Thank you, Muzer. I lived in MY old ‘hood, Ridgewood, from 1955 to 1991, when I married, but my parents continued to live there until spring 1997. My mother died in July 1997, by then my dad was in a nursing home, and my dad and I sold the house at the end of May 1999.
I still go back to Ridgewood about once a month and was there this past August 25th and Sept. 7th.
Thanks, woodie. That’s between Myrtle and Jamaica Avenues. When did you move away from there ? I passed by there many times in 1990 going to and from a gal I dated who once lived at 103-15 110th Street. I remember a sign for a Dr. Cippolina at the southwest corner of Myrtle Avenue and 110th St.
No, Panzer65, I’ve never visited the retail store that now occupies the former Haven Theatre. I’ve only glimpsed it from the Jamaica el. Even at a glance, it’s obvious that it was once a movie theater. There are two friends I have at work from Woodhaven I could ask about the store that was once the Haven, though.
ken mc : Coincidence ? Should we cue Harry Lubin’s eerie theme for “One Step Beyond” ?
Thanks for your answer. Yes, I now see there was a PS 65 on Richmond Street. When did you move away from the neighborhood ?
I lived in Ridgewood, on Cornelia, between Cypress and Wyckoff, but was born in Bushwick, where my dad was from, at Bway and Chauncey St. I was delivered in mid November 1955 by a Dr. Joseph Berman whose office was at 25 Logan St.
My dad’s parents and sister lived at 169 Chestnut St., as I have posted above, from 1957 through summer 1968. Their landlady there was a Mrs. Benvengia.
After mentioning the Haven theater last week, I went to its page, and saw, much to my surprise, that I still hadn’t posted my movie memories there, so, before leaving my pc for the day, I finally did !
“Looking back at the postings, one really must wonder why, in its conversion to a store, why Madison was stripped of its beautiful interior.”
Besides the fire and smoke damage mentioned by Bway : economics, profit, to make it look more like a store, to remove attractive furnishings that are fragile, and are subject to theft, corrosion, graffiti and vandalism.
“It seems almost as if the renovation contractor went out of his way to destroy any [and all] remnants of the past.”
Not necessarily, or intentionally.
“Why remove the marquee, it is a more visible sign,”
Something big, dangerous and heavy, hanging over the sidewalk, prone to vandalism and graffiti, that would be expensive to maintain and repair. Remember the collapse of the Ridgewood Theater marquee in the blizzard of February 9, 1969. The vertical marquee was removed while the Madison was still a theatre. Removing the horizontal marquee made it possible to put the Consumers, Odd Lot, and, finally, the Liberty Dept. Store sign on the facade.
“why jackhammer a marble staircase, when it adds a touch of elegance”
Perhaps there was no need for a staircase any longer, in that part of the store. Such an ornate marble staircase would have been too prone, and too much of a temptation to, vandalism, graffiti and defacement.
“Why cover an ornate domed ceiling , complete with chandelier, when it adds accent.”
The chandelier was something big, dangerous, heavy, and unnecessary, hanging from a high ceiling, a potential electrical fire and safety hazard. Also Bway’s comments about the smoke and fire damage to the interior decor.
Putting up a drop ceiling reduces the interior volume of the store that must be air-conditioned or at least ventilated. Economics again. Put yourself in the owner / manager’s shoes and checkbook, and much more of this may occur to you.
Also, not only the vertical marquee, but probably much of the Madison’s original baroque interior decor, was probably removed, or at least covered up, when the RKO Madison was still functioning as a movie theatre, for many of the same reasons.
“This neighborhood double feature house made it into the Eighties, closing with Berry Gordy’s "The Last Dragon”, released March 1985, according to the IMDb.
I can’t believe I haven’t posted on this page yet !
At the Haven, I saw “M.A.S.H.” and “I Never Sang For My Father” in February 1971, a double feature of “The Conversation”, also starring the tireless, always-working Gene Hackman, and “Twenty Carats”, with the lovely Deborah Raffin, late August 1974, “The Towering Inferno” August 1975, and, last of all, “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” in June or July of 1976. All of these with my parents or, at least my Dad.
My dad very shrewdly observed, while watching “Cuckoo’s Nest” with me, that, once McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) had failed to pull the heavy hydrotherapy panel up out of the floor of the treatment room, he said :
“I’ll bet the Indian’s gonna do it !”
And, lo and behold, ladies and gentlemen, he (Chief “Broom” Bromden) most certainly did !!!!
Panzer65, the grand staircase did indeed divide in two before completing its ascent to the balcony level. An old (1920’s)photo I saw of the interior lobby confirmed that. You’ve probably seen it. Bway posted a link to it on this page.
As I have posted previously, I think the staircase you ascended from the retail area to the balcony (furniture dept.) was once an exit staircase down from the balcony to the outer lobby, NOT the grand staircase at the far end of the inner lobby.
