$7M, purchase, rejected by Diaz Bros
$1M, cost of renovations, WAG
$8M / 16/share = 500,000 shares
So, what’s some reasonable numbers? Be nice to see an estimate and proposal from Allie.
Allie has one local pol kinda swinging his way. If Ridgewood is itself already a historic district, it would be going a long way towards paving the road.
So, the requested action is to get seed money to seed his group so that “ If I can raise the funding, maybe if there is an underhanded sale later on, I can at least compete with it!!!”
Hmmnnn, underhanded sale later on????
I might be interested in providing some venture capital, but I’d like to see a game plan.
Over and out until the Preserve the Ridgwood Theater Trust issues its first progress report.
Warren’s post was informative. The Daily News article obviously the result of Michael Perlman’s efforts. Thanks guys.
Allie’s was an eye opener. I had to get up to speed by reading posts from mid April. I was surprised to see that Michael Perlman had previously provided a complete and informative approach. I was also surpised to see that Ridgewood had been designated a historic neighborhood (or something to that effect).
Make no mistake, I support preserving the importance of the Ridgewood’s architectural and historical importance.
However, I must question Allie’s reasons for and commitment to landmarking the Ridgewood.
In the interests of avoiding repetetive and off topic posts, I would like to suggest that future discussions and efforts regarding landmarking the Ridgewood be coordinated and confined to email to < >. In the interest of keeping the rest of us informed, I suggest you post a monthly status report of your activites to this page.
Warren, have you reviewed the list of 153 theaters claimed by CT to have been designed by Thomas W Lamb? I paraphrased what was claimed to be some of his most noteworthy theaters from >http://www.heritagewinnipeg.com/historic_buildingsTheatres.htm
except, of course, that I included the Ridgewood with tongue in cheek ( or maybe not, ;–)
……..* May I suggest you review CT’s list of Lamb designed theaters and advise the list owners of any errors?
……..* Are you aware of any other errors on the Ridgewood page.
My apologies to the list.
Mike, gotsta establish the credentials for a wannabe Landmark candidate. Architetual significance is a key factor. TW Lamb gets much higher marks and recognition than, eg, Trump’s gang.
On a more mundane note, do you know that you can still see a double feature at the movies? Only $7.50 per adult. The Wellfleet Drive-in in Mass. Seems to me we got a whole car load in legally for 1 or 2 bucks at the drive in on Sunrise Highway or the one near the Whitestone Bridge when I was a young buck.
No, we didn’t go. Don’t do Depp. But we always go to the flea market at the drive in on a weekend when we’re up that way .
Ed S, Thomas S Lamb, the prestigious North American theatre architect who designed the Ridgewood, designed 153 theaters. 43 including the Ridgewood, are still open. Lamb became prominent in theatre design in 1913 after designing the Regent Theatre in New York City. His success continued when he designed the Mark Strand on Broadway, the Roxy, the Rivoli, and the Capital Theatre in New York. and the Ridgewood in Ridgewood, Brooklyn, NY.
Btw, the UA Midway Stadium in Forest Hills, NY was also designed by Lamb and is also still open. Of course it was built 26 years after the Ridgewood, and my understanding is that little remains of the original interior following its renovatiom/conversion to 9 screens in 1977.
Michael Perlman said, “Let’s get the show on the road!” And literally took our hand to show us how. Thanks very much for summarizing the approach to obtaining the designation of a NYC historic landmark. Its completeness suggests that you must have had a few victories in your previous battles with bureauacracies, despite your neighbors thinking you were tilting lances with windmills.
I’ll leave it to others to contact Ross Melnick to find out which theaters have been preserved by achieving landmark status. Theater preservation is an objective of this site. Physically and digitally. At least the Ridgewood will be preserved digitally thanks to Patrick, Ross, LM, W, BW and others.
In my opinion the address of record should correspond to that used when the theater was in operation. Hopefully, that would also agree with the address shown on original land use records, aubsequent tax records, and advertising media. Any inconsistencies, including for example, the building’s current address, should be cited by appropriate foot notes.
If I understand what Warren has said, I believe my opinion agrees with his.
Since I can’t be the first, Let me chime in with a big resounding “WELCOME BACK LOST MEMORY”.
Glad to see that your comment status has been restored. You are still heads and shoulders above the next nearest submitter by almost 2 to 1 (7165/3888).
