Comments about Ridgewood Theatre in Ridgewood, NY

Ken Roe on July 3, 2006 at 3:44 pm

As promised to you all….here is my set of photographs that I took of the Ridgewood Theatre on 25th June 2006. Apologies for the rather poor quality of the interior shots, but the bad (almost non-existant lighting) was not in my favour. I have lightened the photos as much as possible, so hopefully you will get some idea of the auditorium interiors. Also apologies for some blurry shots of the foyer, again the lighting is not good and I wasn’t using a tripod.

As I mentioned in my posting above (26th June 2006) I attended a screening in the left hand side screen located in the former balcony area and managed to view the other two screns up there. I did not go into the two screens in the former orchestra level. Perhaps some local will ‘do’ those for us and report back?

Ok, so there is my input, I know this theatre is held dearly in the memories of many of you (hence the great number of postings for this particular movie theatre. Well unlike many on this site, the Ridgewood Theatre remains in use as a movie theatre! Please support it, otherwise you will loose it. If I can travel all the way from the UK, and then from my base in N.Y.C. right across town to see a movie (using the handy Metro as transportation), then I would hope that both current resident locals in Ridgewood and other resident New Yorkers will do the same (and regularly too!).

BrooklynJim on July 3, 2006 at 12:22 pm

RobertR, the Rugby (823 Utica Ave.) was one of 8 finalists out of 30 from my “non-scientific” experiment on the Cumberland page 7/1/06. (I soon tossed out the Haven Theater suggestion for various and sundry reasons.) Let’s see if we can get an additional confirmation on this from another Brooklynite from Flatbush. Good work, sir!!!

[“You used to be the best torch man in town. Now I don’t think you could crack a safe if you knew the combination.” – Attorney Paul Lowe to alcoholic Joe Marcelli (on crutches) in “The Indestructible Man,” 1956.]

RobertR on July 3, 2006 at 10:32 am

I am pretty sure that old marquee was the Rugby in Flatbush. I remember that marquee had an expression on it so that must be it. The Haven had a square boxy marquee, I have many pictures of it when the post photo feature starts working again.

PKoch on July 3, 2006 at 7:53 am

I walked past the Ridgewood Theater this past Saturday, July 1st 2006, at about 3:30 PM, on a visit to old family homes and haunts in Brooklyn and Queens. It’s still open, showing “Superman Returns” and “Garfield II”, among other films. One film had three screening times.

BrooklynJim on July 1, 2006 at 7:56 am

EdSolero: the first one might possibly be the old Haven in Queens. It’s certainly narrow enough. Nada on the second. [i posted some additional material for you over on the Cumberland Theatre page. Not sure about your m.o. in checking back for replies.] Buena suerte!

(Note for Ridgewoodites still living in the area: the location of Matt Weber’s “Funeral Home” shot should be up on Forest Avenue, even-numbered side of the street, closer to Metropolitan Avenue. That one jumped out at me!)

YMike on June 30, 2006 at 8:57 am

If the building still stands the decorative circles are probably still there even if the marquee is gone. I would check some buildings on Flatbush Ave. Maybe near the Loews Kings.

PKoch on June 30, 2006 at 6:40 am

Looks like Matt Weber has a great site. Unfortunately, there is not much to go on in those “Always Air Conditioned” and “The Best In Entertainment” photos to help identify them.

All I can say is that I don’t recall ever seeing signs like that on the front of the Ridgewood or RKO Madison Theaters, or any other movie theater in NYC that I’ve been to.

Ed Solero on June 30, 2006 at 5:50 am

Yeah, Lost. I’m hoping that someone like BrooklynJim or PKoch who used to frequent theaters all over the borough might recognize the two signs from either end of the marquee. Warren pointed out in one of the other pages I posted that it sure looks like this theater was long closed and uncared for by the time this shot was taken in the ‘80’s (late '80’s I think). I’m sure the marquee is long gone, but it’s probably a good bet that the building is no longer around either, though I could be wrong about that. I’ll keep posting the images on various B'klyn theater pages and see if someone can match it to their local nabe.

