Nitehawk cinema

We Changed the Law: Setting a historical precedent, Nitehawk Cinema is single-handedly responsible for the groundbreaking overturn of the prohibition-era New York State liquor law that made serving alcohol in motion picture theaters illegal. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the new law allowing moviegoers to enjoy an adult beverage at their theater seats a mere three months after the Cinema’s opening date; and thus, a new era of boozy film viewing in Brooklyn (and beyond) began!

The history of 188 Prospect Park West: One of the oldest buildings in New York that has continuously housed a movie theater, this location originally opened in August 1928 as The Sanders Theatre with 1,581 seats and a single screen. The Sanders existed until 1978 when it closed and the building sat unoccupied for nearly two decades.

The building was renovated and reopened as The Pavilion Theatre in 1996 with three screens, 600 seats and a cafe on the second floor. The capacity was eventually expanded to nine screens with 1,350 seats and the building was included in the 2012 Park Slope Historic District Extension by the Landmark Preservation Commission.

After closing in 2016, the Pavilion underwent an extensive two year renovation, reopening in December 2018 as Nitehawk Prospect Park, with seven screens, 650 seats and in theater table service, as well as two bars. Many original aspects of The Sanders have been preserved, including marble stairs that were hidden beneath carpeting, original plasterwork and a balcony dating back to the 1920s.

Truffle popcorn, Nitehawk queso, and beef jerky.

Our adjacent bars at each movie theater, Nitehawk Williamsburg (Lo-Res Bar) and Nitehawk Prospect Park (Trees Lounge), both feature our 24/7 loop of archived vhs tapes and oddities. Favorite neighbors are Monarch Theatre and Skinny Dennis in Williamsburg and Double Windsor and Krupa in Prospect Park.