Ridgewood Theatre

55-27 Myrtle Avenue,
Ridgewood, NY 11385

Unfavorite 31 people favorited this theater

Showing 76 - 100 of 2,835 comments

PeterKoch
PeterKoch on March 26, 2012 at 7:17 am

You’re most welcome to my comments, John. Yes, indeed, let’s see. Yes, I am doing well, thank you, albeit crazy busy off the hook, and hope you are too.

johndereszewski
johndereszewski on March 23, 2012 at 5:05 pm

Thanks for your comments Peter – and great to hear from you …… My guess is that the grand supermarket proposal has gone up in smoke and that the current owner is trying to make something out of his investment …..Let’s see what will happen – and hope to see you are doing well!!

PeterKoch
PeterKoch on March 23, 2012 at 12:48 pm

I walked by the Ridgewood Theatre this morning at 10 a.m. on my way to RSB. I didn’t cross the street to peer through the gates but took notes on the marquee.

The western face still reads :

THE BUSHWICK
TWIN – S

The small southern face. parallel to Myrtle Avenue, reads :

RETAIL FOR LEASE Erin Grace, CCIM
40,000 SF 212 710 5257
DIVISIBLE Christa Minogue
SRS 212 710 5247

The eastern face of the marquee is blank.

No change since I was last there August 4 2011.

On a happier note, Rudy’s Konditorei Bake Shop at 905 Seneca Avenue (northeast side, between Catalpa and Myrtle Avenues, next door to Ridgewood Eats, formerly the Bank Restaurant) has reopened after a ten-day renovation and is back in business as usual, selling cakes and cookies from cases and counters in the front, with a cafe area in the back with tables and chairs where you can sit sipping cappucino.

PeterKoch
PeterKoch on February 17, 2012 at 6:59 am

Yes I am Bway, thank you. It’s good to ‘hear’ from you too.

I may soon return to Bushwick Buddies as well.

Bway
Bway on February 16, 2012 at 6:44 pm

Well, I hope you are feeling better Peter. Good to hear from you.

PeterKoch
PeterKoch on February 13, 2012 at 11:07 am

I’ve been away, anxious and depressed for personal reasons that I won’t go into here.

But now I’m back, starting to feel free to enjoy life again, and part of that is returning to Cinema Treasures.

I expect to be walking by the Ridgewood Theatre again before the month is out, and, once I have done so, I will post my usual report here.

I don’t expect to see much of a change since my last visit on Thursday August 4 2011.

Bway
Bway on February 13, 2012 at 10:54 am

Matt, thank you so much for posting those wonderful photos! Peter, where have you been!

PeterKoch
PeterKoch on February 13, 2012 at 9:06 am

Thanks, John D., DARCYDT, NativeForestHiller and Matt Lambros for your input.

Matt Lambros, great blog of yours, with great photos ! Many thanks !

Matt Lambros
Matt Lambros on February 13, 2012 at 8:16 am

Check out my recent blog posting on the Ridgewood Theatre
.

NativeForestHiller
NativeForestHiller on January 9, 2012 at 3:45 pm

Those were some of the last films to play at the theater before its sudden closure in March 2008. You are welcome to visit Friends of The Ridgewood Theatre on our Facebook. I founded a group dedicated towards preserving & creatively reusing this 1916 gem designed by Thomas Lamb. The facade is now landmarked, but now we are focusing on preserving the interior and finding a historically-sensitive tenant, perhaps involved in performing arts: http://on.fb.me/RidgewoodTheatre

DARCYDT
DARCYDT on January 9, 2012 at 3:29 pm

I passed by here today and on one side of the marque it says Bushwick Twin! What’s up with that. Seeing a door open through the screen in front of the theater one sees the film titles “Vantage Point” and “Meet the Spartans” above I guess a couple of entrances. I guess what was playing at the end. I never saw a film at this theater.

johndereszewski
johndereszewski on December 30, 2011 at 5:27 am

Michael, thanks for the information. The timing of the violation both verifies the activity that RobertR reported last August as well as the lack of such that I witnessed when I visited the place in September. Just wonder how much destruction occurred before the stop work order kicked in ……. I just don’t understand why the developer would start the work without the proper permit. It’s not like the supermarket conversion project was such a big secret, quite the contrary. Besides betraying a good dose of bad faith on the developer’s part, this was just a dumb thing to do.