Ed Solero on June 29, 2006 at 11:52 am

Hey Lost, Warren, BrooklynJim, PKoch… ANYONE… I have two images that show detail of a battered theater marquee in Brooklyn and I’d like some help trying to identify it:

Always Air Conditioned
The Best in Entertainment

The photographer is Matt Weber who has a number of great images of NYC street scenes at his website www.urbanphotos.com. He was kind enough to share some photos with me, but doesn’t recall precisely which theater it was he captured here. The photo was taken some time in the ‘80’s and he told me it was “deep in Brooklyn, possibly Flatbush Ave”. Not a whole lot of help, but I plan on spreading this message around and seeing if anyone can make a direct hit!

Thanks, guys…

PKoch on June 28, 2006 at 10:00 am

Thanks, BklynJim, for this info.

BrooklynJim on June 28, 2006 at 9:51 am

Lost Memory: You can call off the dogs. The Cumberland snuck its way up there and now has 3 posts on its very own page between yesterday and this morning. My aunt has confirmed the fact that the theater did have an organ, so perhaps your astute research material can provide model and cost (in pre-Depression dollars, of course). It appears that the venue was listed as closed by 1941. Am unsure of exactly when A&P took the building over, but it was certainly doing brisk business in the neighborhood before the end of the 1940s.

PKoch on June 27, 2006 at 12:03 pm

NLK, I do not know if I graduated SBS with a Debbie Schuler. I might have. The name is not familiar to me.

BrooklynJim on June 27, 2006 at 6:55 am

To Warren, Bway and Lost Memory: I managed to enter the Cumberland Theatre on 6/22, just prior to the massive crash. I expect that it will appear by tomorrow under the “Newest Theaters” section, as I have a fairly long post to share at that time.

To ‘Tonino: No link for that trolley ride through Ridgewood into Richmond Hill, but the (mostly) color DVD (“Brooklyn Trolleys, Vol. 1”) is available through Alan I. Zelazo, (“subwayal”), in Morris Plains, NJ. Go to eBay, type in “Trolley DVD” and search. That’ll bring up at least 1-2 of his gems, and then you can view all items by selecting his seller’s link. Another one you may want to look for is the “Myrtle Ave. El,” one of my faves. Hope this info helps.

paflamechaser on June 27, 2006 at 6:33 am

Forest Park…we used to go there every sunday… Finding this site brings back alot of memories and all because I was looking for an SBS site.

PKoch did u graduate with a debbie schuler?

AntonyRoma on June 27, 2006 at 5:30 am

I’ve been out of the loop on the Ridgewood Theater for a few months because I must have inadvertantly deselected the auto reply button.

LostMemory, glad to see you’re back, brother alumni. When did you graduate from Brooklyn Tech?

KenRoe, thanks for the copy of the 1916 anniuncement in The Chat and your pix.

bklynJim, Thanks for your pix of the Myrtle Ave el. Is there a link to the Myrtle Ave trolley from Ridgewood thru Glendale and ending in Richmond Hill? Or how can I get a copy of the DVD?

Ciao,
Tonino, Brookly Tech, 1955. The kid from Glendale who worked at Ripley’s men’s clothing from ‘52 to '59, rode the Myrtle Ave el to HS and BPI, prowled the streets from Ridgewood to Woodhaven, knew all the movies on/near Myrtle Ave -RKO Keith’s, Acme, Belvedere, Glenwood, Oasis, Ridgewood, Madison, Parthenon; went to regular conraternity dances in Ridgewood’s St Brigid’s on Wednesday nights in tghe summer, walked the kiddies around the track on ponies in Forest Park,….

PKoch on June 27, 2006 at 5:20 am

Thanks, NLK, I used to live at 1668 Cornelia between Wyckoff and Cypress, from 1955 to 1991, sold it in May 1999. I remember either the “Apes” marathon, or the first “Apes” movie, re-released, summer 1973. Saw the first “Apes” movie at the Ridgewood with my dad, spring 1968 when it first came out. Graduated St. Brigid’s, June 1969. The marquee collapsed under the blizzard of Beatles Day, Sunday, February 9, 1969. “April W”, who has posted above on this page, lived across the street from the Ridgewood Theater at the time, and heard the creaking of metal cables and chains at night before the marquee fell.

Bway on June 27, 2006 at 3:47 am

I wonder if it got lost when all the site chaos and bugs happened this past weekend.