Thanks BrooklynJim. The buildings behind the bus just didn’t look like my recollection of Niederstein’s exterior. I haven’t been in that area since the late ‘50s, and frankly I thought it was further east on Metropolitan Ave.
Here’s a map link to the surrounding areas, showing theaters:
>>http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?name=Niederstein%27s+Restaurant&addr=6916+Metropolitan+Ave&state=NY&csz=Flushing+NY&ds=n&uzip=&mag=1&desc=%28718%29+326-0718&country=us&dma=&cat=ent&resize=l&trf=0&lat=40.712063&lon=-73.886066&mlt=40.712063&mln=-73.886066&rezoom=1&.intl=us&addrtype=12&compass=&BFKey=tht<<
Ugh, that was ugly. But it would have included the Ridgewood and most movie-houses of my youth with the exception of those in Richmond Hill and Jamaica.
“Tonino, aye. True theater historian, present and accounted for.
((For Middle Villagers, Ridgewoodites and Glendalers who used to grab a meal here before or after screenings at the Arion, Ridgewood, Oasis, RKO Madison, Maspeth, Drake or Elmwood Theaters:
Expanding on Bway’s point, there are many more outlets available to consume our free time than there used to be. Continuous developments in technology was key to successful movie making. Too many alternatives and tickets too pricey today. I can generally wait for it to come on TV or to rent the DVD.
I found Warren’s early ad for Fox’s Ridgewood interesting in that it contained a dual bill for both a movie and 6 vaudeville acts. I thought vaudeville was a stand alone act for years.
In searching for background on Jean Southern in Whoso Findeth A Wife, I was surpised to learn that there are more than 4,200 titles listed in IMDb for the year 1916.
To the eager beavers, how about summarizing the number of titles by year from 1888 to 2005?
Expanding on Bway’s point, there are many more outlets available to consume our free time than there used to be. Continuous developments in technology was key to successful movie making. Too many alternatives and tickets too pricey today. I can generally wait for it to come on TV or to rent the DVD.
I found Warren’s early ad for Fox’s Ridgewood interesting in that it contained a dual bill for both a movie and 6 vaudeville acts. I thought vaudeville was a stand alone act for years.
In searching for background on Jean Southern in Whoso Findeth A Wife, I was surpised to learn that there are more than 4,200 titles listed in IMDb for the year 1916.
To the eager beavers, how about summarizing the number of titles by year from 1888 to 2005?
I forgot to thank ‘brenograph" for his 8/23 post in my earlier reply.
And now … to express my interest in attending the Ridgewood-fest, including maybe dinner. But I’d be coming by car from Connecticut and I’ve got some needs which negate a day trip and concerns regarding staying over night. I still find it hard to believe Ridgewood, the neighborhood, bears any resemblance to what it was in the mid ‘50s.
…..also, to asssure others that my spirit and body signs onto this site using only one name.
Finally, LM’s tongue in cheek remark about ‘Plaster’ was lost on me. It did however remind me of something my Industrial Design instructor at Brooklyn Tech had us memorize: “Portland cement is the product obtained by calcining to incipient fusion intimate and properly proportioned mixtures of argillaceous and calcareous materials without the subsequent addition of anything except water and calcined or uncalcined gypsum.” And that is from memory.!!! Not a copy and paste job.
EdSolero: I enjoyed your comment. I too am apt to go off-topic, but it’s mostly nostalgic recollections of my theaters in the hope of finding kindred spirits if not long lost friends. I have differnt recollections of my “favorites” list which I have described in their sections. I believe I saw most of the movies ever made from the ‘40s through the early '60s. As well as many made in the '30s which I saw in “re-runs” at the Acme or Belvedere, where I spent a few summers. I don’t consider myself a movie or theater expert to the extent some on this list are.
You made a good suggestion regarding deselecting the notification button on the Ridgewood page.
LM’s tongue in cheek remark about ‘Plaster’ was lost on me. It did however remind me of something my Industrial Design instructor at Brooklyn Tech had us memorize: “Portland cement is the product obtained by calcining to incipient fusion intimate and properly proportioned mixtures of argillaceous and calcareous materials without the subsequent addition of anything except water and calcined or uncalcined gypsum.” And that is from memory.!!! Not a copy and paste job.