PeterKoch
PeterKoch on December 29, 2011 at 6:58 am

You’re welcome, NativeForestHiller, and thank YOU for this update.

NativeForestHiller
NativeForestHiller on December 28, 2011 at 4:41 pm

I appreciate everyone’s concerns & updates. There are no active permits on the DOB site as of this writing. This is the complaint I found on the website:

NYC Department of Buildings Overview for Complaint #:4490907 = ACTIVE Complaint at: 5527 MYRTLE AVENUE BIN: 4082442 Borough: QUEENS ZIP: 11385 Re: ILLEGAL GUT RENOVATION OF AN OLD MOVIE THREATR

Category Code: 05 PERMIT – NONE (BUILDING/ PA/ DEMO ETC.)

DOB District: N/A Special District:

Assigned To: QUEENS BOROUGH OFFICE Priority: B
Received: 08/11/2011 15:26 Block: 3451 Lot: 7 Community Board: 405
Owner: 55-27 MYRTLE AVE REALTY GROUP,

Last Inspection: 11/30/2011 – – BY BADGE # 2188 Disposition: 12/09/2011 – C1 – INSPECTOR UNABLE TO GAIN ACCESS – 1ST ATTEMPT – Comments: FRONT GATE IS PADLOCKED. LS-4 POSTED

In addition to the historic interior being at risk, safety is at stake with no permits, let alone when permits are in place. The facade is now landmarked, & much of any interior work could effect the landmarked portion, and should be brought to the attention of the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Dept of Buildings website:

http://a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/PropertyProfileOverviewServlet?boro=4&houseno=55-27&street=myrtle%20ave&requestid=0&s=A03C41B885B461E4F46BD08866A7430E

PeterKoch
PeterKoch on December 28, 2011 at 12:28 pm

I may pass by next week, and, if I do, I will report here what I’ve seen, as I’ve done in the past.

johndereszewski
johndereszewski on December 28, 2011 at 12:20 pm

Great hearing from you Peter – and the new photos are great!

Has anyone visited the Ridgewood lately? I know that no renovation work had commenced when I last passed by the site – but that was several months ago. So, is the old theater still lying fallow – or has the destructive work at long last begun. (I really hope for the former.)

PeterKoch
PeterKoch on December 28, 2011 at 8:15 am

Yes, Bway, I know I’ve been missed, and that it’s been awhile. Thank you for saying so.

For reasons I prefer not to go into here, I haven’t had much to say lately.

lfreimauer
lfreimauer on December 28, 2011 at 7:34 am

Looks like a lost cause!

Bway
Bway on December 28, 2011 at 7:07 am

These photos are amazing. These are teasers! Please post some more! By the way, I can’t believe how fast paint begins to peal. This was a functioning theater less than three years ago. But it also shows how much of the original theater is still all there waiting to be preserved behind the fake sheetrock walls! I guess because the building is left unheated it begins to make the paint peal.

Bway
Bway on December 28, 2011 at 6:52 am

Yes, MORE photos, these are GREAT!! Peter, you are missed, it’s been a while!

Ed Solero
Ed Solero on December 27, 2011 at 11:46 am

Several stunning interior photographs have been recently uploaded to the site with no fanfare. Thanks to CT members Plaid and Matt Lambros for providing these peaks behind the shuttered doors. I look forward to more uploads – paticularly from Matt, as I’m sure his expedition inside the Ridgewood did not stop with a single image!

johndereszewski
johndereszewski on September 13, 2011 at 6:11 am

Wow, I did not realize that the BUSHWICK TWIN sign was up as long as it has been. Either I have not visited the place for a longer time than I had imagined or I just didn’t notice it. (This is a very hard thing to miss!)

Bway, you are probasbly right that the name contains no great special significance – though it is still fun to speculate about possible hidden meanings.

Bway
Bway on September 12, 2011 at 10:00 am

The “Bushwick Twin” thing has been on the marquee for almost a year, don’t know what it means either….could just be someone who was fooling with the letters they found inside….

NativeForestHiller
NativeForestHiller on September 11, 2011 at 10:55 am

Thank you for your site visit details. I think the plaster dust and some trash that is visible is the result of the removal of the multiplexing in 2009-2010. All seems to be at a standstill. We are doing what we can, in regard to outreach to the appropriate parties, in order for this cherished theater to have a future in our communities.