Wow, very nice Ed! Thanks for sharing.
I always liked this theater. I have been there a few times, and think the old theater interior is fascinating. I had never experienced anything close to the description given above.
What I always wondered is why since Disney spend such a fortune on beautifully restoring the interior of this theater, that they left the remuddled exterior as it was. Why didn’t they restore the exterior fascade to the way it was built since they did so much of that on the interior? Why would they leave this exterior?
Both probably. He must have done it all day, at various times when the movies began at the various theaters. Apparently, Jerry Lewis got around promoting this film….as I noticed Bob’s post in a few theaters mentioning this.
My father remembers these sort of appearances well at the RKO Madison Theater. He said stars often came to that theater. I am sure that the RKO Bushwick, like the Madison was one of the showcase theaters where these sort of events took place.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the stars still did this nowadays. But then again, it’s not as glamorous going into the nondescript multiplexes as it was entering these old showcase theaters.
Thanks Ed. Yeah, the Richmond Hill Keiths is a diamond in the rough. It unfortunately does desperately need a renovation inside, but, what is so wonderful about it is that even though it’s in desperate need of some help inside, it also hasn’t undergone any major alterations either. Last I was in there for a flea market, even the chandeliers hung in the theater yet, filthy and full of cobwebs, but all still there just the same. The plasterwork was painted beige on the wall, but it’s relatively intact, as is the ceiling (which still has original colorful goldleaf paint, contrasting with the beige walls. The extched mirrors still hang in the lobby, the marble on the floor. The marquee was uncovered by a movie company, and after they were done, the owner of the building restored it further. The current owners obviously have some interest in the building as they beautifully restored the marquee. Obviously, they can’t restore the theater as it should be, as there wouldn’t be a profit in it. Some organization would have to do that, and it would have to have some sort of profitable purpose, which may be hard to find. But in the mean time, It’s a diamond in the rough, and even though a bingo hall flea market, the building is being minimally maintained (which is good, as it’s not sitting there derelict by any means), awaiting a potential renovation – one day.
The only thing the fate of the Keiths in Richmond Hill and the Keith’s in Flushing have in common is the name, other than that, it’s a pretty clear have and have not scenario.
Read more here: /theaters/3972/
There’s links to photos in that thread too.
Why does it appear to be a straight rectangle marquee? The original was curved, IINM, and the abandoned theater has a curved remnant of a marquee. Was the marquee in Warren’s photo just posted simply covering the original, which is now exposed once again on the abandoned building?
bobosan, thanks. It appears they were just beginning to concrete block up the windows in your earlier photo.
Wouldn’t it be nice to get a historic photo from that angle to compare.
Also Warren, nice photo. To only see the marquee dressed up with words again…
You guys have to remember though that this “change” in the people of the neighborhoods have little to with the closure of all these great theaters. This phenomena is happening all over the country, not just in the neighborhoods you have described. It’s the dawn of television, video cassettes, DVDs, multiplexes that did all the old great theaters in, not changes in demographics.
These single theaters would have folded even had all the same exact people remained in the neighborhoods.
The theater must have ghosts that are upset that the building is no longer a theater, and are doing their best to stop the building from reopening as anything else.
Seriously though, once was strange, twice in the same theater is down right weird.
Greenpoint, I agree with you completely on most of what you said, however, the Ridgewood Theater is much closer that Astoria or Sunnyside to Williamsburg.
I understand when the conversation goes off in very far directions (The Ridgewood theater’s section has done that, and now it takes forever for the theater to load because there are so many comments).
It did keep the theater quite active and alove though.
Perhaps maybe there should be a section on this site for general coneversation (theater/movie/etc related), but perhaps not directly related to the theater itself. Such as if someone finds a photo of a building that looks like a theater, and wants to ask questions about it, neighborhood memories around a theater, or conversation such as had progressed above. It doesn’t bother me in the theater sections, but perhaps it would be more productive in it’s own section of the site under a “general discussion”. Most of the people here have formed a internet freindship, started from theater conversation, but sometimes you have a little more to say, that may not necessarily pertain to the actual plaster and bricks of a particular theater.
PKoch has been a tremendously valuable member here at CT, and I enjoy his comments. The truth is, how much can anyone say about the bricks and walls of the “Loews 46th St” [or place any other theater name there]. After a while it’s said that, done that. These sort of comments keep the theaters alive. A theater is more than just bricks and plaster, it’s also all the memories that were in these buildings, and many of the memories are the movies or performances that were within their walls. Talking about them is just as much on topic to the theater as a conversation about the procenium arch is.
