Warren, have you filed your complaint with the management of Cinema Treasures ? Have you unchecked the box for notification of comment responses re : the Ridgewood Theater ?
I remember a Dairy Queen or Carvel at the southeast corner of Myrtle Avenue and Madison Street in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. I think I was there on or around July 4, 1967. I remember being there with a kid on my block, Adam Fajek, and hearing either an ash can or M-80 go off, and seeing the flash light up the six-family houses on Madison Street, just northeast of Myrtle Avenue and Triangle Furniture, across Madison St. from the Ridgewood Theater. I also recall a Carvel or a Dairy Queen on the south side of Myrtle between Madison and Palmetto Sts. adjacent to the Madison Theater, and a Dairy Queen sign out over the sidewalk, on Myrtle near Palmetto, near the Optimo Cigar Store and McDonald’s.
AprilW, good having you back. You will get that private e-mail from me today. I think Koletty’s went out of business in the early 1960’s.
I don’t remember Abner’s Bakery, but I DO remember Pernice Cleaners very well, as my parents and I were regular customers for a LONG time. Ditto Madison Drugs.
NewYorkDave, your description could have fit the Madison or the Ridgewood. The Madison was a good deal fancier, especially its huge baroque, mirrored lobby. I will defer to Bway about the Oasis.
I’d forgotten about opening hydrants in the summer, and the resultant annoying loss of water pressure in homes.
More power to you for getting your Bauer’s mustard ! Did you go to the Karl Ehmer’s on Fresh Pond near Metropolitan, near where the Oasis used to be ?
Congrats on your Grover Cleveland Park visit !
Yes, Ridgewood is still a viable community, although troubled recently by increasing crime. There is massive re-construction and new construction going on in Bushwick, and, with it, very high prices being asked for housing. In May 1999 I sold my Ridgewood home for $ 146 K. About a year ago I saw a very similar house in Bushwick on sale for $ 420 K. I’m no finance or real estate expert, but still, I don’t think those high prices will continue indefinitely.
As a close corrolary, if this is happening in Bushwick, can adjoining Ridgewood be far behind ?
Anniegirl, I was last in the Cinemart Saturday August 6 2005 to see the Tom Cruise – Stephen Spielberg “War Of The Worlds”, after having a hot fudge sundae at Eddie’s Sweet Shop nearby, so, yes, I know what it’s like inside now.
The Arion was on the south side of Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village, half a block east of 73rd Place, almost directly across Metropolitan Avenue from Kopp’s Bakery and Scheinfeld’s Men’s and Boy’s Clothing Store.
I remember the Arion Theater very well. It was a dollar cheaper than the Ridgewood and the Madison. I have probably posted many movie memories on its page, on this website.
The first film I recall seeing there was “Marooned” in spring 1970. It was returned to theaters after the Apollo 13 astronuats got back safely in April 1970. The last film I saw there was part of “Terms Of Endearment” in late April 1984. I say “part” because I got bored with it, left, and went east on Metropolitan Avenue to see “The Right Stuff” at the CineMart in Forest Hills.
I next walked past the Arion in October 1984 when it was showing “Buckaroo Banzai” with Christopher Lloyd, but saw “Places In The Heart” at the Forest Hills Theater on Continental Avenue instead. Now that theater is gone, too. The last film I saw there was “Primary Colors” with John Travolta and Emma Thompson, Saturday March 21, 1998. It was the 50th birthday of the friend whom I saw it with.
In between, I saw “Carrie”, “Logan’s Run” and “Looking For Mr. Goodbar” at the Arion in January and December of 1977, respectively.
Having been born in Wyckoff Heights Hospital, you can say you are from Wyckoff Heights, which is a neighborhood distinct from both Ridgewood and Bushwick, albeit perhaps not clearly defined.
My dad, born in Brooklyn in 1919, and raised there, in Bushwick and Ridgewood, recalls the reaction of “You’re from BROOKLYN ?” as though that made him a second-class citizen.
This page is indeed a cyber-“wailing wall” of Ridgewood, both past and present.
I remember the Fresh Pond Diner, on the southwest corner of Fresh Pond Road, and Metropolitan Avenue, very well, having eaten there many times, starting in Fall 1965, and lastly in February 1999. I was sad to see it gone when I last walked by there September 2, 2005, on the way home from a high school friend’s wake.
You remember “The Chaplains” correctly. There were also the “Halsey Bops”.
I remember shopping on Myrtle Avenue very well. Early Saturday afternoons, right into the mid 1990’s, my Dad would return from shopping on Myrtle Avenue and exclaim, “The Avenue WAS JAMMED !”
More power to it. Better that, than a ghost town or shooting gallery.
I, too, ran through sprinklers in Ridgewood playgrounds, and remember Carvel on Metropolitan Avenue, southwest corner with Forest Avenue. I can still taste those big salty Myrtle Avenue pretzels.
AnthonyS1957, I was going to suggest “The Exorcist”, as that was playing at the Chopin in early 1974 (my Greenpoint high school friend Bob Dunas saw it there, then) but it doesn’t fit your description of your memories.
