-for-magic-johnson-s-quest-for-a-multiplex-site.html |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times}} The city government selected Johnson and the Plaza Construction Corporation as the Kings Theatre's developers in 1999.{{cite web |last=Herszenhorn |first=David M. |date=March 24, 1999 |title=Magic Johnson to Resurrect a Movie Palace |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/24/nyregion/magic-johnson-to-resurrect-a-movie-palace.html |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241111011652/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/24/nyregion/magic-johnson-to-resurrect-a-movie-palace.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Shin |first=Paul H. B. |date=March 25, 1999 |title=Movie House Revival is a Magic Moment |work=New York Daily News |pages=1 |issn=2692-1251 |id={{ProQuest|313666212}}}}{{cite news |last=Hetter |first=Katia |date=March 24, 1999 |title=A 'Magic' Plan for Flatbush Ex-NBA star's company to renovate Loews theater |work=Newsday |pages=A47 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|279165959}}}} Johnson planned to construct a 12-screen multiplex there at a cost of $30 million,{{Cite web |last=Shin |first=Paul H. B. |date=April 11, 1999 |title=Multiplex multiplication |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-multiplex-multiplication/159054417/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |pages=986 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} of which the city government was to provide $2.5 million. About 175 people would have been hired to renovate the theater, and the completed theater would have employed 100 workers. Johnson was to have started renovating the theater in late 1999, but the renovation still had not begun by October 2000, in part because of financing difficulties.{{Cite web |last=Schoolman |first=Judith |date=October 10, 2000 |title=Magic's shooting to score in Bronx |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-magics-shooting-to-score-in/159054742/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |pages=487 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} Johnson's renovation was never completed, either.{{cite news |last=Moritz |first=Owen |date=May 2, 2004 |title=Loew's Legacy is Alive on Screens |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-loews-legacy-is-alive-on-scr/159760478/ |access-date=2024-11-25 |work=New York Daily News |page=14 |issn=2692-1251 |id={{ProQuest|305879226}}}}

The theater remained abandoned through the 2000s while groups, such as the Theatre Historical Society of America, gave tours of the venue.{{cite web |last=Radomsky |first=Rosalie R. |date=July 21, 2002 |title=Neighborhood Report: Brooklyn Up Close – Buzz; Back When the Usher Was a Brooklyn Girl Named Barbra |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/21/nyregion/neighborhood-report-brooklyn-up-close-buzz-back-when-usher-was-brooklyn-girl.html |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=April 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410140231/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/21/nyregion/neighborhood-report-brooklyn-up-close-buzz-back-when-usher-was-brooklyn-girl.html |url-status=live }} By the mid-2000s, the cost of restoring the Kings Theatre had increased to $35 million, and city officials considered demolishing the interior.{{cite magazine |last=Engquist |first=Erik |date=October 9, 2006 |title=B'klyn moves to save historic theater |magazine=Crain's New York Business |page=29 |volume=22 |issue=41 |id={{ProQuest|219157473}}}} The EDC launched yet another RFEI for the theater in September 2006, giving tours to potential developers.{{cite web |last=Wilson |first=Michael |date=November 26, 2006 |title=Seeking a Champion for the Loew's Kings |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/nyregion/seeking-a-champion-for-the-loews-kings.html |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times}} By then, the Kings' interior was damaged as a result of neglect, water damage, and vandalism, and there was toxic asbestos, lead, and mold inside.{{cite web |date=April 15, 2008 |title=Loew's Kings Theatre to get makeover |url=https://www.citylandnyc.org/loew%E2%80%99s-kings-theatre-to-get-makeover/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=CityLand |archive-date=May 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240519234228/https://www.citylandnyc.org/loew%E2%80%99s-kings-theatre-to-get-makeover/ |url-status=live }} Matthew Wolf, who later became the Kings' manager, recalled that the northwest corner of the roof had partially collapsed.{{cite web |last=Surico |first=John |date=February 5, 2015 |title=Q&A: Matthew Wolf of Kings Theatre |url=https://www.bklynr.com/qa-matthew-wolf-of-kings-theatre/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=Bklynr |archive-date=November 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128134403/https://www.bklynr.com/qa-matthew-wolf-of-kings-theatre/ |url-status=live }} The roof was repaired again in 2007 to halt further deterioration. The next year, the city government issued an RFP for the theater's renovation, which was to cost $70 million. Bidders for the theater had the option to lease the adjacent parking lots as well. Marty Markowitz, who was by then the borough president, endorsed the project, saying a live-event venue in the old theater would boost Flatbush's economy.{{cite news |last=Monahan |first=Rachel |date=February 1, 2007 |title=Beep Sets Stage for New Venue. Amphitheater Push in Tonight's Speech |work=New York Daily News |pages=1 |issn=2692-1251 |id={{ProQuest|306091992}}}} Markowitz obtained $10.75 million for the theater's renovation from the city government's budget for fiscal year 2009.{{cite web |last=Witt |first=Stephen |date=August 5, 2008 |title=Big boost to new amphitheater | url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/big-boost-to-new-amphitheater/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=Brooklyn Paper}}

