Spectacle Theater

The Spectacle Theater operates out of a space that once functioned as a neighborhood bodega. Before the cinema opened in two thousand ten, the site was known for its barren shelves, a backroom slot machine, and the sale of illicit spirits in plastic cups. The building is owned by a local Puerto Rican cooperative that spent two years working to evict the previous tenant for unpaid rent. When the space finally became vacant, the cooperative reached out to nearby residents to find a new use for the location, which led a neighbor to propose a small-scale community movie theater.