The residential and industrial cores of Brooklyn were serviced by a massive network of commercial banks, grand churches, and opulent theaters, many of which have achieved landmark status due to their monumental scale and intricate detailing.
Financial institutions sought to project permanence and stability through architecture. The Dime Savings Bank of Brooklyn, designated in 1994, and the Brooklyn Trust Company Building (designated 1996) represent the zenith of neoclassical banking temples, featuring vaulted banking halls, intricate marble mosaic floors, and monumental scale. The East New York Savings Bank on Eastern Parkway (designated 2016) and the Brooklyn Union Gas Company Headquarters (designated 2011) further illustrate how commercial entities utilized architecture to anchor growing neighborhoods.15,16
Similarly, the architecture of faith in Brooklyn—once widely known as the "Borough of Churches"—has been aggressively preserved. The Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew in Clinton Hill (designated 1981) and the Emmanuel Baptist Church (designated 1968) showcase the soaring ambition of late 19th-century religious architecture. More modest but historically vital structures, such as the Antioch Baptist Church (designated 1990) and the Bethesda Pentecostal Church (formerly the Bushwick Democratic Club, designated 1970), represent the shifting demographics and the adaptive reuse of institutional buildings by subsequent waves of migrants and immigrants.15
Palaces of Entertainment
The history of Brooklyn's landmarks would be fundamentally incomplete without addressing the spaces designed for mass public entertainment. During the 1920s, before the widespread adoption of television and the advent of the multiplex, the "movie palace" represented the pinnacle of theatrical architecture. The undisputed crown jewel of this typology in Brooklyn is the Loew's Kings Theatre.73
- 1929Opening year of the Kings Theatre
- 3,600seats (over)
- $93 millionRestoration cost
- 2015Reopening with a concert by Diana Ross
Located at 1027 Flatbush Avenue, the Kings Theatre opened in 1929 as one of the five original, highly extravagant "Loew's Wonder Theatres" constructed in the New York City metropolitan area. Designed by the legendary architectural firm Rapp and Rapp, with interior design executed by Harold W. Rambusch, the theater was an exercise in pure architectural fantasy. Executed in a highly ornate French Baroque and French Renaissance style, the massive venue boasted over 3,600 seats and was originally designed to host both live vaudeville performances and the newly popularized "talking" motion pictures.73,75
The Kings Theatre served as an opulent communal living room for the working and middle classes of Flatbush. However, post-war suburbanization, the decline of the studio system, and the crippling physical deterioration of the building led to its sad closure on August 30, 1977. The theater sat abandoned for 37 years, suffering severe water damage, roof leaks, and vandalism.73
Its rescue represents one of the most ambitious historic preservation projects in Brooklyn's history. Spurred by a public-private partnership managed by the NYCEDC, a staggering $93 million restoration meticulously rehabilitated the theater's ornate plasterwork, murals, and original 1929 color palette. Reopened to the public in 2015 with an inaugural concert by Diana Ross, the Kings Theatre functions today not just as a static museum piece, but as an economically viable, world-class performing arts venue.76,73
This leisure architecture extended to the shores of Coney Island, where the LPC has designated the Coney Island Theater (1920s), the iconic Childs Restaurant Buildings with their intricate terra-cotta maritime motifs, and even the Cyclone roller coaster (designated 1988), proving that landmarks can be kinetic, recreational, and distinctly populist.15