File:Kings theatre.jpg

Planning for the renovation began in 2009.{{cite magazine |last=Duffy |first=Thom |date=February 9, 2018 |title=The Reborn Kings Theatre: A Reputation Grows In Brooklyn |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/kings-theatre-brooklyn-musicians-reputation-8098926/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |magazine=Billboard}}{{cite web |last=Klein |first=Helen |date=January 23, 2013 |title=A new first act for the venerable Loew's Kings |url=https://brooklynreporter.com/2013/01/a-new-first-act-for-the-venerable-loews-kings/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=The Brooklyn Home Reporter |archive-date=July 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240715134829/https://brooklynreporter.com/2013/01/a-new-first-act-for-the-venerable-loews-kings/ |url-status=live }} The government of New York City announced in February 2010 that it had selected the Houston–based ACE Theatrical Group to redevelop the theater for $70 million.{{cite web |last1=Sulzberger |first1=A. G. |last2=Lennard |first2=Natasha |date=February 3, 2010 |title=Loew's Kings Theater in Brooklyn to Be Restored |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/nyregion/03kings.html |access-date=November 10, 2024 |website=The New York Times}} ACE had previously redeveloped other historic theaters across the United States and converted them into live events venues.{{cite magazine |last=Duffy |first=Thom |date=February 13, 2015 |title=Behind The Deals That Brought Back Brooklyn's Beloved Kings Theatre |url=https://www.billboard.com/pro/deals-brooklyns-beloved-kings-theatre-return/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |magazine=Billboard}} The city government agreed to provide $50 million, while ACE spent $5 million; the remaining $15 million came from tax credits.{{cite news |last=Bortolot |first=Lana |date=August 24, 2011 |title=City News: In Flatbush, Kings Encore Is on Marquee |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=A.17 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|884833810}}}} The theater's renovation was overseen by a joint venture of the ACE Theatrical Group, Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, and National Development Council.{{cite web |last=Brennan |first=Aisling |date=February 6, 2015 |title=Take a Look Inside Brooklyn's Newly Restored Kings Theatre in All Its Glory |url=https://observer.com/2015/02/heres-your-sneak-peak-into-brooklyns-kings-theater-renovation-sensation/ |access-date=November 10, 2024 |website=Observer}} At the time, ACE planned to host 250 events at the theater annually, including concerts, performances, and ceremonies.{{cite news |last=Blau |first=Reuven |date=January 3, 2013 |title=Beep's swag-ger Outgoing Marty looks to unload a trove of souvenirs |work=New York Daily News |pages=36 |issn=2692-1251 |id={{ProQuest|1266231274}}}} Martinez & Johnson were hired to design the restoration. Before the renovations commenced, workers surveyed the interiors; they reportedly found a naked vagrant on the stage during their surveys.{{cite web |last=Zoladz |first=Lindsay |date=February 4, 2015 |title=Grand Dames: The Eternally Regal Diana Ross Opens Brooklyn's Lavishly Redone Kings Theatre |url=https://www.vulture.com/2015/02/diana-ross-brooklyn-king-theater.html |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=Vulture |archive-date=November 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119234844/https://www.vulture.com/2015/02/diana-ross-brooklyn-king-theater.html |url-status=live }} The theater had also decayed significantly due to further deterioration of the roof since the late 2000s. One side of the auditorium had been nearly destroyed by water infiltration, there were feral cats and birds, and the theater had been targeted by looters.

The theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012, allowing the developers to receive a preservation tax credit. The same year, ACE and its partners agreed to lease the theater from the EDC for 55 years.{{cite web |last=Klayko |first=Branden |date=January 24, 2013 |title=Restoration of Brooklyn's 3,200-Seat Loew's Kings Theater Underway |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2013/01/restoration-of-brooklyns-loews-kings-theater-underway/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=The Architect's Newspaper |archive-date=June 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240622150530/https://www.archpaper.com/2013/01/restoration-of-brooklyns-loews-kings-theater-underway/ |url-status=live }} Work formally began on January 23, 2013.{{cite web |last=Rosenberg |first=Eli |date=January 25, 2013 |title=The 'Kings' is coming back! Really! |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/the-kings-is-coming-back-really/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=Brooklyn Paper |postscript=none |archive-date=May 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521004657/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/the-kings-is-coming-back-really/ |url-status=live }}; {{cite web |last=Geberer |first=Raanan |date=January 23, 2013 |title=AT LAST! Loew's Kings set for 'triumphant encore' as palatial Flatbush theater |url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2013/01/23/at-last-loews-kings-set-for-triumphant-encore-as-palatial-flatbush-theater/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |archive-date=July 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714102321/https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2013/01/23/at-last-loews-kings-set-for-triumphant-encore-as-palatial-flatbush-theater/ |url-status=live }} By then, the cost had increased to $94 million, of which Goldman Sachs and United Fund Advisors agreed to provide $44 million. The renovation was expected to employ 500 workers, while the theater itself was to have 50 workers after the renovation was finished. Workers began environmental remediation of the site, and they installed a new roof above the Kings Theatre. The theater building was upgraded to meet modern building codes,{{cite web |date=November 10, 2015 |title=Best Renovation/Restoration and Excellence in Safety: Iconic Brooklyn Theatre Restored |url=https://www.enr.com/articles/37911-best-renovationrestoration-and-excellence-in-safety-iconic-brooklyn-theatre-restored |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=ENR}} and new lights were installed.{{cite magazine |date=Aug 2015 |title=Brooklyn Venue Reopens with Diana Ross Concert, LED Gear |magazine=Projection, Lights & Staging News |page=12 |volume=16 |issue=7 |id={{ProQuest|1710396941}}}} The stage house at the theater's rear was expanded onto East 22nd Street. The rake of the auditorium seats was modified to improve sightlines, and the auditorium was downsized to 3,250 seats. Bars were added to the theater, and the basement was enlarged as well. ACE spent over $75,000 to restore the original lobby furniture, which the theater's former manager Dorothy Panzica still owned after four decades, and it also hired a Connecticut–based firm to build additional furniture.{{cite news |last=Hesselberg |first=Erik |date=January 5, 2014 |title=Refinishing Rediscovered: Craftsman Finds Niche Bringing Back Antique Furniture; Home Decor |work=The Hartford Courant |page=B.1 |issn=1047-4153 |id={{ProQuest|1474899094}}}}

The theater's interior spaces were restored to their original appearance.{{cite web |last=Stango |first=Nick |date=September 13, 2013 |title=Inside the Restoration of Brooklyn's Glamorous Temple of Cinema |url=https://gizmodo.com/inside-the-restoration-of-brooklyns-glamorous-temple-o-1295348916 |website=Gizmodo}} EverGreene Architectural Arts was hired to restore the theater's original architectural features. Because almost all of the decorations had been stolen or damaged over the years, EverGreene had to reproduce many of the decorations; they took dozens of material samples to determine the original colors and interior finishes.{{cite magazine |last=Stauffer |first=Amanda |date=Jan 2012 |title=The Value of Historic Paint Investigations |magazine=Building Design & Construction |id={{ProQuest|1281967146}}}} The deteriorating interiors were repaired and cleaned, while the facade and marquee were restored. The chandeliers in the lobbies, which were among the few remaining interior decorations, were rebuilt. The restoration process was so complex that scaffolds had to be piled on top of other scaffolds, and the scaffolding costs alone amounted to over $2 million. Restoration work in the auditorium and lobby was nearly complete by late 2014.{{cite web | last=Alberts | first=Hana R. | title=See the Amazing Restoration of Flatbush's 1920s Movie Palace | website=Curbed NY | date=May 28, 2014 | url=https://ny.curbed.com/2014/5/28/10094460/see-the-amazing-restoration-of-flatbushs-1920s-movie-palace | access-date=November 10, 2024}} The renovation ultimately cost $95 million,{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=April 23, 2015 |title=Brooklyn Movie Palace Throws Regal Arms Around Restored Lobby Suite |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/23/nyregion/brooklyn-movie-palace-throws-regal-arms-around-restored-lobby-suite.html?_r=0 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424054432/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/23/nyregion/brooklyn-movie-palace-throws-regal-arms-around-restored-lobby-suite.html |archive-date=April 24, 2015 |access-date=April 23, 2015 |work=The New York Times }} of which more than half came from city and state government sources.{{efn|A 2014 New York Times article says that the theater received $55.5 million in public funding, broken down into $20.5 million in mayoral funds, $1.5 million in City Council funds, $30.5 million in borough president funds, and $3 million in state funds. According to the Times, the project also received $39.9 million in private funding, including $21.6 million from Goldman Sachs and $18.3 million from ACE. The New York Daily News wrote that the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York provided a grant for the theater.}}

