778 Driggs Avenue
1900. Courtesy of www.brooklynpix.com
Architect: Springsteen and Goldhammer
Original Owner: Phillip Schoenfeld
Type: Apartment House
Style: Early Art Deco
Stories: 6
Structure/ Materials: Primarily Brick and Limestone, with terra cotta ornamentation
Originally constructed in 1852 by contractors Henry and Alfred Kemp, Odeon Hall served as one of Southside Williamsburg’s first theatrical venues. An adjoining ballroom and outdoor garden made the space a popular attraction for what was becoming a fashionable area of the Eastern District. A variety of performances and uses occurred at the Odeon, along with several shifts in ownership. The theater’s multiple functions included a saloon, hair-dresser, billiards hall, and an armory and drilling hall for Brooklyn’s 47th Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. Several renovations occurred after the war before reverting back to its original use. Wealthy theater owners T.W. Seaver and Richard Hooley made attempts to keep the theater going, but the results proved poor. The theater continued to shift hands into the next century.
By 1903, the theater was beginning to attract a new audience: the new Eastern European immigrants residing in the Southside. Then named the Novelty Theatre, it began to host productions in Yiddish in order to cater to primarily Jewish theater-goers and actors. By 1911, Sarah Adler, famed Yiddish actor, had acquired the theater and began acting in performances with her daughter, Stella, who went on to a successful acting career.
Despite extensive renovations throughout its sixty year history, the theater closed in 1916. The project was rebuilt into the current apartment building named Novelty Court. Construction on the building was completed in 1919 and it opened the following year. According to reports from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, the building is comprised of bricks from the Novelty Theatre.
Eastern European immigrants were the main occupants until the 1960s when Puerto Ricans became the predominant residents of the building. Its history remains fairly quiet until 1971 when New York Police Officer, Frank Serpico, was shot inside this building during a botched drug raid. The incident was a catalyst for opening a city-wide investigation on internal corruption and bribery within the police department, earning Serpico a Gold Shield for his efforts.
The building’s recent history, however, ends on a more positive note. During the 1980s when much of the building stock in Williamsburg was aging and derelict, the community group Los Sures selected several properties for renovation. This building received grants from several city agencies to allow low income and homeless individuals to take up residence within.
Eastern European immigrants were the main occupants until the 1960s when Puerto Ricans became the predominant residents of the building. Its history remains fairly quiet until 1971 when New York Police Officer, Frank Serpico, was shot inside this building during a botched drug raid. The incident was a catalyst for opening a city-wide investigation on internal corruption and bribery within the police department, earning Serpico a Gold Shield for his efforts.
The building’s recent history, however, ends on a more positive note. During the 1980s when much of the building stock in Williamsburg was aging and derelict, the community group Los Sures selected several properties for renovation. This building received grants from several city agencies to allow low income and homeless individuals to take up residence within.