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Ridgewood Theatre in danger
posted by
Michael Zoldessy
on
May 30, 2008 at 7:55 am
RIDGEWOOD, QUEENS, NY — Michael Perlman, Dir. of Queens Preservation Council is seeking a historically-sensitive (arts-related) tenant for the endangered historic Ridgewood Theatre (55-27 Myrtle Ave, Queens, NY). It closed in March 2008 after nearly 92 years, and was the longest continuously operating theater citywide & potentially throughout the US. It was modeled after Times Square’s long-demolished Mark Strand Theatre, the 1st movie palace in the world.
It is of the utmost importance to reopen, lease, adaptively & creatively reuse, and preserve a gem by the foremost Thomas Lamb, so it can contribute to the appeal of an up & coming neighborhood. Please become a Friend of the Ridgewood Theatre, and help spread the word to as many contacts as possible by forwarding our new website:
http://www.myspace.com/ridgewoodtheatre
Perlman recently joined forces with Edward Summer’s newly formed “New York State Movie Theatre Corridor” (sponsored by Buffalo Int'l Film Festival), whose mission is to record & further the preservation of historic theaters from Buffalo to NYC: http://www.myspace.com/movietheatrecorridor Proudly, the Ridgewood Theatre earned placement. Please become a friend as well.
Comments (5)
You might have missed this previous news item Michael, but there is still time to submit the Ridgewood Theater for the new edition of David Naylor’s Great American Movie Theaters book. The publicity wouldn’t do any harm. Deadline is June 1, 2008.
Thank you for informing me! I recently learned about the GAMT book project & THS' involvement. I promise to work diligently have my candidates in prior to the deadline.
RECENT PRESS COVERAGE
“Queens Residents Push For Landmarking of Ridgewood Theatre,” (Interview with Michael Perlman, Chair of Friends of Ridgewood Theatre), NY 1 News, Jan 23, 2009:
http://www.ny1.com/Default.aspx?ArID=92744
“Ridgewood Theatre May Be Landmarked: LPC To Hold Hearings In Near Future,” Times NewsWeekly, Jan 15, 2009: View link
“City Eyes Ridgewood Theatre Landmark,” Ridgewood Ledger, Jan 15, 2009: View link
UPDATE: Great News, but your help is still essential, so please continue signing our petition and posting a comment! On Tuesday, February 17, 2009, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission will make a motion to calendar the Ridgewood Theatre’s facade. This is the first step, and then comes a public hearing at a later date, followed by a motion to designate the theater an Individual Landmark. Testimony will be taken during a future public hearing. Stay tuned!
View link
The Landmarks Commission today voted to formally consider the designations of West Park Presbyterian Church, Fort Washington Presbyterian Church and Audubon Park Historic District in Manhattan; Ridgewood Theatre in Queens, and Brooklyn Union Gas Co. Building in Brooklyn.
The press release in its entirety is as follows:
View link