Whenever I take my eight year old daughter Taylor to the movies, I’m amazed at how many different choices you have in terms of viewing a film in the same building. The place we currently attend has 18 screens showing everything from G to R rated movies.
When I think back to what we had as youngsters growing up in Windsor Terrace, I have to shake my head.
I was very young when Sanders was around; it’s now called The Pavilion. And they give you eight choices.
What a difference from having only one choice at 188 Prospect Park West at the intersection of Prospect Park West and Bartel Pritchard Circle. The building opened in the 1920’s, when Harry and Rudolph Sanders arrived on the scene.
My recollection of Sanders is watching Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman as young actors in ‘Papillon’. But before we arrived at the theater we stopped in the Park Hill restaurant for a hamburger and fries; (No, not the Park House, which was next door to Sanders and which happened to be the choice of dining for most before and after a movie). The Park Hill was on the corner of 16th and 9th.
I recall the guy who roamed up and down the aisles clutching a flashlight and always shining it on you informing you to ‘put your feet down’.
The pigeons landing and taking refuge on the fire escape letting their droppings go straight down to the sidewalk around the corner on 14th street, sticky floors, the stale popcorn, flat soda and of course a friend opening the side door on 14th street.
Sanders was very popular, especially on Saturday afternoons for us young ones. In the late 1970’s it closed down and turned into an abandon building. I was always asked by visitors, ‘what’s that building over there?’
When Sanders closed down – there were all sorts of rumors circulating on the avenue about what was going to happen with the building. Some said it was going to stay a theater (which it did), some said it was going to be a warehouse for Bob’s Hardware; it was going to be a Dunkin’ Donuts, a bowling alley, a gym, a health and fitness spa, and of course they said they were going to tear down the building and put up condos.
Not to mention some neighborhood regulars said the building was seized by the FBI for non-payment of taxes. Oh, and did I mention the homeless using it as Trump towers?
I have yet to enter Sanders since it became the Pavilion. I wonder if there are any similarities; The balcony? The water fountains?
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The saturday double features. The soda machine on the second floor. The cup would drop down,most times,and fill up. The poor old matrons in their white dresses and flashlights that had to deal with all those children.Do you go to a theater now and wonder how sitting in the front row so close to the screen was considered a great seat?
Yes…the elusive double feature. The soda machine! I recall the ice all over the place.
Thanks for visiting and sharing.
Gosh! I even remember the names of the matrons (c.1944 to 1950)….they were Frances and Eleanor! We feared them as jailbirds fear the warden. That flashlight shining right in your face–you knew you were in trouble!
The boys in the balcony bombarding us down below with Goobers, Ike & Mikes, and Raisinets; that special boy trying to get a seat next to you, but your little brother wouldn’t budge; the galloping horde running out for candy during the newsreel.
But how nice for our parents. They could enjoy a Saturday afternoon, about four hours worth, being childfree for a quarter a head. Big bargain!
I hope the Sanders bosses paid Frances and Eleanor enough to be our Saturday nannies.
They were all paid min. wage.
We used to play tag on the second floor.. I remember about
3 of us were watching the Exorcist and about halfway we spread out and screamed from different parts of the theatere set off alot more screaming from the rest of the crowd.
Vackner,
You’re unreal!
I knew some wayward uets that dripped ketchup from the balcony during horror movies like “Theater of Blood” with Vincent
Price.
You wouldn’t happen to be one of those Utes, Jim? Of course not!
Sanders was a great place to go for cheap entertainment. I remember coming out of the dark movie theater with my friends after we saw 2001 Space Odessey. As our eyes adjusted to the sunlight our gaze fell on the black monolith in the middle of the circle. It looked just like the monolith in the movie. We all screamed! I watched the Beatles”Hard Day’s night” in the upper balconey surrounded with the other screaming teenage girls. “I want to hold your Hand!!
The movie was in black and white so it really was a period piece with slapstick comedy reminiscent of silent movies.
I remember one sunday a couple of the guys from the neighborhood went to a matinee at the sanders as was a usuall thing to do on a sunday. After the matinee ended harry mills and me decided to hide in the bathroom and wait until the next movie started which happened to be The Graduate which was rated R .and sneak to some seats and watch the movie.The rest of the guys decided to leave and go home .when my cousin Danny Ryan got home my mother asked danny where I was and he told her me and harry decide to stay and watch the next movie which my mother new was the graduate from always looking at the Tablet to see what the movie was rated. harry and me were sitting watching the movie when all of a sudden I felt a tap on my shoulder i turned around and it was my mother coming to get us from that dirty movie the graduate Just think now it plays on tv
when we hit the matinees on a Saturday, we hit CandyWorld first…loaded up on swedish fish and all the other penny and nickel candy and then hid it in our coat on our way in the door. We would buy popcorn and hit the balcony so we could throw half the candy we brought in!
Last movie I remember seeing there as a matinee was BIG BUS. Remember that one???
hey billy— yes, i remember that like it was last week. wow, that was funny. we thought we were coolest kids in the world until your mom came and dragged us out.
harry thought you would enjoy that story.
I remember the stores on 9th ave. had the movie posters in the windows and sometimes you could ask for the free passes!
hey heres one the litle old lady selling the late edition of the paper how everyone woul line up for the paper ,outside the sanders movie house
Good one! My dad would send me up to pick the paper for him, It was something that went on every week night, maybe saturdays too, the paper truck would drop off a couple of stacks right in front of the Sanders, the old-timers would be standing around waiting , sometime around 8pm the delivery was dropped they’d all get in line, were probably paying 7cents. She was a tiny little thing, looking back it’s the simple events like this that I miss.
Triple feature karate movies (Bruce Lee)…Enter the dragon, Return of the dragon and The Chinese connection…Remember the poster and the 45″ record?
An old friend turned me on to this website, does anybody remember my good friend Rudy K. ? I grew up on 13th street between 8th and 9th ave. spent many saturdays at sanders movie theater, saw many movies such as karate flicks and the exorcist etc… hung out in ps 107 school yard, sleigh riding at prospect park, then went to is88 john jay highschool, i remember slick and lala scared me to death, is sean riley did he used to hang out with bozo and kevin avlerizez who died on 8th ave sorry to say, i worked in C and S meat market on 7th ave and 8th street i used to deliver meat on the heavy bicycle. i also played football for st. savior church in early 70’s peewee league, does anybody remember the pool hall they opened on parkside circle?
You couldn’t take your soda to your seat – messy. The matrons in white uniforms were always hushing us up or telling us to get our feet off the seats. And without fail sometime during the course of the movie some kids outside would run down 14th Street kicking the side doors and causing the matrons to run to the doors (open them to bright sunlight) and yell at the kids (never catching them). Mom and Dad went to the movies on week nights so they could collect the dishes that were given out for free one night a week – it probably took a year to collect a set for 4.
The Park House was Lewnes and “Gus the Greek” was always yelling at us for taking up space in the booth. 8 people in a booth with 2 sodas.
What a trip down memory lane this is. I grew up on 15th street, between 8th, and 9th Ave. Spent MANY saturday afternoons watching the matinee, and tossing chestnuts at the screen. It was sad, when I took my family to brooklyn to see where I grew up, that Sanders was gone! So was “Slick” the neighborhood drunk. Whoever remembers me, PLEASE drop me a line
Richard.Coyne@yahoo.com