Velocity Nightclub in the Henderson Building, 2007. Photo © Charles Denson
This is the seldom-seen interior of the Henderson Building, which Thor Equities has announced plans to demolish and replace with a one-story shopping mall. Is this building “structurally questionable and potentially dangerous” as Thor’s press release claims? We don’t think so, nor does Save Coney Island, which issued their own press release today condemning Thor’s plan to demolish the Henderson, Grashorn and Bank of Coney Island buildings as well as the Shore Hotel.
“Thor’s demolition plan would destroy Coney Island’s history and undermine its unique appeal,” said Save Coney Island spokesman Juan Rivero. “It is a short-sighted squandering of the tremendous potential of these buildings to provide a distinctive Coney Island experience.”
The Velocity Nightclub occupied the second floor on the Bowery side of the former Henderson Music Hall until Thor bought the building and evicted them. “The second floor is completely renovated with original brick and steel exposed. It was the balcony of the theater,” says historian Charles Denson, author of Coney Island Lost & Found.
Vintage Postcard of Henderson's Music Hall Stage in Coney Island. Cezar Del Valle Collection
As we noted in February, the Henderson Music Hall was nominated for landmark designation by Coney Island USA, but has yet to be calendared by the City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission. Its chances are thought to be slim since the building has been altered extensively. It was even cut in half! There’s also the unfortunate fact that the Henderson is owned by real estate speculator Joe Sitt of Thor Equities and occupies a prime site at the corner of Surf and Stillwell that has been rezoned for a high rise hotel. City rezoning documents detail the history of the Henderson Music Hall:
Fred Henderson opened the 3-story brick music hall on Stillwell Avenue at the Bowery around 1900. Henderson’s establishment began as a restaurant at Bowery and Henderson Walk in 1881. When that building burned in 1899, Henderson constructed the new structure to the designs of John B. McElfatrick. The original Italianate southern façade (which fronts on the Bowery) has brick piers, corbelling, stone window lintels, and a bracketed cornice. In 1923, Stillwell Avenue south of Surf Avenue was created by the widening of Stratton’s Walk, and Henderson’s Music Hall was cut in half. At that time, a new brick façade with decorative panels and a stepped parapet was added to the Stillwell Avenue frontage. Additional alterations include modern storefronts and replaced windows. The music hall operated until 1926 and featured such music and vaudeville acts as Al Jolson, the Marx Brothers, and Sophie Tucker. During its run, Henderson’s Music Hall was an important Coney Island entertainment venue. From 1926 to 1984, the building housed the World of Wax Musee. The former Henderson’s Music Hall has been extensively altered. This property was identified in the inventory of potential resources prepared by Coney Island USA.
Henderson Building: Thor Equities banner dwarfs shuttered Shoot out the Star. Photo © Tricia Vita//me-myself-i via flickr
Related posts on ATZ…
September 12, 2010: Video: Coney Island’s Faber’s Fascination by Charles Denson
April 21, 2010: Thor’s Coney Island: Tattered Tents, Deathwatch for Historic Buildings
March 3, 2010: Thor’s Coney Island: What Stillwell Looked Like Before Joe Sitt
February 10, 2010: Thor’s Coney Island: Amusement Operators Balk, Money Talks at Stillwell
Amusing the Zillion 
No wonder the Scouting New York blog referred to Thor as “Satan’s real estate division.”
I was heading home on the subway today and struck up a conversation with three new-to-NYC younguns (they were all around 21), who were heading to Coney since they’d never seen it. It did my heart good, and I mentioned a few points of interest and the fact that there were a few cool older buildings that might not be there on their next visit. I like to think that they were converts before they even got to Stillwell Avenue, and that perhaps I’ll see them again at the Mermaid Parade.
Hey that was a good deed! Maybe you’ll see their photos and a thank you on flickr or twitter? I like the name of your blog…
This feels all too much like some kind of scorched earth retaliation on Sitt’s part. That is a damn dirty shame, but honestly I can’t think of anything Thor has done to Coney that couldn’t be described as damn and dirty.
I hope to make it down to say good-bye to the buildings before they get dozed. I’d ideally like to be able to say “Glad you could stay” instead of “good-bye”. But “Welcome back” to Luna Park will also be something nice to say.
Sitt’s legacy – at Coney Island and everywhere else he has administered his personal touch – will be nothing but scarred memories… nostalgic, dusty gems of New York that have been unceremoniously destroyed. He builds nothing – only tears down the treasures of those who have vision. I didn’t figure that these four buildings – part of Coney’s florid past – had much of a chance in Sitt’s hands, but reading that he indeed plans on demolishing them promptly just hurts my heart. Like the Thunderbolt, these old structures were like friends to me – they had seen an era of beauty, and mistily hinted at such a glorious past. I wish I could come back to Coney, if only to say goodbye to them.
My soul is crying, tonight…
Spatch and Danielle, it’s ineffably sad that both of you have the same thought–to say goodbye to the buildings. If there’s a funeral, it should be New Orleans style.
Although the buildings were doomed by the upzoning, I still have a shred of hope that perhaps one of them can be saved. But it’s gonna take a miracle
[…] district’s oldest remaining building, the Grashorn Building (built in the 1880s), and the Henderson Music Hall building (built circa 1900), where Harpo Marx first performed with his brothers Groucho and Gummo). The […]
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by MetroGypsy and Patell and Waterman, Save Coney . Save Coney said: Photo of the day: Is THIS building "structurally questionable"? http://bit.ly/a6WqMu #brooklyn #coneyisland […]
[…] It is a shame that these buildings are being torn down, especially given the rich history the Henderson Building has seen in its time. For more information about these buildings and Coney Island, visit one of my […]