You’re welcome, Panzer65, to my visiting and sharing my observations.
I’m glad you found this site, Muzer. Welcome ! Where on Jamaica Avenue did you live ? PS 65 looks like it’s on 78th St. in Woodhaven, Queens, 1 ½ short blocks south of Jamaica Avenue.PS 171 looks like it’s at Ridgewood and Lincoln Avenues in Cypress Hills, Bklyn. The fish market I remember, from around 1960, corresponding to yours at Fulton and Norwood, was in Ridgewood at Wyckoff and Jefferson Avenues. I can still remember how those french fries tasted !
Do you remember the Haven theater at all ? It also has a page on this site.
Here is my trip report for my 11 a.m. Friday September 7 2007 visit to the Liberty Dept. Store, formerly the RKO Madison Theatre. I posted it on Bushwick Buddies and may as well post it here too :
“To get this back on topic, I went into the Liberty Dept. Store this morning, on my way from Ridgewood Savings Bank to work in lower Manhattan. I saw the curved change in elevation (about 5 to 6 feet, it was like a curved vertical wall between two sections of ceiling of different height) of the drop ceiling, marking the lower edge of the former balcony. It had curtains hanging on it, and a sign pointing to the stairs up to the furniture dept. in the balcony. On this most recent visit of mine, it seemed as if the retail floor area, open to all customers, extended as far towards Madison Street as where the former screen and stage once were.
I also stood in what was once the inner lobby, looking towards the far end, at the Wyckoff Avenue side, for any signs of the former grand stairacse which one went up from the inner lobby to the balcony level. All I saw was what looked like an enclosed staircase, slanting upwards from left to right, behind a wall in which was a large gray metal door to the right. I didn’t try to go in. If there’s anything left of the grand staircase, it must be behind that wall and door.
It looked like the cashier counter, in the rear right corner of the store, was under what were once the Juliet balconies, or side boxes, on the right side of the main auditorium, if one were facing the screen and stage.
This time, I did not go up the stairs to the balcony level, and so did not see, and therefore was not tempted, to open that door, in the far corner of that balcony furniture sales area, looking for ghosts or remnants of the past.
Linwood Street was, and is, seven blocks to the southwest of Richmond Street, which is where the Embassy was, one block southwest of Chestnut Street, where my dad’s parents and sister used to live.
Linwood Street was also once a stop on the old BMT Fulton St. el, although it ran over Pitkin Avenue, not Fulton St., at Linwood Street.
Marian, are you, by any chance, related to a podiatrist, Dr. Carmine Vitale, who once (summer 1974, when I saw him) had his office at or near the northeast corner of Woodhaven Blvd. and Park Lane South, in Woodhaven ?
Now that we’re just past the 50-year anniversary of the publication of his masterpiece, “On The Road”, I wonder how many movies Jack Kerouac saw here as a boy ?
Thanks, Jim. Glad to read it, and good to connect with you here, now that I have those Xeroxed pages, from the “New York Transit Memories” book, courtesy of your good offices, and our meeting at the Ridgewood Theater this past Saturday August 25th.
Which reminds me : I should Xerox pages for myself out of Stan Fischler’s “Confessions Of A Trolley Dodger From Brooklyn” before I return it to the friend from work who so kindly lent it to me this past March 5 or 6 2007 !
Like you, I do hope that Ed, owner of Nagengast’s, signs on here and starts posting his Ridgewood Theater info and memories.
Noted, Ed Solero. I never “leaned” on it heavily enough to be disappointed with it. My main complaint about it, seeing “The Right Stuff” there in late April 1984, was how the thudding rock bass from the soundtrack of “Footloose” in the adjacent cinema, kept coming through the wall in “Right Stuff”’s quieter moments.
But that was so much more enjoyable than what I’d just walked out of, “Terms Of Endearment” at the Arion, that I really didn’t care.
To Muzer :
I attended St. Brigid’s parochial school in Ridgewood, and, for high school, St. Francis Prep in Williamsburg, then Cooper Union in lower Manhattan.
My dad’s sister, my Aunt Gerry, graduated Lane in 1947.
Thank you, Muzer. I lived in MY old ‘hood, Ridgewood, from 1955 to 1991, when I married, but my parents continued to live there until spring 1997. My mother died in July 1997, by then my dad was in a nursing home, and my dad and I sold the house at the end of May 1999.
I still go back to Ridgewood about once a month and was there this past August 25th and Sept. 7th.
Thanks, woodie. That’s between Myrtle and Jamaica Avenues. When did you move away from there ? I passed by there many times in 1990 going to and from a gal I dated who once lived at 103-15 110th Street. I remember a sign for a Dr. Cippolina at the southwest corner of Myrtle Avenue and 110th St.
