18 November 2008

This Weird Place Used to Be Fun Once


This sad Flatbush Avenue structure with the weird Tudor-Castle-left-out-in-the-rain architecture apparently used to be a kind of nexus of fun some decades ago. (Which is not to say its current function as a Baptist Church is a drag, but...) Records show it was a sprawling eatery called the Midwood Restaurant in the years following World War II. Musta been a theme restaurant or something, judging from the Ye Olde England design. It was owned by Paul Padower and Eli Hahn, two young Air Force veterans. And during the Depression, the second floor contained a dance hall and cabaret space. Hot-diggety! The Church moved in in 2004, as far as I can tell.



3 comments:

Ken Mac said...

excellent find!

Geoff said...

What is the address of this place? Having grown up in Midwood the building looks familiar but i can't quite place it

Brooks of Sheffield said...

It's at 1143 Flatbush, near Clarendon.