167 South First Street
1939-1940 Tax Record Photo
Date of Construction:1988-1992
Architect: Unknown
Original Owner: Rev. John A. Spooner
Type: House of Worship
Style: Undefined
Stories: 1 ½
Structure/Materials: Concrete
This “L” shaped building first appeared in 1868 with one owner, although each end was leased separately. The Grand Street end was leased to the American Tea Company and the South 1st Street end contained five two and a half story dwellings and two two-story dwellings with ground level retail. All of the buildings on the lot are recorded as wood-framed.
By 1885, the individual buildings were all demolished and one building that covered the entire lot was constructed.
The new building was used to house a dime theater called The Grand Street Theatre and Museum. Shows included displays of exotic animals in the museum as well as Vaudeville stage performances in the theater. Two years after opening, the owners, Pelletreau, Bruce, and Company, lost their business to the landlord, Mr. Palmer, because of months of unpaid rent.
Under Mr. Palmer’s direction, the theater and museum lasted two more years and was then bought by new owners who shortened the name to The Grand Street Theatre. The new owners re-decorated the interior and added burlesque to the playbill. The theater changed ownership twice more before being bought by Mr. Frank B. Carr who called it The Unique Theatre. Due to re-division of lots all along Grand Street, The Unique Theatre was actually the first theater on the site to use 194 Grand Street as its address; the former address had been 167 Grand Street.
In 1907 Mr. Carr lost ownership of the theater, and sometime between 1907 and 1909, William Fox acquired ownership and named it The Comedy Theater. William Fox was the founder of the Fox Film Corporation which today has evolved into Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, one of the biggest film studios in Hollywood. Fox continued playing Vaudeville shows at the theater, but for the first time in its history, introduced motion pictures. Within five years, Fox had enough money to open a string of theaters in New York. For various reasons, Fox went into film production and by 1923 The Comedy Theater was closed and the building demolished.
Over the next few decades, two more theaters, a sheet metal factory, and a Food Service Equipment Company occupied the site. Today, after a demolition and reconstruction of the South 1st end, the site is occupied by the Iglesia Carismatica Espiritu De Hermandad.
Over the next few decades, two more theaters, a sheet metal factory, and a Food Service Equipment Company occupied the site. Today, after a demolition and reconstruction of the South 1st end, the site is occupied by the Iglesia Carismatica Espiritu De Hermandad.