I surely hope the Ridgewood will survive. I have a lot of memories within those walls, both before when it was just one large theater, and after they cut it up into 5.
It’s truely amazing that it’s one of the oldest continuously operating theaters IN THE COUNTRY (haha, having never closed for renovations….and it shows!!). But seriously, from recent photos I have seen in the Ridgewood’s section on this site, it’s really not “that” bad. It appears to be in better shape than when I was last in it a decade and a half ago!
Let’s hope the old workhorse will continue to putter on.
Well, I actually just looked through that site a little bit, and found this photo which asnswers the question we had above a few months ago about the old, and now rapidly fading painted sign on the side of the old Madison.
It did say “RKO” in it, it said “R.K.O Madison Theatre”.
Sorry to disappoint, but that is a recent photo taken in December of 2002 (December 8, 2002) That was a nostalgia special run when they were getting rid of that type of equipment. Those were the old red trains that used to run on the #7 Flushing line.
Unfortunately, that is not a glimpse of the RKO Madison’s old marquee….as it was long gone already by 2002, that’s just another Christmas light.
Interesting photos. They moved the refreshment stand for the flea market since I was last in there, it used to be right in front of the balcony stairs in the back of the orchestra level.
BTW, did they even out the floor in there on the orchestra level? For some reason. the photo taken from up in the balcony, looking down at the procenium arch looks as if the stage is now level with the orchetra level, which appears level. It could just be an illusion though. Last time I was in there, it still had a sloped floor, and the stage was still high up like a stage should, but again, I really can’t tell from the photo.
The building had a lot more interest before they painted the ceiling beige too. Until the 90’s, while the walls were already painted beige, the ceiling was original all different colors with gold leaf.
Before the flood, Canal St was really on the mend. It was so improved in the few years between my first and last visit there, and the difference on Canal was noticable. Now with the shortage of housing there, perhaps they will be abble to rent the apartments above many of the stores. If anything, during the flood, while downtown flooded too a bit, it held up much better than the rest of the area.
I agree, that’s what I have been saying a few times when the subject comes up. I wish there was a place we could discuss theater topics, not necessarily in reference to any particular theater already on the site, such as that above. I found a few theater buildings on Third Ave I wanted to ask about, and also there’s one on Evergreen Ave in Broolyn, but it’s hard to ask about mystery theaters without bogging down another theater (like the Ridgewood here), which really has nothing to do with the Ridgewood. And this comes up in many theaters.
September 11th, 1977 was the last day of service for the Jamaica El, east of Queens Blvd. At that point service was truncated at the Queens Blvd station, 4 stations west. The el was demolished soon after. The Valencia operating as a theater never operated without the el obliterating it’s facade. The Valencia opened in 1928, the el opened in I believe 1918, so the Valencia was built 10 years after the el was already there. And going by the photo that Warren pointed out, the last day of service for the old Jamaica El saw the Valencia already the Tabernacle of Prayer.
Iterestingly, the sketcher of the sketch that warren posted of the Fulton Theater’s facade forgot one important thing! if that was from 1908, they forgot to “draw” that the building was obliterated by the Fulton Elevated, as the Fulton Elevated was built in the 1880’s or 1890’s, so it was there already when the theater was built. But that’s nothing new, I have seen photos of the Loew’s Valencia in sketches in which they “forgot” to draw in that it too was obliterated by the el in front of it. I have even seen photos of the Valencia, RKO Bushwick, etc where they have actually airbrushed the elevated sturcture out of photos!
Good work Warren, at least that puts this to rest.
Notice also that in your photo, which was definitely taken in the 1910’s (as that is when the Fulton el was strengthened and widened), that the theater was in fact still there as Ed mentioned where the bank is now, next to the building that we originally thought was the lobby:
By the time the 1930’s came around, the Fulton Theater was gone, and the bank was there (which is a little lower than the theater facade) in the photo I found, taken from the similar angle:
By the way, the photo Warren linked too was taken in the 1910’s when the original Fulton Street elevated was rebuilt, and strengthened, and widened to allow for a third track to be put in, and what they had thought would allow for heavier subway cars to run on the el (this was also done to the Broadway el and the northern end of the Myrtle el).
Anyway, in the 1920’s, the new IND subway planned instead to replace the BMT’s Fulton El with a subway (which they did in the form of what is now under Fulton St) instead of connecting the Fulton El to the subway system. It was then torn down.
In the photo, the right most building is still there, and is the one that has the large billboard scafolding on it in the current photos, on the east side of Nostrand. The low building next to it is on the opposite corner, west of Nostrand, and is the boarded up building in the current photos. The building to the left of that, is the one we believe to be the lobby area of the Fulton Theater (the one with the arched windows we were discussing). I believe the theater ran behind those buildings parallel to Fulton along Macon St, from the corner of Macon/Nostrand, to the back of what is now the bank property. Of course, I can’t prove it unless we come up with a better photo.
The Fulton St subway which currently runs UNDER Fulton Street (the A and C line) replaced the old BMT Fulton Street Elevated, which ran above Fulton Street. There was never an el on Nostrand. The Station in the photo is the Nostrand Ave station on the old, and demolished (in the 30’s or 40’s) Fulton St el which ran over Fulton.
