{"nrhp_refnum":"10000136","name":"Parkway Theatre","other_names":["Rolland Theatre","Holy House of Prayer for all People"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1768 St. John's Pl.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Brooklyn","county":"Brooklyn","state":"NY","lat":40.67020569500005,"lon":-73.92126489399999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-03-31","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Performing Arts","European","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former Yiddish vaudeville and dramatic theatre built in 1928 at 1768 St. John's Place, at the corner of Eastern Parkway, in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. Designed by theatre architect Harrison G. Wiseman, it is now used as a church.","why_significant":"The building is argued to be locally significant under Criterion A for its link to the history of Yiddish theatre and the Eastern European Jewish immigrant community in Brownsville. It is also significant under Criterion C as an outstanding, highly intact example of 1920s theatre architecture with Moorish-inspired design made for an ethnic community.","narrative":"Built in 1928 at the corner of St. John's Place and Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn's Brownsville neighborhood, this building opened as the Rolland Theatre, a Yiddish vaudeville and drama house named for its builder, producer William Rolland. It later became known as the Parkway Theatre. Architect Harrison G. Wiseman gave it a Moorish-inspired design, with a tall arched entrance of polychrome terra cotta, zodiac panels, spiral columns and a richly ornamented lobby. The auditorium seats over 1,000 and retains its balcony, boxes, fly loft and projection booths. Yiddish performances here gave Jewish immigrants and their children entertainment, cultural enrichment and a way to reflect on life in a new country. The theatre served that role from 1928 to 1955, when a congregation acquired it and converted it to a church with minimal structural change. Its architecture and its place in Yiddish theatre history are the reasons for its listing.","period_of_significance":"1928-1955","architect_builder":"Wiseman, Harrison G.","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Moorish Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Used as a church facility by the Holy House of Prayer for All People since the congregation acquired it, with the theatre's lobby and auditorium largely intact.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:48.214074-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/10000136.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000136/5b2e5a1e1e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000136/5b2e5a1e1e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parkway_Theater_now_church.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parkway_Theater_now_church.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318477","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkway_Theatre","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7138822"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/brooklyn/parkway-theatre-10000136/"}