Rustler’s Rhapsody : release date Friday 10 May 1985.
Brewster’s Millions : release date Wednesday 22 May 1985.
No, Panzer65, I’ve never visited the retail store that now occupies the former Haven Theatre. I’ve only glimpsed it from the Jamaica el. Even at a glance, it’s obvious that it was once a movie theater. There are two friends I have at work from Woodhaven I could ask about the store that was once the Haven, though.
ken mc : Coincidence ? Should we cue Harry Lubin’s eerie theme for “One Step Beyond” ?
www.imdb.com
To Muzer :
Thanks for your answer. Yes, I now see there was a PS 65 on Richmond Street. When did you move away from the neighborhood ?
I lived in Ridgewood, on Cornelia, between Cypress and Wyckoff, but was born in Bushwick, where my dad was from, at Bway and Chauncey St. I was delivered in mid November 1955 by a Dr. Joseph Berman whose office was at 25 Logan St.
My dad’s parents and sister lived at 169 Chestnut St., as I have posted above, from 1957 through summer 1968. Their landlady there was a Mrs. Benvengia.
After mentioning the Haven theater last week, I went to its page, and saw, much to my surprise, that I still hadn’t posted my movie memories there, so, before leaving my pc for the day, I finally did !
MVitale, what was kindergarten at PS 171 like ?
posted by Panzer65 on Sep 8, 2007 at 2:16 pm :
“Looking back at the postings, one really must wonder why, in its conversion to a store, why Madison was stripped of its beautiful interior.”
Besides the fire and smoke damage mentioned by Bway : economics, profit, to make it look more like a store, to remove attractive furnishings that are fragile, and are subject to theft, corrosion, graffiti and vandalism.
“It seems almost as if the renovation contractor went out of his way to destroy any [and all] remnants of the past.”
Not necessarily, or intentionally.
“Why remove the marquee, it is a more visible sign,”
Something big, dangerous and heavy, hanging over the sidewalk, prone to vandalism and graffiti, that would be expensive to maintain and repair. Remember the collapse of the Ridgewood Theater marquee in the blizzard of February 9, 1969. The vertical marquee was removed while the Madison was still a theatre. Removing the horizontal marquee made it possible to put the Consumers, Odd Lot, and, finally, the Liberty Dept. Store sign on the facade.
“why jackhammer a marble staircase, when it adds a touch of elegance”
Perhaps there was no need for a staircase any longer, in that part of the store. Such an ornate marble staircase would have been too prone, and too much of a temptation to, vandalism, graffiti and defacement.
“Why cover an ornate domed ceiling , complete with chandelier, when it adds accent.”
The chandelier was something big, dangerous, heavy, and unnecessary, hanging from a high ceiling, a potential electrical fire and safety hazard. Also Bway’s comments about the smoke and fire damage to the interior decor.
Putting up a drop ceiling reduces the interior volume of the store that must be air-conditioned or at least ventilated. Economics again. Put yourself in the owner / manager’s shoes and checkbook, and much more of this may occur to you.
Also, not only the vertical marquee, but probably much of the Madison’s original baroque interior decor, was probably removed, or at least covered up, when the RKO Madison was still functioning as a movie theatre, for many of the same reasons.
“This neighborhood double feature house made it into the Eighties, closing with Berry Gordy’s "The Last Dragon”, released March 1985, according to the IMDb.
I can’t believe I haven’t posted on this page yet !
At the Haven, I saw “M.A.S.H.” and “I Never Sang For My Father” in February 1971, a double feature of “The Conversation”, also starring the tireless, always-working Gene Hackman, and “Twenty Carats”, with the lovely Deborah Raffin, late August 1974, “The Towering Inferno” August 1975, and, last of all, “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” in June or July of 1976. All of these with my parents or, at least my Dad.
My dad very shrewdly observed, while watching “Cuckoo’s Nest” with me, that, once McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) had failed to pull the heavy hydrotherapy panel up out of the floor of the treatment room, he said :
“I’ll bet the Indian’s gonna do it !”
And, lo and behold, ladies and gentlemen, he (Chief “Broom” Bromden) most certainly did !!!!
“Thank you …….. Juicy Fruit !”
Priceless !
Panzer65, the grand staircase did indeed divide in two before completing its ascent to the balcony level. An old (1920’s)photo I saw of the interior lobby confirmed that. You’ve probably seen it. Bway posted a link to it on this page.
As I have posted previously, I think the staircase you ascended from the retail area to the balcony (furniture dept.) was once an exit staircase down from the balcony to the outer lobby, NOT the grand staircase at the far end of the inner lobby.
You’re welcome, Panzer65, to my visiting and sharing my observations.