ACE began hiring staff for the theater in late 2014,{{cite web |last=Blau |first=Reuven |date=September 14, 2014 |title=The Loews' Kings Theater $93.9 million restoration nearly complete |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2014/09/14/the-loews-kings-theater-939-million-restoration-nearly-complete/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=New York Daily News |archive-date=June 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616174849/https://www.nydailynews.com/2014/09/14/the-loews-kings-theater-939-million-restoration-nearly-complete/ |url-status=live }} and Diana Ross was selected as the inaugural artist for the theater's reopening.{{cite news |last=Murphy |first=Doyle |date=December 12, 2014 |title=A diva fit for Kings |work=New York Daily News |pages=59 |issn=2692-1251 |id={{ProQuest|1635381347}}}} The theater formally reopened on January 23, 2015,{{cite web |date=February 2, 2015 |title=New York's historic Kings Theatre grand reopening – in pictures |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/gallery/2015/feb/02/new-york-kings-theatre-brooklyn-reopening-in-pictures |access-date=November 10, 2024 |website=the Guardian}} and Ross gave a gala reopening performance on February 3.{{cite news |last1=Caramanica |first1=Jon |date=February 4, 2015 |title=Pop Royalty, Rechristening a Regal Stage |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/05/arts/music/diana-ross-reopens-the-kings-theater-in-brooklyn.html?_r=0 |access-date=February 6, 2015 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-date=February 6, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206041613/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/05/arts/music/diana-ross-reopens-the-kings-theater-in-brooklyn.html?_r=0 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Hurowitz |first=Noah |date=February 4, 2015 |title=Diana Ross wows at Kings Theatre reopening, but venue steals the show |url=https://www.brooklynpaper.com/diana-ross-wows-at-kings-theatre-reopening-but-venue-steals-the-show-2/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=Brooklyn Paper |postscript=none |archive-date=February 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229131526/https://www.brooklynpaper.com/diana-ross-wows-at-kings-theatre-reopening-but-venue-steals-the-show-2/ |url-status=live }}; {{cite web |date=February 4, 2015 |title=Grand Brooklyn movie palace reopens |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/grand-brooklyn-movie-palace-re-opens/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=CBS News |postscript=none |archive-date=March 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303005149/https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/grand-brooklyn-movie-palace-re-opens/ |url-status=live }}; {{cite web |last=Caramanica |first=Jon |date=February 4, 2015 |title=Diana Ross Reopens the Kings Theater in Brooklyn |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/05/arts/music/diana-ross-reopens-the-kings-theater-in-brooklyn.html |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=November 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110065248/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/05/arts/music/diana-ross-reopens-the-kings-theater-in-brooklyn.html |url-status=live }} In addition to performances, the theater hosted community events and tours when it reopened.{{cite web |last=Forgione |first=Mary |date=December 12, 2014 |title=Diana Ross to perform at opening of restored Kings Theatre in Brooklyn |url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-trb-brooklyn-kings-theatre-diana-ross-20141211-story.html |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=Los Angeles Times |archive-date=February 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205203352/http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-trb-brooklyn-kings-theatre-diana-ross-20141211-story.html |url-status=live }} Matthew Wolf was hired as the theater's executive director.{{cite web |date=November 6, 2015 |title=Matthew Wolf on Restoration of Kings Theater in Brooklyn(Audio) |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2015-11-06/matthew-wolf-on-restoration-of-kings-theater-in-brooklyn-audio- |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=Bloomberg}} Markowitz, who had become a NYC & Company vice president after leaving office as Brooklyn's borough president, predicted that the Kings Theatre would become "Brooklyn's Beacon and Apollo theaters all in one". Proponents of the Kings Theatre's renovation hoped that the theater would benefit the neighborhood's economy. The renovation coincided with the development of several stores, a gym, and a hotel in the surrounding area, Several restaurants opened on Beverley Road, where the closest New York City Subway stations to the theater were located.{{cite magazine |last=Bragg |first=Chris |date=November 3, 2014 |title=Flatbush takes the spotlight |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20141103/REAL_ESTATE/311029997/flatbush-takes-the-spotlight |access-date=November 11, 2024 |magazine=Crain's New York Business |page=4 |volume=30 |issue=44 |id={{ProQuest|1620728550}}}} A municipal panel in Jersey City, New Jersey, decided to hire ACE to redevelop the Loew's Jersey Theatre in part because of the group's work on the Kings Theatre.