Bway on June 26, 2006 at 5:45 pm

Thanks so much Ken, I eagerly await your photos!
From what it sounds like, it has changed very little architechtually from the way I remember the place, last being in there in 1991.
It may even sound like it’s cleaner!
Thanks so much.

paflamechaser on June 26, 2006 at 5:19 pm

Wow… I can’t believe the theater is still open and operational. My mom and I were just discussing it the other day. I used to live on Putnam Avenue between Myrtle and Wyckoff. Lived there all my life until 1976 when I graduated from St. Brigid’s and then my family moved to NJ. I remember sitting there one Saturday…all day for the “Planet of the Apes” marathon. LOL My mom also has pictures somewhere that my dad took when the marque collapsed during the blizzards. Those were the days….

Ken Roe on June 26, 2006 at 11:15 am

Apologies for the triple postings. The site was playing up (again) and I didn’t want to re-type all that text!

Hope you found it interesting? Admission is $8 Adults and $5 Children and seniors. There were a dozen waiting outside the theatre when I arrived at 5;45, but as it turned out, four of those were theatre staff awating the manager and projectionist to arrive to allow them to set up for opening.

I didn’t get to see into the two screens in the former stalls area.

PKoch on June 26, 2006 at 11:06 am

Thanks for your post, KenRoe.

Ken Roe on June 26, 2006 at 10:59 am

I attended an early evening screening at the Ridgewood Theatre last Thursday evening. The roller shutter gates were opened up at 6pm to allow purchase of tickets and by the time I had climbed the stairs to attend a screening of “The Omen 666” in the left hand side screen located in the former balcony, the preview trailers were already on-screen. I took the opportunity to take a look at the other two screens located in the former circle and they too were already screening preview trailers. I did take some photographs of the balcony foyer areas (which I will post up a link to when I return to London).

The configuration of the three balcony screens seems to be that the two side screens are entered from the balcony foyer at what would have been the front of balcony section close to the former side boxes. There are exits out of the building at that level (in fact during the show they were opened briefly whilst the movie was screening, when a couple of non-paying patrons entered, allowing daylight into the auditorium). There is still a large side-wall panel, now painted over in a dark brown colour (as are all the auditoriums) which I presume must have featured a painted mural scene when the theatre first opened?. Plaster decorative details in the ceiling can also be made out in the darkness. The two side screens only extend forward to just beyond the original front of the balcony, possibly due to the remains of the side boxes being in the way?

The center screen in the balcony is entered via another set of marble stairs from the main balcony foyer and could have originally been the entrance to the rear balcony section when it was a single screen theatre. Here in the current configuration the screen extends way beyond what would have been the front of the original balcony, over the former front stalls. This seems to be the larger the three screens located in the balcony level. What would have been the original cross aisle at the back of the balcony is now bricked up and in use as the projection booth serving the three screens. Of course the side-walls in this screen are new from the conversion, but the original domed ceiling is clearly visible in the darkened gloom.

Presentation in the screen I attended was good, the sound was clear although the picture was not as bright as I would have liked. All auditoriums were clean and the audience well behaved (yes, thay actually watched the movie in silence). There are no screen curtains in any of the screens.

After my movie had finished I waited for houselights to come on so I could take a better look, but to no avail, the non-sync sound came on and the auditorium remained dark, awaiting its next audience. I checked in the other two screens and “Cars” was just finishing its credits in the center screen where the sound was overloud and had a sort of ‘bump’ to it, as though there was a malfunction on the projector sound head. (I am glad I didn’t choose to see the movie in that screen!) Again no house lights in that screen or in the other side screen which by then was empty.

I took some auditorium photographs, but I think they will be too dark to see anything.

Ken Roe on June 26, 2006 at 10:56 am

I attended an early evening screening at the Ridgewood Theatre last Thursday evening. The roller shutter gates were opened up at 6pm to allow purchase of tickets and by the time I had climbed the stairs to attend a screening of “The Omen 666” in the left hand side screen located in the former balcony, the preview trailers were already on-screen. I took the opportunity to take a look at the other two screens located in the former circle and they too were already screening preview trailers. I did take some photographs of the balcony foyer areas (which I will post up a link to when I return to London).