What was once the Hillside is on the east side of Sutphin Boulevard,
just north of Jamaica Avenue, as Warren said, and is now administrative offices for the Long Island Railroad. The name comes from Hillside Avenue, a few blocks to the north from Jamaica Avenue.
The Hillside has its own page on this site, with links to images of it from the nycsubway.org fan site. I do not know if the other Jamaica theaters mentioned in the post above have their own pages on this site.
The historic mansion Warren refers to re : the Savoy, is the King Mansion, in King Park.
That’s very sad to read, Lefty. I wonder what’s kept those concession workers from being fired and replaced by polite people, and, how that theater stays in business with such rude people working inside it. Thanks for the advice. Now I know enough to stay away !
I attended that roller skating rink at Metropolitan and Hillside Avenues once, with the Ridgewood YMCA, on a rainy Saturday in late April or early May 1968. I didn’t particularly enjoy it, and the man at the door was very strict about checking us boys to make sure we were wearing shirts with collars.
‘Tonino, you must be a bit older than me to have ridden and remember the Myrtle Avenue trolley, as opposed to bus !
I’m glad to read that Jahn’s is still open, albeit barely.
My understanding of parking nearby was that LIRR parking under the viaduct between Babbage and Bessemer Sts. informally became Salerno’s Restaurant parking.
Yes. Jahn’s in Richmond Hill appears to be on the verge of closing also. I was last in there Saturday April 4 2004. It was very dark, quiet, and, except for me and a few other customers and the staff, empty. Quite honestly, I’ve been in brighter and livelier funeral homes. I have no idea if it’s still open.
There was mention of Clara Bow in a [Ridgewood]Times Newsweekly “Our Neighborhood” installment about the Oasis Theater. Perhaps Bway remembers it, and can direct us to it.
Thanks, EdSolero.
Closed ? Oh, no ! That means we didn’t do enough, soon enough.
Now, the battle will be to re-open it, which, I suspect, will be far more difficult than getting it to remain open, would have been.
Warren, have you filed your complaint with the management of Cinema Treasures ? Have you unchecked the box for notification of comment responses re : the Ridgewood Theater ?
I remember a Dairy Queen or Carvel at the southeast corner of Myrtle Avenue and Madison Street in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. I think I was there on or around July 4, 1967. I remember being there with a kid on my block, Adam Fajek, and hearing either an ash can or M-80 go off, and seeing the flash light up the six-family houses on Madison Street, just northeast of Myrtle Avenue and Triangle Furniture, across Madison St. from the Ridgewood Theater. I also recall a Carvel or a Dairy Queen on the south side of Myrtle between Madison and Palmetto Sts. adjacent to the Madison Theater, and a Dairy Queen sign out over the sidewalk, on Myrtle near Palmetto, near the Optimo Cigar Store and McDonald’s.
AprilW, good having you back. You will get that private e-mail from me today. I think Koletty’s went out of business in the early 1960’s.
I don’t remember Abner’s Bakery, but I DO remember Pernice Cleaners very well, as my parents and I were regular customers for a LONG time. Ditto Madison Drugs.
NewYorkDave, your description could have fit the Madison or the Ridgewood. The Madison was a good deal fancier, especially its huge baroque, mirrored lobby. I will defer to Bway about the Oasis.
I’d forgotten about opening hydrants in the summer, and the resultant annoying loss of water pressure in homes.
More power to you for getting your Bauer’s mustard ! Did you go to the Karl Ehmer’s on Fresh Pond near Metropolitan, near where the Oasis used to be ?
Congrats on your Grover Cleveland Park visit !
Yes, Ridgewood is still a viable community, although troubled recently by increasing crime. There is massive re-construction and new construction going on in Bushwick, and, with it, very high prices being asked for housing. In May 1999 I sold my Ridgewood home for $ 146 K. About a year ago I saw a very similar house in Bushwick on sale for $ 420 K. I’m no finance or real estate expert, but still, I don’t think those high prices will continue indefinitely.
As a close corrolary, if this is happening in Bushwick, can adjoining Ridgewood be far behind ?
Anniegirl, I was last in the Cinemart Saturday August 6 2005 to see the Tom Cruise – Stephen Spielberg “War Of The Worlds”, after having a hot fudge sundae at Eddie’s Sweet Shop nearby, so, yes, I know what it’s like inside now.
The Arion was on the south side of Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village, half a block east of 73rd Place, almost directly across Metropolitan Avenue from Kopp’s Bakery and Scheinfeld’s Men’s and Boy’s Clothing Store.
I remember the Arion Theater very well. It was a dollar cheaper than the Ridgewood and the Madison. I have probably posted many movie memories on its page, on this website.
The first film I recall seeing there was “Marooned” in spring 1970. It was returned to theaters after the Apollo 13 astronuats got back safely in April 1970. The last film I saw there was part of “Terms Of Endearment” in late April 1984. I say “part” because I got bored with it, left, and went east on Metropolitan Avenue to see “The Right Stuff” at the CineMart in Forest Hills.
