This building at 107 South 6th Street in Williamsburg, just north of its junction with Broadway and Bedford, is the former front of the Bedford Avenue or Empire Theatre and then served as a a garage, factory and health club. The Bedford Avenue Theatre was constructed in 1891 by [architect W.F. Gaynor].
Its inaugural performance featured the actress Fanny Rice [not “Funny Girl” Fanny Brice] in A Jolly Surprise. The theatre’s tenure as a theatre was cut short – literally – by the construction of the Williamsburg Bridge. The right of way for the bridge, which was opened in 1903, cut off the back half of the theatre, stage and all. [WGPA]
The building, which did time as a factory and then home to health clubs, had been endangered as recently as 2024, but it was apparently saved by zoning regulations forbidding developers from building high rises in this parcel, not that it hasn’t stopped them elsewhere in Williamsburg.
[T]he building is representative of local industrial architecture of the late 19th century and early 20th century in Williamsburg. Its arched windows on the top floor, turrets, and decorative terra-cotta medallions, combined with its functional form, give the building a strong and elegant presence on the block. Brownstoner
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5/12/26