Voluminous tangential threads don’t belong on this site because it clutters the users' mail box with dozens of unwanted posts in a day. The feature where users are advised when a post has been received in a theater of interest is great for its intended use but is meaningless in the presence of off-topic replies. This happens too frequently in this section.
CSI: NY, get a life. You appear to be a real movie and theater afficiondo, but your inflammatory posts, constant bitching, and dissertations on Plaster are a nuisance to most users.
Voluminous tangential threads don’t belong on this site because it clutters the users' mail box with dozens of unwanted posts in a day. The feature where users are advised when a post has been received in a theater of interest is great for its intended use but is meaningless in the presence of off-topic replies. This happens too frequently in the Ridgewood section.
CSI: NY, get a life. You appear to be a real movie and theater afficiondo, but your inflammatory posts, constant bitching, and dissertations on Plaster are a nuisance to most users.
Thanks for the url LM. The Belvedere was a few blocks east of fresh Pond Road, the same street that housed the Oasis. It was about halfway between the Acme and Glenwood on Myrtle Ave. All these theaters are on CT.
I have no idea why Silvio posted the url for Coney Island on the Belvedere page. Consider it a bonus.
Restrictions on the number of movie houses on the site is a management decision. In the absence of technical and cost information, I think there is no reason that the site can not have a goal of listing every movie house that ever existed.
Agreed that there is a lot of extraneous information on some pages, most of which is present on the Ridgewood page. As I pointed out above, this could largely be avoided in future postings by adding a forum, or dummy theater, dedicated to non-specific theater related talk. Posting guidelines would probably also have to be upgraded
I agree that an effort should be made to expunge extraneous, off-topic, information. This should be performed by management, or a committee delegated by management for that purpose. This should probably be done in two phases. The first phase could be performed by a committee with limited management oversight. It would involve deleting chat-type information undeniably off-topic related to areas such as old neighborhoods, schools, chums, etc.
The second phase would involve updating individual theater descriptions based upon a complete review of its comments. This would require more active management direction and review. The number of comments ultimately retained would be related to the number whose content was not rolled into the description because they presented an interesting recollection or exchange between posters unique to the theater.
So, despite what Warren says, I feel that management is being very open and democratic in suggesting that posters “write a replacement and we’ll publish it.” I trust management’s response to Warren was primarily driven by their need to be diplomatic.
That’s the very same one. It was rented to the Florida Rep by the town of Fort Myers beginning in 1998. I’m trying to contact the producer/director – wife/husband team who are the current owners. I will also check at our beach library, as well as the one downtown where there may be a few oldtimers.
It is a very neat little theater. You can’t imagine how surprised I was that it was not yet listed on CT. And of course, how thrilled I am now that I can make a lasting contribution to CT.
Somehow, I don’t think this is what I meant when I used to tell people to “get a life”.
Temporary Resident Historian for the Arcade Theater.
It took the last comment to remind me that I had a new theater. Since those who frequent the Ridgewood are CT’s cognoscenti, I thought I’d give you folk’s a heads up. The Arcade Theater in Fort Myers, FL, is a 393 seat theater buily in 1908. It’s restoration was started by contributions raised by Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1991. It is the home of the Florida repertory Theater.
The Arcade exudes the feel-good warmth of the movie houses of my youth. Elegant in its simplicity, it reminds me of the Goodspeed Opera House, E Hadddam, CT, stripped of its opulence. You can not imagine how good it makes me feel to see an old movie house restored to its former glory in a related contemporary use.
Can any of you point me to references which might assist me in identifying its style, architect, etc?
$7M, purchase, rejected by Diaz Bros
$1M, cost of renovations, WAG
$8M / 16/share = 500,000 shares
So, what’s some reasonable numbers? Be nice to see an estimate and proposal from Allie.
Allie has one local pol kinda swinging his way. If Ridgewood is itself already a historic district, it would be going a long way towards paving the road.
So, the requested action is to get seed money to seed his group so that “ If I can raise the funding, maybe if there is an underhanded sale later on, I can at least compete with it!!!”
Hmmnnn, underhanded sale later on????
I might be interested in providing some venture capital, but I’d like to see a game plan.
Over and out until the Preserve the Ridgwood Theater Trust issues its first progress report.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
Warren’s post was informative. The Daily News article obviously the result of Michael Perlman’s efforts. Thanks guys.
