Old Brooklyn Vaudeville Theater Renovation to Enhance BAM Cultural District

Another jewel in the BAM Cultural district crown has been revealed with the recent announcement that the city-owned Strand Theatre at 647 Fulton Street will be renovated for expanded use by BRIC – the Brooklyn cultural organization that manages Celebrate Brooklyn!, BCAT, and the Rotunda Gallery, among other programs – and UrbanGlass, an educational glassworks group. Both organizations already have facilities at the former theater.

According to the BRIC press release, The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) are overseeing the $17.3 million project. Leeser Architecture (who brought you the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria and 3 Legged Dog in Tribeca) is handling the design, which will feature 20,000 square feet of additional program space for BRIC (including an art gallery and performance space) and, for UrbanGlass, an open-access glass center with a gallery, retail space and a walk-in glass workshop at street level.

Originally constructed in 1918 as a vaudeville theater, the 4,000-seat Strand was later converted into a movie palace, then, in the 1950s, a bowling alley, which was followed by a conversion to three floors of manufacturing space. Construction on its latest incarnation is scheduled to begin in 2009 and be completed in 2010.