The configuration of the three balcony screens seems to be that the two side screens are entered from the balcony foyer at what would have been the front of balcony section close to the former side boxes. There are exits out of the building at that level (in fact during the show they were opened briefly whilst the movie was screening, when a couple of non-paying patrons entered, allowing daylight into the auditorium). There is still a large side-wall panel, now painted over in a dark brown colour (as are all the auditoriums) which I presume must have featured a painted mural scene when the theatre first opened?. Plaster decorative details in the ceiling can also be made out in the darkness. The two side screens only extend forward to just beyond the original front of the balcony, possibly due to the remains of the side boxes being in the way?

The center screen in the balcony is entered via another set of marble stairs from the main balcony foyer and could have originally been the entrance to the rear balcony section when it was a single screen theatre. Here in the current configuration the screen extends way beyond what would have been the front of the original balcony, over the former front stalls. This seems to be the larger the three screens located in the balcony level. What would have been the original cross aisle at the back of the balcony is now bricked up and in use as the projection booth serving the three screens. Of course the side-walls in this screen are new from the conversion, but the original domed ceiling is clearly visible in the darkened gloom.

Presentation in the screen I attended was good, the sound was clear although the picture was not as bright as I would have liked. All auditoriums were clean and the audience well behaved (yes, thay actually watched the movie in silence). There are no screen curtains in any of the screens.

After my movie had finished I waited for houselights to come on so I could take a better look, but to no avail, the non-sync sound came on and the auditorium remained dark, awaiting its next audience. I checked in the other two screens and “Cars” was just finishing its credits in the center screen where the sound was overloud and had a sort of ‘bump’ to it, as though there was a malfunction on the projector sound head. (I am glad I didn’t choose to see the movie in that screen!) Again no house lights in that screen or in the other side screen which by then was empty.

I took some auditorium photographs, but I think they will be too dark to see anything.

Ken Roe on June 26, 2006 at 10:16 am

I attended an early evening screening at the Ridgewood Theatre last Thursday evening. The roller shutter gates were opened up at 6pm to allow purchase of tickets and by the time I had climbed the stairs to attend a screening of “The Omen 666” in the left hand side screen located in the former balcony, the preview trailers were already on-screen. I took the opportunity to take a look at the other two screens located in the former circle and they too were already screening preview trailers. I did take some photographs of the balcony foyer areas (which I will post up a link to when I return to London).

The configuration of the balcony screens sems to be that the two side screens are entered from the balcony foyer at what would have been the front of balcony section close to the former side boxes. There are exits out of the building at that level (in fact during the show they were opened briefly whilst the movie was screening, when a couple of non-paying patrons entered, allowing daylight into the auditorium). There is still a large side-wall panel, now painted over in a dark brown colour (as are all the auditoriums) which I presume must have featured a painted mural scene when the theatre first opened?. The two side screens only extend forward to just beyond the original front of the balcony, possibly due to the remains of the side boxes being in the way?

The center screen in the balcony is entered via another set of marble stair from the main balcony foyer and could have been the entrance to the rear balcony section when it was a single screen theatre. Here in the current configuration the screen extends way beyond what would have been the front of the original balcony, over the former front stalls. This seems to be the larger the three screens located in the balcony level. What would have been the original cross aisle at the back of the balcony is now bricked up and in use as the projection booth serving the three screens.

Presentation in the screen I attended was good, the sound was clear although the picture was not as bright as I would have liked. All auditoums were clean and the audience well behaved (yes, thay actually watched the movie in silence). There are no screen curtains in any of the screens.

After my movie had finished I waited for houselights to come on so I could take a better look, but to no avail, the non-sync sound came on and the auditorium remained dark, awaiting its next audience. I checked in the other two screens and “Cars” was just finishing its credits in the center screen where the sound was overloud and had a sort of ‘bump’ to it, as though there was a malfunction on the projector sound head. (I am glad I didn’t choose to see the movie in that screen!) Again no house lights in that screen or in the other side screen which by then was empty.

I took some auditorium photographs, but I think they will be too dark to see anything.

PKoch on June 22, 2006 at 5:57 am

BrooklynJim, EdSolero, and any others interested in a discussion of monster movies and movies in general. This is the board I hang out on. It’s troll and flame-free, and has lots of great people managing and contributing. I invite you to join there if you want to talk old movies :

View link

Ridgewood Theatre

55-27 Myrtle Avenue, Ridgewood, NY 11385

55-27 Myrtle Avenue,
Ridgewood, NY 11385