Allie’s was an eye opener. I had to get up to speed by reading posts from mid April. I was surprised to see that Michael Perlman had previously provided a complete and informative approach. I was also surpised to see that Ridgewood had been designated a historic neighborhood (or something to that effect).
Make no mistake, I support preserving the importance of the Ridgewood’s architectural and historical importance.
However, I must question Allie’s reasons for and commitment to landmarking the Ridgewood.
In the interests of avoiding repetetive and off topic posts, I would like to suggest that future discussions and efforts regarding landmarking the Ridgewood be coordinated and confined to email to < >. In the interest of keeping the rest of us informed, I suggest you post a monthly status report of your activites to this page.
G_d and ‘Tonino helps those who help themselves.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior.
Architect unknown, aye. But wholly inconsistent with attempts to get the Ridgewood designated a landmark. We need someone to chase down its designer.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
Warren, have you reviewed the list of 153 theaters claimed by CT to have been designed by Thomas W Lamb? I paraphrased what was claimed to be some of his most noteworthy theaters from >http://www.heritagewinnipeg.com/historic_buildingsTheatres.htm
except, of course, that I included the Ridgewood with tongue in cheek ( or maybe not, ;–)
……..* May I suggest you review CT’s list of Lamb designed theaters and advise the list owners of any errors?
……..* Are you aware of any other errors on the Ridgewood page.
My apologies to the list.
Mike, gotsta establish the credentials for a wannabe Landmark candidate. Architetual significance is a key factor. TW Lamb gets much higher marks and recognition than, eg, Trump’s gang.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
On a more mundane note, do you know that you can still see a double feature at the movies? Only $7.50 per adult. The Wellfleet Drive-in in Mass. Seems to me we got a whole car load in legally for 1 or 2 bucks at the drive in on Sunrise Highway or the one near the Whitestone Bridge when I was a young buck.
No, we didn’t go. Don’t do Depp. But we always go to the flea market at the drive in on a weekend when we’re up that way .
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
Ed S, Thomas S Lamb, the prestigious North American theatre architect who designed the Ridgewood, designed 153 theaters. 43 including the Ridgewood, are still open. Lamb became prominent in theatre design in 1913 after designing the Regent Theatre in New York City. His success continued when he designed the Mark Strand on Broadway, the Roxy, the Rivoli, and the Capital Theatre in New York. and the Ridgewood in Ridgewood, Brooklyn, NY.
Btw, the UA Midway Stadium in Forest Hills, NY was also designed by Lamb and is also still open. Of course it was built 26 years after the Ridgewood, and my understanding is that little remains of the original interior following its renovatiom/conversion to 9 screens in 1977.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
Michael Perlman said, “Let’s get the show on the road!” And literally took our hand to show us how. Thanks very much for summarizing the approach to obtaining the designation of a NYC historic landmark. Its completeness suggests that you must have had a few victories in your previous battles with bureauacracies, despite your neighbors thinking you were tilting lances with windmills.
I’ll leave it to others to contact Ross Melnick to find out which theaters have been preserved by achieving landmark status. Theater preservation is an objective of this site. Physically and digitally. At least the Ridgewood will be preserved digitally thanks to Patrick, Ross, LM, W, BW and others.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
In my opinion the address of record should correspond to that used when the theater was in operation. Hopefully, that would also agree with the address shown on original land use records, aubsequent tax records, and advertising media. Any inconsistencies, including for example, the building’s current address, should be cited by appropriate foot notes.
If I understand what Warren has said, I believe my opinion agrees with his.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
LM and mm: It wasn’t exactly rocket science or require special comuter skills to recover Monica’s EM from this page: ><, or ><.
I would think The Ridgewood should be designated a National Landmark anf the village of Ridgewwood should be designated An Historic District. ;–)
Refraining from aditional comments….
Shalom, ciao,and excelsior
Since I can’t be the first, Let me chime in with a big resounding “WELCOME BACK LOST MEMORY”.
Glad to see that your comment status has been restored. You are still heads and shoulders above the next nearest submitter by almost 2 to 1 (7165/3888).
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior.
Here’s a map link to Ridgewood and the surrounding areas, showing present theaters including our grand old lady (glide your mouse across the pins):
view map
Triggered it by a search for Niederstein’s restaurant re a discussion in the Arion page.
