Majestic Theater
494 Seneca Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NY
11385
494 Seneca Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NY
11385
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Thanks, Bway !
Here’s an aerial view of the Majestic Theater:
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Bway;Here are a couple of links to the ‘Majestic’ that was built for the movie “The Majestic” in Ferndale, CA: View link
View link
I also noticed that in the movie “The Majestic” with Jim Carrey, they use the Graumann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood both outside in the courtyard and in the auditorium at the beginning of the movie.
However, does anyone know where the “Majestic” Theater is that they use in that film is? They use the interior and exterior of an old theater as the basis of the film, and was wondering if it was a real theater, and if it is, where it is and what it’s called.
I didn’t know where to ask this (and I of course know it’s not this “Majestic Theater”), but didn’t know where else to ask this.
There are three buildings on the block where the Majestic stood. Seneca Chapels formerly the Majestic is on Seneca ave at the corner of Greene ave. The next building closest to Seneca Chapels is still some sort of factory building. The building after that is the laundromat which is on Seneca ave and Harmon st.
The factory building next to the majestic is now a laundromat.
the majestic opened in 1923, the grandview in 1924, the oasis in 1927 the same year as the madison theatre
I also posted a current photo of the Oasis site in it’s section:
/theaters/4624/
Unlike the Whitney which was demolished in the 20’s, the Oasis building still partly survives. The lobby, the entire right side of the building, and the stores connected to the theater on the Fresh Pond Road frontage was torn down in the mid 1990’s. However, the main auditorium still remains, and new exterior walls put on it from where the other parts were ripped off. It is currently a CVS.
The stores that faced Fresh Pond Rd were in the same Egyptian design on their one storry fasades as the main part of the theater. Unfortunately, all of that is now gone.
The history of the Oasis (designed by Thomas Lamb) is posted at that theatre’s listing. It was not the same theatre as the Whitney. In fact, the land sites are quite a few blocks apart.
Orlando…..The Whitney was already open in 1912 because we have seen a photo of the Whitney taken that year. I do believe the Majestic opened in the early 20’s and closed around 1954. The Evergreen opened in 1913 and possibly closed around 1928.
The Whitney and the Oasis are not the same theater. The Oasis opened as the Oasis in the early 1920’s and was located on Fresh Pond Rd, near Greene Ave or Menahan St, not near the subway tracks.
The Whitney was located right next to the subway tracks, and there are photos of it from the 1910’s showing the theater next to the tracks. The Oasis and the Whitney are seperate theaters, both on Fresh Pond Rd, but quite a few blocks apart.
According to my records, the Majestic closed in 1953 maybe ‘54 and opening in the early 1920-24 period. The Grandview 1929-1954. The Evergreen opened in 1920 and closed in 1928 (only a silent film house). The Whitney opened in 1920 and closed in 1927 and then became the Oasis in 1927. The Whitney and Oasis are one in the same.
I was in the area yesterday. P.S. See the STARR theatre on this site.
This theater was open in the 20’s. I found a list of New York movie theater’s from 1925 and the Majestic is on it. This theater is older than I thought. Also on that list is the Grandview, the Whitney and the Evergreen on Seneca ave.
Your right about that 1931 build date being incorrect. I found the same thing on a few other buildings in the area. I now believe that the Majestic opened sometime in the 20’s and I’m trying to find out when the Grandview opened. I think its possible that they both opened around the same time.
Yes, that’s that discrepancy which occurs with a lot of the buildings in Ridgewood. (Remember this came up with the EVergreen Theater’s neighboring buildings too). That 1931 date seems to come up for a lot of buildings incorrectly. It is highly unlikely much got built in the 1930’s in Ridgewood, as that was the beginning of the Depression. No one was investing anything back then in that decade.
I previously had thought that the Majestic was built in 1931. The following story is from 1928 so the document I viewed that said 1931 must be incorrect. It must have opened in the 1920’s.
“In 1928 We lived on Woodward Avenue between Bleecker Street and Menahan Street. It used to cost a dime to go to the Majestic movie theater with wooden seats without cushions, which was located on Seneca Avenue, and as they were still showing silent films, a musician would play a piano to accompany the action on the screen”.
Bway…..Thanks for posting that photo. Maybe now people can better understand what I was talking about when we first discussed this theater. The open space to the right in the photo is where the wooden house stood that I mentioned. I see that the factory building is still there. At one time it was a knitting mill but I have no idea what it is used for today. Like I mentioned previously, there were no side windows on the building. You can see in the photo the side door that we entered the Majestic through to find a way to the roof. Behind the car parked by the stop sign is a fire hydrant which limited how many cars could park in that area. Between that and the driveway further down, most of that side of the street was clear of parked cars. Opposite that building is a row of parking garages (not shown in the photo) which made that enire area a great place to play ball.
Here’s a current view of the Majestic Theater taken today.
Click here for link
The is theater is now Seneca Chapels.
This was not as bad as people make it out to be I didnt mind going here at all
One thing that I was able to read in those documents was the name Louis Berger. Mr Berger is listed as the Architect/Engineer for the original building.
I looked at the document again and I still can’t read the signature. The first name looks like Sol but as of now, I just can’t confirm the last name. Thanks anyway.
In one of the documents I found, there was a signature that looked similar to the name that you mentioned. I will go back and read those documents again. Thanks for the info.
This theatre was owned by a gentleman named gitenstein who fell upon hard times in the 50s.
Richie…..You remember the train tracks? I guess that I’m not losing my marbles after all. I don’t remember the pony’s but I do remember some kind of animals being there. If you saw movies at the Majestic, you must be slightly older than me. What years did you play stickball on Greene ave?
I remember the Majestic from the early 50’s I lived at 1726 Harmon Street in the early 50’s before my family moved to Fairview Avenue. I saw a few flicks there mostly westerns. Us kids would play stickball on Green Avenue right next to this movie house. I remember a small barn on Harmon Street near Seneca Avenue where the old train tracks ran past the back of the buildings and a man kept ponies in there. Geez it really brings back some good memories.