Wow Warren, so you were talking about the this Palace. When did the last show close there, and what show was it? This is really a shame, because this theater shouldn’t be closed.
Why would it be such a long time for the Palace to find a new tenant?
I remember seeing Beauty and the Beast at the Palace. I had no idea it used to show movies there at one time, I thought it was always a live theater. The theater was beautiful inside, I had balcony seats for Beauty and the Beast.
It’s not that the theater was falling apart, it’s that the current owners ripped everythign apart. The Kings has been neglected, but it wasn’t ripped apart.
Agreed. Great post.
Yes, it actually took Disney to get the ball rolling to clean up Times Square. There are many people nostalgic for what was once there, but looking through rose colored glasses. The place was a dump, and something needed to be done. The glory days of 42nd Street were over long before the 80’s rolled in.
Those theaters in Times were already in steep steep decline and shambles before Guiliani or Koch for that matter. Most would have taken billions to restore. And for what? To spend all that money on them, there would have to be a profitable reason, otherwise what building owner in their right mind would do such a thing. They were a victim of their time ending. Blame TV, DVD’s, VHS, etc, not Guliani.
This is the closest thing I could find to a photo of the Loews Fulton on the internet….as of yet. Here’s a photo taken from the Nostrand Ave Fulton El station that was demolished in the 1930’s.
Anyway, in the background is a building that looks like it’s the facade of the Loews Fulton, at least the front part that Ken and I photographed. All the buildings in the old photo are still there today. The building on the opposite corner of Nostrand (the grey bricked one with the yellow awning in my photo) has that large metal girder sign on top, just like it did in the old photo. The low boarded up building is seen, and then next to that the building we believe is the facade of the Loews Fulton after that, the third visable building from the left above the subway train.
It is possible that the auditorium was behind the current remaining facade, as opposed to the left of it, or at least fully to the left (meaning that it had perhaps no road frontage on Fulton, but instead just stretched behind all the buildings, from th corner of Nostrand/Macon St behind all the bukldings on Fulton, and also behind the bank property:
I am not sure how old that photo is. I would guess it’s the early or mid 60’s though.
Here’s the link for that news item. It took a while to find it.
She’s right.
http://cinematreasures.org/news/14430_0_1_160_C/
I surely hope the Ridgewood will survive. I have a lot of memories within those walls, both before when it was just one large theater, and after they cut it up into 5.
It’s truely amazing that it’s one of the oldest continuously operating theaters IN THE COUNTRY (haha, having never closed for renovations….and it shows!!). But seriously, from recent photos I have seen in the Ridgewood’s section on this site, it’s really not “that” bad. It appears to be in better shape than when I was last in it a decade and a half ago!
Let’s hope the old workhorse will continue to putter on.
Well, I actually just looked through that site a little bit, and found this photo which asnswers the question we had above a few months ago about the old, and now rapidly fading painted sign on the side of the old Madison.
It did say “RKO” in it, it said “R.K.O Madison Theatre”.
View link
Sorry to disappoint, but that is a recent photo taken in December of 2002 (December 8, 2002) That was a nostalgia special run when they were getting rid of that type of equipment. Those were the old red trains that used to run on the #7 Flushing line.
Unfortunately, that is not a glimpse of the RKO Madison’s old marquee….as it was long gone already by 2002, that’s just another Christmas light.
Interesting photos. They moved the refreshment stand for the flea market since I was last in there, it used to be right in front of the balcony stairs in the back of the orchestra level.
BTW, did they even out the floor in there on the orchestra level? For some reason. the photo taken from up in the balcony, looking down at the procenium arch looks as if the stage is now level with the orchetra level, which appears level. It could just be an illusion though. Last time I was in there, it still had a sloped floor, and the stage was still high up like a stage should, but again, I really can’t tell from the photo.
The building had a lot more interest before they painted the ceiling beige too. Until the 90’s, while the walls were already painted beige, the ceiling was original all different colors with gold leaf.
Before the flood, Canal St was really on the mend. It was so improved in the few years between my first and last visit there, and the difference on Canal was noticable. Now with the shortage of housing there, perhaps they will be abble to rent the apartments above many of the stores. If anything, during the flood, while downtown flooded too a bit, it held up much better than the rest of the area.
Was it the Paramount until Disney took it over, and Disney renamed it the EL Capitan?
I agree, that’s what I have been saying a few times when the subject comes up. I wish there was a place we could discuss theater topics, not necessarily in reference to any particular theater already on the site, such as that above. I found a few theater buildings on Third Ave I wanted to ask about, and also there’s one on Evergreen Ave in Broolyn, but it’s hard to ask about mystery theaters without bogging down another theater (like the Ridgewood here), which really has nothing to do with the Ridgewood. And this comes up in many theaters.