It would have included all the movie-houses of my mis-spent youth, mostly in Glendale, Woodhaven, Middle Village, and Ridgewood.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior,
Thanks BrooklynJim. The buildings behind the bus just didn’t look like my recollection of Niederstein’s exterior. I haven’t been in that area since the late ‘50s, and frankly I thought it was further east on Metropolitan Ave.
Here’s a map link to the surrounding areas, showing theaters:
>>http://maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?name=Niederstein%27s+Restaurant&addr=6916+Metropolitan+Ave&state=NY&csz=Flushing+NY&ds=n&uzip=&mag=1&desc=%28718%29+326-0718&country=us&dma=&cat=ent&resize=l&trf=0&lat=40.712063&lon=-73.886066&mlt=40.712063&mln=-73.886066&rezoom=1&.intl=us&addrtype=12&compass=&BFKey=tht<<
Ugh, that was ugly. But it would have included the Ridgewood and most movie-houses of my youth with the exception of those in Richmond Hill and Jamaica.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior,
“Tonino, aye. True theater historian, present and accounted for.
((For Middle Villagers, Ridgewoodites and Glendalers who used to grab a meal here before or after screenings at the Arion, Ridgewood, Oasis, RKO Madison, Maspeth, Drake or Elmwood Theaters:
http://www.subwaywebnews.com/Buses4/8498ndrstn.jpg
Niederstein’s Restaurant closed 2-8-05. The pic was taken before the wrecking ball struck. It’s a fast food joint now.))
Duh, it sure says that Niederstein’s was in the picture to me.!!! And I know who “writted” it.
BUT, I could always rely on lostmemory to provide accurate, as well as informative, information. That’s why I asked if he could verify it.
And I tried available combinations and permutations at ?website’s Archives (under buses), ? ti verify.
Guess I’ll go back to the hockey game now.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
And I know this is Niederstein’s restaurant how? Can lostkemory verify this?
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
Expanding on Bway’s point, there are many more outlets available to consume our free time than there used to be. Continuous developments in technology was key to successful movie making. Too many alternatives and tickets too pricey today. I can generally wait for it to come on TV or to rent the DVD.
I found Warren’s early ad for Fox’s Ridgewood interesting in that it contained a dual bill for both a movie and 6 vaudeville acts. I thought vaudeville was a stand alone act for years.
In searching for background on Jean Southern in Whoso Findeth A Wife, I was surpised to learn that there are more than 4,200 titles listed in IMDb for the year 1916.
To the eager beavers, how about summarizing the number of titles by year from 1888 to 2005?
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
Expanding on Bway’s point, there are many more outlets available to consume our free time than there used to be. Continuous developments in technology was key to successful movie making. Too many alternatives and tickets too pricey today. I can generally wait for it to come on TV or to rent the DVD.
I found Warren’s early ad for Fox’s Ridgewood interesting in that it contained a dual bill for both a movie and 6 vaudeville acts. I thought vaudeville was a stand alone act for years.
In searching for background on Jean Southern in Whoso Findeth A Wife, I was surpised to learn that there are more than 4,200 titles listed in IMDb for the year 1916.
To the eager beavers, how about summarizing the number of titles by year from 1888 to 2005?
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
I forgot to thank ‘brenograph" for his 8/23 post in my earlier reply.
And now … to express my interest in attending the Ridgewood-fest, including maybe dinner. But I’d be coming by car from Connecticut and I’ve got some needs which negate a day trip and concerns regarding staying over night. I still find it hard to believe Ridgewood, the neighborhood, bears any resemblance to what it was in the mid ‘50s.
…..also, to asssure others that my spirit and body signs onto this site using only one name.
Finally, LM’s tongue in cheek remark about ‘Plaster’ was lost on me. It did however remind me of something my Industrial Design instructor at Brooklyn Tech had us memorize: “Portland cement is the product obtained by calcining to incipient fusion intimate and properly proportioned mixtures of argillaceous and calcareous materials without the subsequent addition of anything except water and calcined or uncalcined gypsum.” And that is from memory.!!! Not a copy and paste job.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior
EdSolero: I enjoyed your comment. I too am apt to go off-topic, but it’s mostly nostalgic recollections of my theaters in the hope of finding kindred spirits if not long lost friends. I have differnt recollections of my “favorites” list which I have described in their sections. I believe I saw most of the movies ever made from the ‘40s through the early '60s. As well as many made in the '30s which I saw in “re-runs” at the Acme or Belvedere, where I spent a few summers. I don’t consider myself a movie or theater expert to the extent some on this list are.
