One of the metropolitan area's five "Wonder Theatres" opened by Loew's in 1929-30, the Kings went out of business in 1977 and had been deteriorating for years (interior, exterior) before its recent renovation. It had its grand reopening a few months after I walked by.

Check out these spectacular shots of the restored interior, and scroll down a bit in this NY Times article to view a set of gorgeous 360-degree panoramas, one from each of the five Wonder Theatres.

Here's a photo from 1928, the year after this bank opened.

The former Rialto Theatre

The bitter crosstown rival of OK Meat Food

Mokichi Okada was the founder of Tenseishinbikai and the developer of Johrei, which the Tenseishinbikai website describes as "the rational and advanced science of the future. Johrei is the method of radiating rays of spiritual light, the light of the fire element, towards the clouds in the spiritual body which are the very cause of disease and other sufferings. . . . Johrei is the sole method for saving people from the great purification action that will engulf the world."

Incongruously sited amid the enormous old homes of South Midwood in Victorian Flatbush, this is the first Tenseishinbikai temple built in the United States. Tenseishinbikai is a Japanese "super-religion" whose teachings "specify precise and detailed means, methods, plans and designs to actualize Paradise on Earth. These teachings transcend and encompass all other religions . . . and are worthy of belief by the whole of humanity." You can read much more about Tenseishinbikai on its website — actually, you don't have to read at all, because after starting out with a performance of the "Organization Song", the site will speak aloud to you the full text of each page before automatically advancing to the next one.

A lingering sign from the days when Gaines Motors occupied this building

I have no idea what this place is/was, but it's looked the same since at least 2007.

"THOMPKINS" and "1989" are written in the sidewalk outside this building, the letters and numbers formed from stones embedded in the concrete. It turns out that the owner of this property from 1978 to 2013 was named Thompkins.

This store has been declared a city landmark since our last visit. Here's the full landmark report.

Crub a Dog [I'm pretty sure that's what it says]
Poop Scoop

Since 1929

According to the internet, Geek Sheep is probably a livestock wholesaler, but could also possibly be a business coaching and consulting firm or a computer repair shop. I thrice tried calling them to ask, but to no avail. The first time, no one picked up and the outgoing message was just the sound of someone rustling papers in the background. The second time, there was about ten seconds of dead silence followed by a busy signal. And on my last attempt, the phone rang six times and then disconnected.