September 11th, 1977 was the last day of service for the Jamaica El, east of Queens Blvd. At that point service was truncated at the Queens Blvd station, 4 stations west. The el was demolished soon after. The Valencia operating as a theater never operated without the el obliterating it’s facade. The Valencia opened in 1928, the el opened in I believe 1918, so the Valencia was built 10 years after the el was already there. And going by the photo that Warren pointed out, the last day of service for the old Jamaica El saw the Valencia already the Tabernacle of Prayer.
I wonder what the “Two Action Hits” were.
Iterestingly, the sketcher of the sketch that warren posted of the Fulton Theater’s facade forgot one important thing! if that was from 1908, they forgot to “draw” that the building was obliterated by the Fulton Elevated, as the Fulton Elevated was built in the 1880’s or 1890’s, so it was there already when the theater was built. But that’s nothing new, I have seen photos of the Loew’s Valencia in sketches in which they “forgot” to draw in that it too was obliterated by the el in front of it. I have even seen photos of the Valencia, RKO Bushwick, etc where they have actually airbrushed the elevated sturcture out of photos!
Good work Warren, at least that puts this to rest.
Notice also that in your photo, which was definitely taken in the 1910’s (as that is when the Fulton el was strengthened and widened), that the theater was in fact still there as Ed mentioned where the bank is now, next to the building that we originally thought was the lobby:
View link
By the time the 1930’s came around, the Fulton Theater was gone, and the bank was there (which is a little lower than the theater facade) in the photo I found, taken from the similar angle:
View link
By the way, the photo Warren linked too was taken in the 1910’s when the original Fulton Street elevated was rebuilt, and strengthened, and widened to allow for a third track to be put in, and what they had thought would allow for heavier subway cars to run on the el (this was also done to the Broadway el and the northern end of the Myrtle el).
Anyway, in the 1920’s, the new IND subway planned instead to replace the BMT’s Fulton El with a subway (which they did in the form of what is now under Fulton St) instead of connecting the Fulton El to the subway system. It was then torn down.
In the photo, the right most building is still there, and is the one that has the large billboard scafolding on it in the current photos, on the east side of Nostrand. The low building next to it is on the opposite corner, west of Nostrand, and is the boarded up building in the current photos. The building to the left of that, is the one we believe to be the lobby area of the Fulton Theater (the one with the arched windows we were discussing). I believe the theater ran behind those buildings parallel to Fulton along Macon St, from the corner of Macon/Nostrand, to the back of what is now the bank property. Of course, I can’t prove it unless we come up with a better photo.
The Fulton St subway which currently runs UNDER Fulton Street (the A and C line) replaced the old BMT Fulton Street Elevated, which ran above Fulton Street. There was never an el on Nostrand. The Station in the photo is the Nostrand Ave station on the old, and demolished (in the 30’s or 40’s) Fulton St el which ran over Fulton.
It’s this Palace below….the conversation already moved there:
/theaters/6635/
Wow Warren, so you were talking about the this Palace. When did the last show close there, and what show was it? This is really a shame, because this theater shouldn’t be closed.
Why would it be such a long time for the Palace to find a new tenant?
Warren, which Palace do you mean, the one on Broadway? Why is it empty? Is this the Palace that Beauty and the Beast played in some time ago?
I remember seeing Beauty and the Beast at the Palace. I had no idea it used to show movies there at one time, I thought it was always a live theater. The theater was beautiful inside, I had balcony seats for Beauty and the Beast.
It’s not that the theater was falling apart, it’s that the current owners ripped everythign apart. The Kings has been neglected, but it wasn’t ripped apart.
Agreed. Great post.
Yes, it actually took Disney to get the ball rolling to clean up Times Square. There are many people nostalgic for what was once there, but looking through rose colored glasses. The place was a dump, and something needed to be done. The glory days of 42nd Street were over long before the 80’s rolled in.
That theater must have had a very low ceiling!
Those theaters in Times were already in steep steep decline and shambles before Guiliani or Koch for that matter. Most would have taken billions to restore. And for what? To spend all that money on them, there would have to be a profitable reason, otherwise what building owner in their right mind would do such a thing. They were a victim of their time ending. Blame TV, DVD’s, VHS, etc, not Guliani.
This is the closest thing I could find to a photo of the Loews Fulton on the internet….as of yet. Here’s a photo taken from the Nostrand Ave Fulton El station that was demolished in the 1930’s.
Anyway, in the background is a building that looks like it’s the facade of the Loews Fulton, at least the front part that Ken and I photographed. All the buildings in the old photo are still there today. The building on the opposite corner of Nostrand (the grey bricked one with the yellow awning in my photo) has that large metal girder sign on top, just like it did in the old photo. The low boarded up building is seen, and then next to that the building we believe is the facade of the Loews Fulton after that, the third visable building from the left above the subway train.
It is possible that the auditorium was behind the current remaining facade, as opposed to the left of it, or at least fully to the left (meaning that it had perhaps no road frontage on Fulton, but instead just stretched behind all the buildings, from th corner of Nostrand/Macon St behind all the bukldings on Fulton, and also behind the bank property:
Click here for historic photo of Fulton St el station at Nostrand Avenue/Fulton
Click here for photo of theater facade about a year and a half ago
How was it cut up when they multiplexed it, two or three theaters in the old balcony?