Bow-Tie Warner Theater
190 E. Ridgewood Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NJ
07450
190 E. Ridgewood Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NJ
07450
11 people
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By Saleah Blancaflor | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com The Warner Theater, a longstanding movie theater in Ridgewood, will permanently close and cease operations following its evening showtimes on Sunday, its parent company Bow Tie Partners announced in a press release Monday.
The theater opened in 1932 as a single-screen cinema, featuring the premiere of “The Dark Horse” starring Bette Davis. In 1978, the space expanded to two screens, and in 1984, two more screens were added. Bow Tie Partners acquired The Warner Theater in 2013, and its affiliate, Bow Tie Cinemas, has operated it for the last decade.
The theater’s shuttering follows struggles related to the pandemic, Bow Tie said — a familiar tale which caused dramatic changes to the movie theater business, particularly older venues. The Bergen County theater “is no longer viable at this location,” the statement said.
Bow Tie said it plans to remain part of the downtown Ridgewood is considering options for redevelopment of the movie theater space, including use as a performing arts venue.
“We offer our sincere thanks and appreciation to all of our loyal customers who, over the past 11 years, have provided us the honor of hosting them at the movies in Ridgewood,” said Ben Moss, Owner of Bow Tie Partners, in a statement. “We are very much looking forward to remaining a part of the vibrant downtown Ridgewood business community and look forward to announcing our future plans when we have finished our analysis of alternative uses.”
Currently, there are no other Bow Tie Cinemas operating in New Jersey.
Saleah Blancaflor may be reached at . Follow her on Twitter @saleyley and Instagram.
Please update, theatre opened June 15, 1932. Grand opening ad in photos.
Please update, total seats 1041 Theatre 1 324 Theatre 2 319 Theatre 3 and 4 199 seats (Theatre 3 and 4 upstairs and is NOT ADA) The lower seat count due to more comfortable seats put in by either Bow Tie Cinemas or Clearview Cinemas the previous onwers.
Please update, it became a twin on June 16, 1978. Just uploaded ad from The Bergen Record
And four screens on May 23rd, 1984. Ad in photo section.
Became a twin on June 26th, 1978. No ad found in the Newark newspaper.
I remember seeing “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” here in September 1984 (for the fourth and final time that year), and also “Last of the Mohicans” in October 1992 when I returned to the area for a visit. (In 1984, I lived in Saddle River with my family – I also attended Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck – and in 1992, I was living in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Michigan.)
I remember seeing “Goldfinger” there too! But it was in a double-feature with “Dr. No,” so it was probably a second release. They used to do that in the days before DVDs.
Saw my first Bond film (“Goldfinger”) at the Warner just after I turned 13. Many of the biblical epics of the late 50s/early 60s showed there, so there’s a good chance that “Ben-Hur” was one of them.
Yeah, it’s amazing how many movies I remember seeing there! So simple on the outside; so opulant on the inside.
I grew up in Ridgewood and have fond memories of the Warner and its grand marquee with yellow and white chaser lights. The YMCA would take a group of kids there on Saturday mornings to see cartoons. Lots of fun for 50 cents. Also saw many movies there on its big screen. There was only one screen then. The theater had a balcony too. I remember seeing “The High and Mighty” and “Spencer’s Mountain”, two movies I still recall in detail. Good memories. Glad to see that it’s still open.
I have memories of the Warner going back to at least 1964! It was really a beautiful theater at one time. Does anyone know what happened to the clock in the auditorium that advertised the hardware store across the street? I’d pay some real money for that!
Did this theatre roadshow “Ben Hur” in 1960?
recently installed with dlp for the release of bolt.
With the exception of the garden state 16 I can say the Warner Quad is one of the top theaters in the area. The management takes a lot of pride in keeping this place top notch. If your in the area check this place out, some of the elements of its past still exist.
Here is an undated photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ypaqkp
NICE SEATS!
I just went to see I Am Legend, good film but not as good as I expected it to be.
The new leather seats were comfortable.The size of the “theatre” downstairs is not bad, screen size is decent.
Even the upstairs theatre is not a bad space.
Some of the elements that existed when the Warner was a single screen are still intact today.
I would say it is Clearview’s best cinema in Northern NJ.
This theater was renovated as of the week after Thanksgiving. Luxurious seats and digital sound were added to each screen.
Thanks. That is great stuff. Happy holidays.
No, that link does not work either.
That doesn’t make it any more palatable to see what they did to it. I remember it in it’s glory as a single screen house. Now it’s just the same-old-same-old black box screening room like any other ‘theater’ in the area. No class, nothig to set it apart from the rest. Even the outside has been destroyed.
If theater was not turned into a Quad it would be a closed theater/.
Thank God Cineplex Odeon got the hell out or they might have tried an 8 plex just to piss off the public, and wonder why the hell they were losing business. I
ll never forget when I was still in Pittsburgh,Pa. I cant remember the name of the theatre, but good old Cinnemete corp. wanted to make a 5 PLEX OUT OF A 3 PLEX, and while the afternoon matinee was going on the idiots were knocking out the walls for exit doors. Then they raised hell because the patrons wanted thier money back. They just could not grasp why.Norelco
Thank God Cineplex Odeon got the hell out or they might have tried an 8 plex just to piss off the public, and wonder why the hell they were losing business. I
ll never forget when I was still in Pittsburgh,Pa. I cant remember the name of the theatre, but good old Cinnemete corp. wanted to make a 5 PLEX OUT OF A 3 PLEX, and while the afternoon matinee was going on the idiots were knocking out the walls for exit doors. Then they raised hell because the patrons wanted thier money back. They just could not grasp why.Norelco