After the theater reopened, it hosted performances from musical acts including Jackson Browne, Josh Groban, Diana Ross, and Yo La Tengo, in addition to events like the National Beard & Moustache Championships.{{cite web |last1=Sommerfeldt |first1=Chris |last2=Schapiro |first2=Rich |date=November 7, 2015 |title=complete with draft beer, costumes and a whole lot of hair |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2015/11/07/world-beard-and-mustache-championships-held-in-brooklyn-complete-with-draft-beer-costumes-and-a-whole-lot-of-hair/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=New York Daily News}} The theater's new management employed mostly neighborhood residents, and they also collaborated with local businesses.{{cite news |last=Catton |first=Pia |date=September 1, 2015 |title=U.K.'s Ambassador Theatre Group Acquires Five U.S. Venues; Included in the deal: the recently restored Kings Theatre in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood |work=The Wall Street Journal |page= |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|1708401068}}}} The New York Landmarks Conservancy gave the theater its Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award, recognizing the historic preservation of the theater, in 2015.{{cite web |last=Tate |first=Francesca Norsen |date=March 6, 2015 |title=Faith In Brooklyn for March 6 |url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2015/03/06/faith-in-brooklyn-for-march-6/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |postscript=none |archive-date=July 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240714140838/https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2015/03/06/faith-in-brooklyn-for-march-6/ |url-status=live }}; {{cite web |last=Rendon |first=Jim |date=April 10, 2015 |title=Kings Theatre and Four Other Brooklyn Buildings Win Preservation Awards |url=https://www.brownstoner.com/brooklyn-life/kings-theatre-and-four-other-brooklyn-buildings-win-preservation-awards/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=Brownstoner |archive-date=November 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241113054436/https://www.brownstoner.com/brooklyn-life/kings-theatre-and-four-other-brooklyn-buildings-win-preservation-awards/ |url-status=live }} That September, the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) acquired ACE's theaters, including the Kings Theatre. After Tyler Bates took over as the Kings Theatre's general manager in 2017, he added 50% more event bookings to the theater in an attempt to attract more visitors from the local community.{{cite web |last=Miller |first=Stuart |date=November 21, 2018 |title=Old movie theaters are hoping for a Hollywood ending |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/features/old-movie-theaters-are-hoping-hollywood-ending |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=Crain's New York Business |archive-date=June 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627174813/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/features/old-movie-theaters-are-hoping-hollywood-ending |url-status=live }}

Billboard magazine wrote in 2018 that the theater had become a well-known live-event venue in the New York metropolitan area. In addition to music concerts, the theater hosted events catering to Brooklyn's many demographic groups, as well as other events like boxing matches, family shows, and comedy shows. The theater was also used for private events like meetings and graduation ceremonies. The Kings Theatre was temporarily shuttered during 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.{{cite web |last=Marcius |first=Chelsia Rose |date=March 12, 2020 |title=NYC coronavirus closures: MSG, the Apollo and Barclays. A look at what's shut down |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2020/03/12/nyc-coronavirus-closures-msg-the-apollo-and-barclays-a-look-at-whats-shut-down/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=New York Daily News |postscript=none }}; {{cite web |last=Frangipane |first=Paul |date=March 25, 2020 |title=Photos |url=https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2020/03/25/photos-brooklyn-in-the-time-of-coronavirus/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=Brooklyn Eagle |archive-date=October 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001083949/https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2020/03/25/photos-brooklyn-in-the-time-of-coronavirus/ |url-status=live }} ATG again began hosting tours of the Kings Theatre's interior in 2023.{{cite web |last=Weaver |first=Shaye |date=May 31, 2023 |title=You can now tour Brooklyn's Kings Theatre and sip cocktails in its speakeasy |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/kings-theatre-historic-tours |access-date=November 10, 2024 |website=Time Out New York |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Ginsburg |first=Aaron |date=January 13, 2023 |title=Tours of Brooklyn's historic Kings Theatre are back |url=https://www.6sqft.com/tours-return-to-brooklyns-historic-kings-theatre/ |access-date=November 10, 2024 |website=6sqft}}