I next walked past the Arion in October 1984 when it was showing “Buckaroo Banzai” with Christopher Lloyd, but saw “Places In The Heart” at the Forest Hills Theater on Continental Avenue instead. Now that theater is gone, too. The last film I saw there was “Primary Colors” with John Travolta and Emma Thompson, Saturday March 21, 1998. It was the 50th birthday of the friend whom I saw it with.
In between, I saw “Carrie”, “Logan’s Run” and “Looking For Mr. Goodbar” at the Arion in January and December of 1977, respectively.
You’re welcome, AnthonyS1957.
Hello, NewYorkDave, and welcome !
Having been born in Wyckoff Heights Hospital, you can say you are from Wyckoff Heights, which is a neighborhood distinct from both Ridgewood and Bushwick, albeit perhaps not clearly defined.
My dad, born in Brooklyn in 1919, and raised there, in Bushwick and Ridgewood, recalls the reaction of “You’re from BROOKLYN ?” as though that made him a second-class citizen.
This page is indeed a cyber-“wailing wall” of Ridgewood, both past and present.
I remember the Fresh Pond Diner, on the southwest corner of Fresh Pond Road, and Metropolitan Avenue, very well, having eaten there many times, starting in Fall 1965, and lastly in February 1999. I was sad to see it gone when I last walked by there September 2, 2005, on the way home from a high school friend’s wake.
You remember “The Chaplains” correctly. There were also the “Halsey Bops”.
I remember shopping on Myrtle Avenue very well. Early Saturday afternoons, right into the mid 1990’s, my Dad would return from shopping on Myrtle Avenue and exclaim, “The Avenue WAS JAMMED !”
More power to it. Better that, than a ghost town or shooting gallery.
I, too, ran through sprinklers in Ridgewood playgrounds, and remember Carvel on Metropolitan Avenue, southwest corner with Forest Avenue. I can still taste those big salty Myrtle Avenue pretzels.
AnthonyS1957, have you tried browsing the Internet Movie Database to jog and refresh your memory ?
www.imdb.com
AnthonyS1957, I was going to suggest “The Exorcist”, as that was playing at the Chopin in early 1974 (my Greenpoint high school friend Bob Dunas saw it there, then) but it doesn’t fit your description of your memories.
It’s good seeing you back on this page, Bob D. !
As your older brother Rich once signed my SFP senior yearbook :
“Thanks for being here !”
Thanks, english.
Thanks, Bway. Such strong mixed emotions … the beauty of what was, the ruin that it is now, yet, gratitude for what has survived.
What was once the Hillside is on the east side of Sutphin Boulevard,
just north of Jamaica Avenue, as Warren said, and is now administrative offices for the Long Island Railroad. The name comes from Hillside Avenue, a few blocks to the north from Jamaica Avenue.
The Hillside has its own page on this site, with links to images of it from the nycsubway.org fan site. I do not know if the other Jamaica theaters mentioned in the post above have their own pages on this site.
The historic mansion Warren refers to re : the Savoy, is the King Mansion, in King Park.
That’s very sad to read, Lefty. I wonder what’s kept those concession workers from being fired and replaced by polite people, and, how that theater stays in business with such rude people working inside it. Thanks for the advice. Now I know enough to stay away !
OK, point heard !
I attended that roller skating rink at Metropolitan and Hillside Avenues once, with the Ridgewood YMCA, on a rainy Saturday in late April or early May 1968. I didn’t particularly enjoy it, and the man at the door was very strict about checking us boys to make sure we were wearing shirts with collars.
‘Tonino, you must be a bit older than me to have ridden and remember the Myrtle Avenue trolley, as opposed to bus !
Thanks for the link to that image, RobertR !
Regarding the loss of the Trylon, as “Cool Hand Luke” had said, was what we had there a failure to communicate ?
Bway, Lost Memory, have you e-mailed Google yet about this problem of the date of their on-line aerial photos ?
Thanks for the advice, Lost Memory. I’ve seen many errors on Google maps myself.
stevel, I didn’t forget anything. I only meant to represent the first two bars of the opening four notes of the theme.
I would write it in musical notation if I could.
I’m glad to read that Jahn’s is still open, albeit barely.
My understanding of parking nearby was that LIRR parking under the viaduct between Babbage and Bessemer Sts. informally became Salerno’s Restaurant parking.
Good for you, stevel ! Exactly where will you be moving back to ?
Bway, I usually write the Twilight Zone theme like this :
ning NING ning ning, ning NING ning ning ….
Yes. Jahn’s in Richmond Hill appears to be on the verge of closing also. I was last in there Saturday April 4 2004. It was very dark, quiet, and, except for me and a few other customers and the staff, empty. Quite honestly, I’ve been in brighter and livelier funeral homes. I have no idea if it’s still open.
There was mention of Clara Bow in a [Ridgewood]Times Newsweekly “Our Neighborhood” installment about the Oasis Theater. Perhaps Bway remembers it, and can direct us to it.
Try the Oasis Theater page for mention of Clara Bow.