RKO Madison Theatre
54-30 Myrtle Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NY
11385
54-30 Myrtle Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NY
11385
16 people
favorited this theater
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On Tuesday 27 February 1951, Bela “Dracula” Lugosi presented his in person Horror and Magic Stage show at RKO Madison. Currently I am conducting research on all things Lugosi; if anyone out there actually saw this show and/or has memorabilia (poster, handbill, photos) related to this show, please contact Bill at Thanks in advance for any assistance!
jgraif, Cypress Ave is not the Brooklyn-Queens border. The Madison is and always was in Queens. The Border has been in a zig-zag line since the Madison was built. The Brooklyn Border traces Cypress Ave from Newtown Creek to Menahan St. It then zig zags down to St Nicholas Ave. It then precedes to Gates Ave. At that intersection, it then goes down to WYckoff Ave. It then Traces Wyckoff Ave across (and behind the Madison) to Eldert St where it goes down to Irving St, whichg then traces it through the Cemetery of the Evergreens.
The fact that the Ridgewood theaters were listed in the Brooklyn movie directory does not mean that they were in Brooklyn. This was a situation where the old Brooklyn zip code lines trumped the actual borderlines. With regard to the old Ridgewood, the movie clocks still did not get it right even after the zip code lines were changed to reflect the borough borders.
Within the movie industry, Ridgewood was always treated as being in Brooklyn. You can look in the Film Daily Year Book for any year for confirmation of that. The Madison and all other Ridgewood theatres are listed in the Brooklyn section.
With all due respect jgraif, the Madison has always been situated in Queens. The current Brooklyn-Queens boundary has been situated since 1925, east of Gates Ave., on Wyckoff Ave. (Cypress Avenue ceases to be the boundary at Menahan Street.) Prior to that time, the boundary veered a little closer to the Madison but did not not place the theater in Brooklyn. It is the Parthenon that changed boroughs as a result of the border change. Also, while the old zip code arrangement, which did include portions of two zip codes in both boroughs, certainly was confusing, this changed in the early 1980’s when the zones were redrawn along the borough lines ……. On other matters, I would still love to hear your comments about the two saloons on Wyckoff Avenue. Talk soon.
with respect to all, the theater is actually in brooklyn. ridgewood is located in both queens and kings counties. the theater is south of the border (cypress avenue) despite what the post office has done over the years to completely screw the whole thing up! best reference? any 1960’s era subway map you can find. the border is drawn just below the seneca avenue stop of the myrtle avenue el. the theater is south of that and squarely in brooklyn. best to all.
Hello jgraif and thanks for your fond memories about the old Madison …….. When I worked in the area during the 1970’s, there were two bars on Wyckoff between Gates and Palmetto – one at the Gates corner and one mid-block. Which was the one that your father and uncle operated? I guess by the early 90’s both had been converted into something else …… By the way, the old Parthenon, which served as a Bingo parlor after its bowling alley days had ended, is now being converted into a 24 hour health facility ….. Hope to hear from you soon.
oh…the poor rko madison. the exquisite rko madison. i hope my recollection will spark some enjoyable memories. i was born in ridgewood on 12 march 1954. the madison was located on myrtle avenue less than one block from the intersection of myrtle and wycoff avenues, the “crossroads” of ridgewood, where the “el” met the subway and nearly a dozen bus lines terminated. it was a “busy” place! my father and uncle operated “graif’s café”, a bar and grille located on the other side of the intersection on wycoff avenue. other theaters were clustered around the intersection as well, like the “parthenon” which, of late, had become the “parthenon lanes”. across from the madison were two, top notch restaurants, kollety’s ice cream parlor and gottlieb’s delicatessen, both of which operated well into the evening to accommodate the madison’s patrons. i have many fond memories of patronizing both with my mother and older sister (while my father was working down the street). myrtle avenue was awash with the flickering of the madison’s marquee while we enjoyed hot fudge sundaes or hot corned beef sandwiches. that theater far exceeded what was usually dedicated to a “neighborhood”. its presence elevated the intersection from a crossroads to a “mecca”. of course, at the age of 5 to 10, i had no understanding of the significance, etc., most especially the organ, which i will address tomorrow. thanx for “listening”.
This photo of a beautiful tiled floor at the RKO Madison was featured in a 1935 trade article: boxofficemagazine
Fifty years ago this weekend, Jayne Mansfield included the RKO Madison on her p.a. tour for “The George Raft Story.” More details here: cinematreasures
During this week in war-torn 1943, the Madison and most other RKO theatres in Brooklyn and Queens were showing Walt Disney’s Technicolor cartoon, “Der Fuehrer’s Face,” as a bonus to the 20th-Fox B&W double bill of “The Meanest Man in the World” (Jack Benny) and “Chetniks”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iumEGAUceDg
This photo really exemplifies what a stunning palace the Madison was, thanks for posting Bway.
Here is perhaps one of the best interior photos of the former palatial lobby of the RKO Madison that I have seen to date. It just boggles the mind that they decided it would be a good idea to destroy this beauty in the 1980’s:
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Click below for the full page on the Madison:
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Yes it is!!!!!
Whoa! GREAT shot!
Here’s a link to a 1967 exterior view:
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Thanks, Jayar1. I just finished exploring the Brooklyn photo album on Topix.
RKO Madison on Myrtle Ave
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Thanks, Lost Memory, Tinseltoes and Bway !
The first minute of this video has a great shot of the Madison Theater in it, now the Liberty Dept Store.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yBz3ftS3fE
The Madison, Ridgewood, and other theatre buildings in the area are pictured in part three of this article about Myrtle Avenue: View link
This new article about Myrtle Avenue starts off with a mention of the Madison Theatre, but includes no photos of the building: View link
Here’s a great photo looking up Myrtle Ave from the Myrtle Ave and St Nicholas in I guess the 20’s or 30’s:
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Here are some Madison Theater related photos.
The date given for this ad that includes the Madison, is 5/27/62.