Oasis Theatre
63-57 Fresh Pond Road,
Ridgewood,
NY
11385
63-57 Fresh Pond Road,
Ridgewood,
NY
11385
14 people
favorited this theater
Located in the Ridgewood section of Queens. The Oasis Theatre was opened on September 16, 1926 by Randforce, a division of United Artists Theatre Circuit and eventually the Randforce name was changed to UA. The original capacity was for 1,750 seats. It changed from first run to second run double bills a few times that I remember. Many times the film from the Ridgewood Theatre would move here with a second feature.
The last film to play was “Rocky”, in 1976, when it closed and became a roller rink for many years. It is now a CVS in the former auditorium, with the front of the building demolished for a parking lot.
Contributed by
RobertR
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Recent comments (view all 194 comments)
Some things I remember about the Oasis:
1) The water fountain in the lobby
2) The scary bathrooms downstairs
3) The Pez candy dispensers on sale at the snack counter
4) The Long Island Press depot around back. (I was a paperboy)
5) The Fresh Pond Inn (Chinese food)
6) The Italian place where Aunt Bella’s is now. (I think it was called Louis’s or something like that)
7) The used book store next to the Italian place.
I don’t remember the water fountain.
I do remember the bathrooms downstairs….they were continued to be used when it was a roller rink….I remember going down the stairs with skates on, haha…
I also know Aunt Bella’s. I was some other name in the early 90’s.
I recall the restaurant before Aunt Bella’s was named Jimmy’s, a really good Italian place with Sinatra photos on the wall.
The Oasis was open well after 1976…in fact, I believe it’s last year of operation was 1981, as I remember going there to see a movie and get some Chinese food at the Fresh Pond Inn with my first paycheck as a paper boy at the age of 12 in 1981.
Of course, I fondly recall going there a couple of years later when it was a roller rink. It was a hot spot for teens back then, along with a place called “The Arena.”
Funny thing when the picture came up I thought it was another church conversion because of the way the light pole appears. Then I saw the CVS sign.
Well, they tore off the whole right side of the theater, which is where the parking lot is now, that was the lobby area, etc, probably about ¼ or 1/3 the building. Also all the stores that were along Fresh Pond Rd are pulled off, which is where those bushes are in front. The auditorium is the only part that still remains and is the CVS. Inside, there’s nothing to remind you it was once a theater…if you didn’t know, you would never realize it was once a theater.
I would beg to differ, Bway. While there is nothing specific the entire shape of the building “reads” theatre.
This page from the New York City Organ Project has several vintage photos of the Oasis Theatre’s entrance and auditorium. Click on each image to open it to full size.
Wonder if the organ was still around when it was converted to a skating rink. That would have been cool to have the heritage as part of the modern.
I wish pictures would surface of the later marquee.
That B&W picture currently displayed in the introduction is a so-called “tax photo” owned by the City of New York Archives. I’m not sure that it can be displayed here without their permission. They sell copies to the public for private use only for a fee. Publication rights are much higher.