18. The Abandoned Shore Theatre Conversion
On June 17, 1925, the Shore Theater, leased to the Loew’s theater chain, opened as Loew’s Coney Island Theatre. Its opening film was “The Sporting Venus” and many famous celebrities were there. Designed in a Renaissance Revival style, it was meant to be a “combination house” with both vaudeville performances and motion films. When Loew’s lease ended, the Brandt Company acquired it and renamed it “Brandt’s Shore Theater” in 1964. Brandt made it a live performing venue, and then burlesque shows for a little while, before reverting back to motion films. In 1973, the theater closed and the main-level seats were removed. In 2019, plans were unveiled to convert the theater into a hotel and spa. Construction began in early 2023.