When the theater opened, the Brooklyn Eagle wrote that "luxury seems to have been the watchword of the designers, and this is emphasized from the front door to the very last seat in the balcony". The Brooklyn Daily Times described the Kings Theatre as "one of the most beautiful theatres anywhere in the Metropolitan city", and The Chat described the theater as "the most gorgeous blending of Old World decorative beauty and modern comfort that film theatre architecture has yet produced". The New York Herald Tribune wrote in 1942 that the construction of movie houses such as the Kings, Paradise, Pitkin, and Valencia theaters "marked a new development in neighborhood entertainment", as these venues were much larger than contemporary neighborhood movie theaters.{{cite news |date=May 3, 1942 |title=New York City Leads World as Theater Center: Eight Million Persons Pay $18,000,000 Yearly for Broadway Entertainment |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=C1 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1265924675}}}} Crain's New York wrote retrospectively that the theater had been intended to "make the common person feel like royalty", while Vulture said that the theater was a "gaudily secular cathedral of American excess".

A reporter for The New York Times wrote in 1976 that the Kings Theatre was "considered by many to be a classic among movie palaces bristling with ornamentation".{{cite web |date=July 23, 1976 |title=Loews Paradise (and Others) Regained |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/23/archives/new-jersey-weekly-loews-paradise-and-others-regained.html |access-date=November 11, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=February 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224004242/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/23/archives/new-jersey-weekly-loews-paradise-and-others-regained.html |url-status=live }} After the theater closed, one writer the New York Daily News described it as "mayhap Early Texaco in decor but a seeming Sistine Chapel of class to unemployed showbiz buffs",{{Cite web |last=O'Brian |first=Jack |date=June 4, 1979 |title=TV salutes old picture |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-tv-salutes-old-picture/158874034/ |access-date=November 12, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=376 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251 |archive-date=November 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112230501/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-tv-salutes-old-picture/158874034/ |url-status=live }} while another reporter for the same paper described it as the Versailles of movie palaces. A New Yorker article described the Kings Theatre as "perhaps the single most ornate movie house in the country". In 2013, The Wall Street Journal described the Kings as one of several New York City–area movie theaters with "exteriors that loom large".{{cite news |last=Paletta |first=Anthony |date=June 10, 2013 |title=Movie Theaters Roll Out Marquee Architecture; New Movie Houses Across the City Are Drawing Attention With Design Plans |work=The Wall Street Journal |page= |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|1365935263}}}}

When the theater stopped operating as a movie palace, the director Christian Blackwood produced a documentary called Memoirs of a Movie Palace: Kings of Flatbush,{{Efn|For the film, see {{cite web |last=Blackwood Productions |date=January 14, 2022 |title=Memoirs of a Movie Palace |url=https://archive.org/details/memoirsofamoviepalace |access-date=April 22, 2022 |website=Internet Archive}}}} which was released in 1979. The documentary includes interviews from several of the theater's longtime employees. By early 1980, two separate groups of filmmakers considered using the Kings Theatre as a filming location for the movie Tribute, and for a film based on Herman Wouk's novel The Winds of War.{{Cite web |last=Kaner |first=Walter |date=April 24, 1980 |title=Loews theater may finally get into the act |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-loews-theater-may-finally-get/159032998/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=836 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} The abandoned theater was used as a filming location for the movie Sophie's Choice in 1982;{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Liz |date=April 2, 1982 |title=Liz Smith |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-liz-smith/159035625/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=8 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}}{{cite web |last=Bennetts |first=Leslie |date=December 31, 1982 |title=A Visit to the Brooklyn of 'Sophie's Choice' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/31/books/a-visit-to-the-brooklyn-of-sophie-s-choice.html |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=The New York Times |archive-date=March 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304122830/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/31/books/a-visit-to-the-brooklyn-of-sophie-s-choice.html |url-status=live }} however, the scene shot at the theater was removed from the film. Scenes from TV series such as So You Think You Can Dance, Gotham, and The Blacklist have also been shot there.

