NBC and Beyond

Classic TV and beyond - 1952 - 2014

In the 1950s, the sound stages became NBC studios where hundreds of TV specials, series, and variety shows were taped. The original Studio 1 is along Locust Avenue .and had a swimming pool under the floor built specifically for taping The Esther Williams Aqua Spectacular (1956). A new larger studio known as Color Studio 2 is at 1268 East 14th Street at corner of Avenue M and was largest and most state-of-the-art color studio in the US at the time. Studio 2 was used for live taping of Peter Pan with Mary Martin (1960), Sing Along With Mitch Miller (1961–64), Hullabaloo (1965–66), The Sammy Davis, Jr. Variety Show (1966), Kraft Music Hall, three 1975 episodes of Saturday Night Live, and the first season of The Cosby Show (1984) among many others. The same Brooklyn studios were purchased by JC Studios and used in more recent decades to tape and broadcast the soap operas Another World (1964–99) and As the World Turns (1999-2010). In the last five years several feature films with marquee-name stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, and Sandra Bullock were filmed in the 14th street studios.

In 2014 JC Studios closed. In June 2015 OHEL Children's Home and Family Services began creating offices in the former Studio 1 on Locust Avenue, part of the original Vitagraph Studios. Studio 2, built by NBC, will become a self-storage facility.