RKO Madison Theatre
54-30 Myrtle Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NY
11385
54-30 Myrtle Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NY
11385
21 people
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I see that a Katherine Hepburn picture was scheduled to play for three days, April 18 – 20, 1933, during her “box office poison” period. Therefore, I blame Miss Hepburn for the closing of this theater.
Thanks, Warren.
King Kong (‘33) at he Madison. I can only imagine what a thrill that would be to see a four star movie of that caliber at the Madison at its premier. I can picture the line down Myrtle ave.and the house at full capacity.
The vertical sign was still on the Madison in 1948, as shown in a brown-tinted photo of the Madison from that year. By 1975 it was gone. I’m not sure if it was removed during my experience of the Madison before then, starting around 1960 or 61.
Thanks, Warren. Do you know why the name changed from the original B.S. Moss Madison to Keith-Albee Madison on February 6th, 1928, then to RKO Madison on September 7th of that same year ?
A vertical sign, then, Warren. Do you know when the Madison’s original vertical sign was removed, and the Ridgwwood’s ?
The plainer, flat-topped horizontal marquee that was there until the theater closed was there as early as August 1947, based on older photos of the Madison that I’ve seen.
On my last visit to the Liberty Dept. Store that was once the RKO Madison Theatre, this past Friday, September 7th, I looked inside the store to where the grand staircase would have been, at the far end of the inner lobby. Beyond a low wall, I saw an enclosed staircase going diagonally up from right to left, and, on the right side of that low wall, a large dark gray metal door, which I did not walk up to, nor attempt to open.
If there’s anything left of the grand staircase still inside there, it must be behind that large dark gray metal door, and / or perhaps within that enclosed staircase.
Walking further back inside the store, then looking back out to the entrance on Myrtle Avenue, and looking up to the ceiling, I saw the curved change in elevation of the drop ceiling, marking the edge of the former balcony.
Perhaps the removal and sale of much of the RKO Madison Theatre’s original elaborate baroque interior decor generated enough income to help keep it open and in business as a movie theater for as long as it was, as such.
Does anyone know when the original vertical marquee was removed, and when the original horizontal marquee, with the “Keith-Albee vaudeville” curved top, became the plainer, flat-topped horizontal marquee that was there until the theater closed ?
The comment that sticks in my mind about the new vs. the old Penn Station in Manhattan is :
“We used to come into the city like gods. Now, we crawl in like rats !”
Fortunately, Grand Central Station did not suffer the same disgraceful fate as the old Penn Station did. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Agreed, except that the facade of the RKO Madison resembles a Greek temple rather than a Gothic cathedral.
Well said Bway!
The demolition of Penn Station was a complete sin, and an outrage. Unfortunately, that was the thinking of the 50’s and 60’s….out with the old, in with the new. That building has been lamented as a loss by historians, architects, and all sort of groups to this day.
The only good that came out of it is that it made people aware of what can happen without laws to protect historic buildings from being robbed for future generations as Penn Station was. At the very least, to bring this back on topic is that at least the grand gothic exterior of the Madison building survives, even if partially covered.
I dont want to go too far off topic, but the Ridgewood Savings bank building is very typical of the banks built during the 20’s, a very solid granite, with a grand hall type interior. If it did go under it would have an astronomical cost to demolish a building of this nature. I would think the costs of demolition far outweigh those of keeping the structure intact. An exception to this rule is the disgraceful demolition of Penn.Station in 1963, which was the same type of construction, but on a much larger scale. The contractor agonized to level this beautiful building, which spawned the Landmarks Preservation Commision. The trend seems to preserve the past,hopefully more developers will adhere to this trend.
Thank you, Panzer65, for your answer.
Lost Memory,
Thank you for the information regarding the Acme’s marquee.
I would be SO disheartened if Ridgewood Savings Bank ever went out of business, and the Ridgewood Branch became a store, like Rite Aid / Eckerd !!!!
PKoch,
I graduated St. Pancras in June 1979, a full ten years after!!
Panzer65, what year did you graduate St. Pancras ?
I graduated St. Brigid in Ridgewood in June 1969.
I passed by that building so many time during the 70s, when it was the Victorian House, and as PKoch mentions, the Social Security offices, as I am an alumni of nearby St. Pancras school. So when I saw the conversion I could not loose the opportunity to visit.
Thanks, Panzer65, you’re most welcome. I’ll visit the Acme page next. Haven’t been there for awhile. My latest business there was late 1997, early 1998, Social Security Office, my dad’s business.
I don’t know…but of course the Acme’s marquee wasn’t quite as big as the old Madison’s. There are many theaters that keep the marquee, such as the Keith’s Richmond Hill, Plaza in Corona, and many many others…
There could be many reasons the Madison’s was distroyed. One may be the charge as mentioned….another could be the shape it was in, who knows, it was original, perhaps it needed structural work. It was lost in the late 70’s, perhaps it was fresh on the minds of them that the Ridgewood’s caved in….many reasons it could have been removed.
Was the RKO Madison a top grosser for the theater company, and was it as popular as the Route 4 theater that they owned?
I was in the bank about 5 years ago, and actually admired the way they did preserve so much of the bank when they did the conversion, but at the same time couldn’t understand that such a beautiful bank building couldn’t be home to another bank…… But it’s better than if they had just come in and destroyed the place instead…
I am glad it’s not the Ridgewood Bank they did that too. It would have been hard to see the grand hall of the Ridgewood Savings Bank converted into a store. As it is, I remember it had a different layout when i was a kid, the tellers were all in the middle of the hall until the 80’s some time.
Thank you friends for all your replies concerning the conversion of the Madison into a retail store, a lot of these points brought up are quite interesting, especially those taxes imposed on the marquee I would have never thought of.
Brings up an interesting point, the former Acme (the Itch) on Myrtle
ave. in Glendale, now a supermarket, does still utilize its marquee. Does anyone know if they are paying a surcharge for its use? I have visited the former Acme a few months ago, its in excellent shape, and I have some postings there if anyone is interested.