You made a good suggestion regarding deselecting the notification button on the Ridgewood page.
LM’s tongue in cheek remark about ‘Plaster’ was lost on me. It did however remind me of something my Industrial Design instructor at Brooklyn Tech had us memorize: “Portland cement is the product obtained by calcining to incipient fusion intimate and properly proportioned mixtures of argillaceous and calcareous materials without the subsequent addition of anything except water and calcined or uncalcined gypsum.” And that is from memory.!!! Not a copy and paste job.
And I won’t engage in flame wars.
Shalom, ciao, and excelsior.
Voluminous tangential threads don’t belong on this site because it clutters the users' mail box with dozens of unwanted posts in a day. The feature where users are advised when a post has been received in a theater of interest is great for its intended use but is meaningless in the presence of off-topic replies. This happens too frequently in this section.
CSI: NY, get a life. You appear to be a real movie and theater afficiondo, but your inflammatory posts, constant bitching, and dissertations on Plaster are a nuisance to most users.
Voluminous tangential threads don’t belong on this site because it clutters the users' mail box with dozens of unwanted posts in a day. The feature where users are advised when a post has been received in a theater of interest is great for its intended use but is meaningless in the presence of off-topic replies. This happens too frequently in the Ridgewood section.
CSI: NY, get a life. You appear to be a real movie and theater afficiondo, but your inflammatory posts, constant bitching, and dissertations on Plaster are a nuisance to most users.
Thanks for the url LM. The Belvedere was a few blocks east of fresh Pond Road, the same street that housed the Oasis. It was about halfway between the Acme and Glenwood on Myrtle Ave. All these theaters are on CT.
I have no idea why Silvio posted the url for Coney Island on the Belvedere page. Consider it a bonus.
please post the url. there is no active link on my end, thanks
Restrictions on the number of movie houses on the site is a management decision. In the absence of technical and cost information, I think there is no reason that the site can not have a goal of listing every movie house that ever existed.
Agreed that there is a lot of extraneous information on some pages, most of which is present on the Ridgewood page. As I pointed out above, this could largely be avoided in future postings by adding a forum, or dummy theater, dedicated to non-specific theater related talk. Posting guidelines would probably also have to be upgraded
I agree that an effort should be made to expunge extraneous, off-topic, information. This should be performed by management, or a committee delegated by management for that purpose. This should probably be done in two phases. The first phase could be performed by a committee with limited management oversight. It would involve deleting chat-type information undeniably off-topic related to areas such as old neighborhoods, schools, chums, etc.
The second phase would involve updating individual theater descriptions based upon a complete review of its comments. This would require more active management direction and review. The number of comments ultimately retained would be related to the number whose content was not rolled into the description because they presented an interesting recollection or exchange between posters unique to the theater.
So, despite what Warren says, I feel that management is being very open and democratic in suggesting that posters “write a replacement and we’ll publish it.” I trust management’s response to Warren was primarily driven by their need to be diplomatic.
That’s the very same one. It was rented to the Florida Rep by the town of Fort Myers beginning in 1998. I’m trying to contact the producer/director – wife/husband team who are the current owners. I will also check at our beach library, as well as the one downtown where there may be a few oldtimers.
It is a very neat little theater. You can’t imagine how surprised I was that it was not yet listed on CT. And of course, how thrilled I am now that I can make a lasting contribution to CT.
Somehow, I don’t think this is what I meant when I used to tell people to “get a life”.
Temporary Resident Historian for the Arcade Theater.
Ciao, and augurri
It took the last comment to remind me that I had a new theater. Since those who frequent the Ridgewood are CT’s cognoscenti, I thought I’d give you folk’s a heads up. The Arcade Theater in Fort Myers, FL, is a 393 seat theater buily in 1908. It’s restoration was started by contributions raised by Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1991. It is the home of the Florida repertory Theater.
The Arcade exudes the feel-good warmth of the movie houses of my youth. Elegant in its simplicity, it reminds me of the Goodspeed Opera House, E Hadddam, CT, stripped of its opulence. You can not imagine how good it makes me feel to see an old movie house restored to its former glory in a related contemporary use.
Can any of you point me to references which might assist me in identifying its style, architect, etc?