As my wedding planner told me...sometimes you look but you don't see. The first time I parked in the CVS parking lot I didn't notice these exits at all; thanks to Icky I became aware of the building's past as a vaudeville venue graced by the likes of the Marx Brothers and their ilk. I wonder if any fire emergency ever required the use of these now bricked-up doors.
3 comments:
Laughed out loud at the title. Then I thought: Were these perhaps just connections to a previous adjacent building? Why rip out the fire escape? Running away from escapism?
It seems to me that the doors were the fire exits for each balcony in the old RKO theatre. The side of the pavilion has a similar look but still has the metal walkway, which looks significantly cool for some reason, perhaps because it feels so long and exaggerated. Now, enough of the escapism of this blog and off to fold laundry.
Hey Amarilla! Yes indeedy, those were fire escape exits from each balcony. I know a bit about theatre design (dorky, eh?) ... The new (at the time) codes (developed after the 1876 Brooklyn Theatre Fire) made those exits code. As you mention with the Pavilion, it's a good way to spot, "Hey! That building used to be a theater."
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