Check Out The Old Theater That's Been Hiding Out Over A Bodega In The East Village

Back in the day

A giant windowless brick shell traversed only by an old, warped fire escape juts up some 40ft directly above the store front, a giant black box. I learned from people in the neighborhood that this was once the old Hollywood Theatre which shut down in 1959, but what was more surprising was when I found out it wasn’t just another dusty, gutted empty space but was the functional store room for my dearest bodega!

I showed up with my camera and tripod... Walking through the back past all the things you would expect and up a small staircase deposits you stage-left in this little store’s swollen subconscious.

EV Grieve also has some photos from an earlier explorer of the space, who says, "I'm not sure the building is worth saving—the cool parts of it seem really run down and unusable—but the ornate period works need to be preserved as best as they can. I would love to have a theater there, but I suspect it's headed for new housing."