Oasis Theatre

Wow, I just noticed the old photo of the Oasis' exterior. The marquee seen in that photo is not the one that survived to the end. I don’t know when the original one was replaced, but the one I remember in the 70’s and 80’s, was a trapezoid shaped one (skinnier near the street, and then wider as it approaced the building). On the skinny end at the street was a large “Oasis” sign in orange/gold bulbs or neon. While the structure of the marquee survived into the roller skating days, it was stripped, and got a white background, and “Oasis Roller World” put on the marquee, with the large “O” in Oasis having a desert scene with palm trees, etc in it. That was the logo of the roller rink, and the chips they would give you for your shoe check had that desert scene on it.
After the Oasis building burned in the late 90’s, they removed the stores that fronted on Fresh Pond Road, the Oasis lobby, and the whole right side of the building.
Interestingly, I took my photo last year in the exact location that Warren’s old photo was taken in.
Compare my photo to the old one that Warren posted:

Click here for Warren’s link to the old photo

Click here for my current photo taken last year

More Disney fun at the Oasis
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This was never called Ridgewood by any of the stores on Fresh Pond Road, always Glendale

Menahan Street was once called Ralph Street because it was once seen as a continuation of Ralph Avenue northeast of Broadway. If Menahan Street continued southwest past Bushwick Avenue to Broadway, it would intersect Broadway exactly opposite where Ralph Avenue intersects Broadway. Check it out on a map.

Warren! Where are you finding these! These are great, they brought back SO many memories. I remember those long skinny “sconce” lights on the sides between the “tapestry” areas. Those ornate “sconces” lasted right into the roller skating rink days. When I saw movies in there, I remember them being bright when you walked in, and then they would dim them very very dim for the movie, but they would never be completely off. In the roller rink days they were still there, and while the whole place was lined with disco lights, they did occasionally turn those sconses on, or make them flash during some of the songs. At the end of the roller sessions, they would usually play “New York, New York”, and then have those sconses on during that song, and as you left.
Under the balcony were these ornate ceiling lights in the back of the theater that also survived into the roller rink days. I believe they had a purple glow to them, but I can’t remember if that was both in the movie days, or they were made to have a purple glow in the roller rink days.
I was never in the balcony during the movie days that I remember, but it was completely intact, complete with seats right to the end of the roller rink days. When skating there, I remember looking up and seeing all the seats up there, covered with cobwebs. it was all left open in full view from below.

This is the best group of photos yet! I have no idea where you are finding them, but hopefully you will come up with the Ridgewood theater eventually….

In 1973 after the 70mm re-issue at the National the “Sound of Music” opened wide again. We discussed it before but they have the theatre listed as Brooklyn, if anyone was ever there they would know how crazy that is. The Oasis was right on the border of Glendale and Middle Village.
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I missed this combo when it played the Oasis :)
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Michaelfef ——– I have direct contact with the Martenellis, and they have expressed intrest in the Oasis .. as to what happened in the years after they sold it…. so if you can contact me please do. My Name is Michael, and I can be contacted at Any pictures, details, stories would be helpfu. (Interior oOasis Roller Rink pctures)

Please contact me….

RobertR
The Acme was small, no balcony or loge. They called it the itch. I walked there from my house in Glendale. I spent almost every day there for a couple of summers. It was my mother’s favorite baby sitter. Movies were safe for young kids to go to in those days. I think admission was maybe a nickel. You could go in when it opened, around noon I think, and stay through a couple of showings of second or third run movies, the old time news ‘photoreview’, and of course some cartoons. Seems to me the show changed two or three times a week. A few days a week, my mother would give me a few more cents so I could go to the Belvedere and see a different movie.

By the way, the Belvedere was the movie I always think of as being closer to a trestle rather than the Glenwwod. The Belvedere was a cut above the Acme. I thought it had a balcony, but I could be wrong.

Robert R, Thanks for reminding me of the Oasis. I grew up in Glendale, and went to the Acme or Belvedere almost every day for a few summers. My parents took us to the Glenwood or Oasis once every few months. One of the few lixuries my dad allowed himself was a couple of bags of peanuts and chocolates which he brought at the drugstore down the street from each movie house.

Let’s divert ten billion gigawatts from the third rail of the Bway el into our flux capacitor to accomplish this !

IN THE IMMORTAL WORDS OF THE “ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW” :

“LET’S DO THE TIME WARP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” …. into the past !

We are on Fresh Pond Rd looking towards Metropolitan Ave from I believe Grove St (either that or Menahan, I’m not sure which one intersects by the Oasis), but either way, we are looking “northeast”.

By the way, when you click the mapquest link above, it brings you to the wrong location, too near to Myrtle Ave, instead of there the Oasis was near Metropolitan Ave. I don’t know why, because when I type in the same address manually into Mapquest, it brings me to the correct location, or at least within a block of the correct location.