I’m glad you found this site, Muzer. Welcome ! Where on Jamaica Avenue did you live ? PS 65 looks like it’s on 78th St. in Woodhaven, Queens, 1 ½ short blocks south of Jamaica Avenue.PS 171 looks like it’s at Ridgewood and Lincoln Avenues in Cypress Hills, Bklyn. The fish market I remember, from around 1960, corresponding to yours at Fulton and Norwood, was in Ridgewood at Wyckoff and Jefferson Avenues. I can still remember how those french fries tasted !
Do you remember the Haven theater at all ? It also has a page on this site.
Here is my trip report for my 11 a.m. Friday September 7 2007 visit to the Liberty Dept. Store, formerly the RKO Madison Theatre. I posted it on Bushwick Buddies and may as well post it here too :
“To get this back on topic, I went into the Liberty Dept. Store this morning, on my way from Ridgewood Savings Bank to work in lower Manhattan. I saw the curved change in elevation (about 5 to 6 feet, it was like a curved vertical wall between two sections of ceiling of different height) of the drop ceiling, marking the lower edge of the former balcony. It had curtains hanging on it, and a sign pointing to the stairs up to the furniture dept. in the balcony. On this most recent visit of mine, it seemed as if the retail floor area, open to all customers, extended as far towards Madison Street as where the former screen and stage once were.
I also stood in what was once the inner lobby, looking towards the far end, at the Wyckoff Avenue side, for any signs of the former grand stairacse which one went up from the inner lobby to the balcony level. All I saw was what looked like an enclosed staircase, slanting upwards from left to right, behind a wall in which was a large gray metal door to the right. I didn’t try to go in. If there’s anything left of the grand staircase, it must be behind that wall and door.
It looked like the cashier counter, in the rear right corner of the store, was under what were once the Juliet balconies, or side boxes, on the right side of the main auditorium, if one were facing the screen and stage.
This time, I did not go up the stairs to the balcony level, and so did not see, and therefore was not tempted, to open that door, in the far corner of that balcony furniture sales area, looking for ghosts or remnants of the past.
Linwood Street was, and is, seven blocks to the southwest of Richmond Street, which is where the Embassy was, one block southwest of Chestnut Street, where my dad’s parents and sister used to live.
Linwood Street was also once a stop on the old BMT Fulton St. el, although it ran over Pitkin Avenue, not Fulton St., at Linwood Street.
Thanks, Marian. I had to ask.
Still haven’t re-watched “The Groove Tube” yet, but I will let you know once I have ! I’ll look for you in it !
Marian, are you, by any chance, related to a podiatrist, Dr. Carmine Vitale, who once (summer 1974, when I saw him) had his office at or near the northeast corner of Woodhaven Blvd. and Park Lane South, in Woodhaven ?
What’s going on with RKO Keith’s Flushing right now ? Are we still in the “Hang Huang” non-development deadlock ?
Now that we’re just past the 50-year anniversary of the publication of his masterpiece, “On The Road”, I wonder how many movies Jack Kerouac saw here as a boy ?
Thanks, Jim. Glad to read it, and good to connect with you here, now that I have those Xeroxed pages, from the “New York Transit Memories” book, courtesy of your good offices, and our meeting at the Ridgewood Theater this past Saturday August 25th.
Which reminds me : I should Xerox pages for myself out of Stan Fischler’s “Confessions Of A Trolley Dodger From Brooklyn” before I return it to the friend from work who so kindly lent it to me this past March 5 or 6 2007 !
Like you, I do hope that Ed, owner of Nagengast’s, signs on here and starts posting his Ridgewood Theater info and memories.
Thanks, woodie. Where in Richmond Hill did you live ?
The last film I saw at the old single Cinemart before it was multiplexed was “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” in August 1976.
The first films I saw there were “Where Were You When The Lights Went Out ?” and “Hot Millions” in early 1969.
Thanks, Lost Memory.
OK, thanks, Lost, I won’t worry !
Good for you, woodie. 1:20 PM screening of “Bourne Ultimatum” at the Ridgewood on Sat Aug 25 2007 was $ 5 also.
What is it you especially like about the Cinemart, woodie ?
Thanks for repeating your explanation, Lost Memory. Didn’t mean to blame you for wrong zip code.
Thanks, EdSolero. Look forward to talking with you soon. I’ve got that Gojira sampler DVD and a VHS from BklynJim for you.
Ed, it’s good to know that that ESPN mini-series is available as a book, in case I’m not able to see the TV show.
Noted, Ed Solero. I never “leaned” on it heavily enough to be disappointed with it. My main complaint about it, seeing “The Right Stuff” there in late April 1984, was how the thudding rock bass from the soundtrack of “Footloose” in the adjacent cinema, kept coming through the wall in “Right Stuff”’s quieter moments.
But that was so much more enjoyable than what I’d just walked out of, “Terms Of Endearment” at the Arion, that I really didn’t care.