Architectural drawings of the theater's interior were shown in a 1983 exhibit at the Municipal Art Society.{{Cite web |last=Chadwick |first=Bruce |date=March 9, 1983 |title=With walls, he draws a blank |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-with-walls-he-draws-a-blank/159036120/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |pages=50, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-with-walls-he-draws-a-blank/159036164/ 52] |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} After the National Trust for Historic Preservation gave the Municipal Art Society a $1,250 matching grant to fund an exhibit of photographs and artifacts related to the Kings Theatre, the society hosted another exhibit about the theater in 1988.{{Cite web |last=Mirabella |first=Alan |date=March 11, 1988 |title=Vintage Movie |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-vintage-movie/159042158/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |page=107 |language=en-US |issn=2692-1251}} In addition, the Museum of the Moving Image hosted an exhibition about the Loew's Kings and other Loew's theaters in 2004.{{cite news |last=MacGowan |first=Carl |date=December 5, 2004 |title=Outings, You Can Almost Smell the Popcorn |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-outings-you-can-almost-smell-th/159055692/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=Newsday |pages=G15 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|279928330}}}} The photographer Matt Lambros took pictures of the theater for his book After the Final Curtain in the early 2010s.{{cite web |date=April 27, 2011 |title=Capturing a Queens Theater's Alluring Decay |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/capturing-a-queens-theaters-alluring-decay/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=City Room |archive-date=June 24, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240624032212/https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/capturing-a-queens-theaters-alluring-decay/ |url-status=live }} Lambros and the Theatre Historical Society of America published a book about the theater, Kings Theater: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Brooklyn's Wonder Theater, in 2015.{{cite web |last=Frishberg |first=Hannah |date=March 28, 2016 |title=Photographer Captures Brooklyn's Decaying Past and Recent Rebirth in New Kings Theatre Book |url=https://www.brownstoner.com/architecture/kings-theatre-brooklyn-book-matt-lambros-photos-abandoned-buildings/ |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=Brownstoner |archive-date=May 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530094631/https://www.brownstoner.com/architecture/kings-theatre-brooklyn-book-matt-lambros-photos-abandoned-buildings/ |url-status=live }}

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Brooklyn

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite report |url=https://www.nyc.gov/html/oec/downloads/pdf/dme_projects/11DME003K/11DME003K_FEIS.pdf |title=Kings Theatre Final Environmental Impact Statement |author=AKRF Inc. |author2=Eng-Wong, Taub & Associates |date=April 27, 2011 |publisher=Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development}}
• {{Cite magazine |last=Binger |first=Lester A.  |date=Feb 1990 |title=Kings! A Magnificent Obsession! |magazine=Bulletin FIAF |pages=39–41 |issue=40 |id={{ProQuest|235894598}}}}
• {{Cite report |url=https://historictheatres.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Brooklyn-Full-2238-2990.pdf |title=Brooklyn |date=December 8, 2017 |publisher=Theatre Historical Society of America |pages=309–212 |ref={{SfnRef|Theatre Historical Society of America|2017}}}}
• {{cite report|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/12000534.pdf|title=Historic Structures Report: Loew's Kings Theatre|date=July 6, 2012|publisher=National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service|ref={{harvid|National Park Service|2012}}}}
• {{cite book |last=Lambros |first=Matt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o7S2tAEACAAJ |title=Kings Theatre: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Brooklyn's Wonder Theatre |publisher=Theatre Historical Society of America |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-692-03200-8 |ref=none}}
• {{cite report |url=https://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0656.pdf |title=United Palace (Formerly Loew's 175th Street Theatre) |date=December 13, 2016 |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |ref={{Harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2016}}}}

{{Commons category|Kings Theatre (Brooklyn)}}

• {{Oweb|https://www.kingstheatre.com/}}

{{ATGVenues}}

{{National Register of Historic Places listings in Brooklyn}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1920s architecture in the United States

Category:1929 establishments in New York City

Category:Cinemas and movie theaters in New York City

Category:Flatbush, Brooklyn

Category:Loew's Theatres buildings and structures

Category:Movie palaces

Category:Music venues in Brooklyn

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Brooklyn

Category:Theatres completed in 1929

Category:Theatres in Brooklyn

Category:Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City