Agreed Bill for both Ridgewood itself’s future (which I see nothing but good things), and of course the Ridgewood Theater. I want nothing more than to be proven wrong by PKoch’s optomistic outlook for the Ridgewood Theater’s future after the Atlas opens….
Yup, it’s funny how the “crud” wears off right around the Ridgewood Theater. It lasts from about the el (Madison Theater) to about the Ridgewood theater, and then it’s fine once past that around Putnam/Cypress.
Again, it’s not that I find it “bad”, just cruddy or seedy. The stores are crappy junk stores, and the look of that block or two is just a “has been” seedy look to it, right to this day.
Unfortunately, you are absolutely correct. The section of Myrtle to about the Ridgewood Theater to the Madison Theater (el tracks) began to deteriorate (getting seedy) in the late 70’s, right around when the Madison Theater closed and sat there as an abandoned hulk. And it never really recovered completely, as that last block of Myrtle before heading under the el is still a little seedy, or at least grungier than the rest of Myrtle (again, not to say “bad”, but just “seedy”).
I wonder if it was in fact the loss of the Madison as a viable building on that block around that time which spurred the seediness of that block.
There seems to be some sort of misunderstanding here that Ridgewood is a “bad” neighborhood or something. mrbillymc is absolutely correct. Bushwick and Bed-Stuy are in fact beginning to come back, and are showing the beginning stages of gentrification. However, Ridgewood really has nothing to “come back from”. It never became a bad, abandoned, and run down neighborhood like Bushwick did. RIdgewood always remained a stable, working class neighborhood. The only place Ridgewood deteriorated a small bit was right around the Buswick border, and on Myrtle from about the Madison theater to the Ridgewood theater. But even there, it only got a little “seedy”, not a terrible neighborhood. Ridgewood had just about zero abandoned buildings, right through the 70’s and 80’s. It never got that bad at all like Bushwick did. If anything, Ridgewood’s fortune is now spreading into Bushwick, not the other way around.
That beigng said though, I LOVE your idea for the Ridgewood Theater….even if a pipe dream…..
Thanks so much for posting those photos Mark. It’s actually nice to compare them to the historic views of the interior Warren had posted above (July22).
The Strand actually looks quite good. I was by it about two weeks ago, and aside from the Walgreens side on the side of the marquee, it still looks like a theater. The Walgreens company did a terrific job of recreating the old marquee. In fact, I had no idea it was not original until I saw the photos linked in this thread, and in them there was no marquee.
Anyway, I went inside, and there is not too much remaining from the theater to tell it was a theater unfortunately. Not much ornamentation at all. However, I have no idea what the theater looked like to begin with inside, nor how ornate the interior was to begin with.
Anwyay, here’s the link to a photo:
I don’t know too much about the stores that will come into the Atlas terminal, however, I read they are to be “higher end”. That is good for the Myrtle and Fresh Pond corridors retail, as they are not exactly “higher end” stores, but rather just average stores, nothing like “mall material” anyway.
Other ocmmercial strips off hand I can think of would be Steinway St in Astoria, Main St in Flushing, Bell Blvd in Bayside, and others, that are at least as “strong” as Myrtle or Fresh Pond. Personally, I find the stores for example on Steinway St to be of a “higher quality” than Myrtle (or Fresh Pond for that matter), and many of these other areas don’t have a theater anymore.
Back to the theater.
Even when I still lived in Ridgewood, I “abandoned” the Ridgewood for “better theaters”, and that was two decades ago, and the Ridgewood was only a two or three block walk away from my house! Unfortunately, the Ridgewood hasn’t gotten better in that time. The Ridgewood’s management may be it’s own worst enemy, and for decades already. They really should have upgraded or renovated it a long time ago. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the Ridgewood Theater, and will absolutely loose a piece of myself when/if it closes, but I know myself from going there in the 80’s and 90’s that it was then already unfortunately a “stick to the floor” theater. Maybe it got better (but I doubt it). There was a reason as a teenager and in my 20’s that my friends and I went elsewhere to see a movie.
And now with this new policy of only showing movies in the evening has to hurt it further. Obviously there’s a reason they are doing this (probably because they aren’t making a profit staying open in the afternoon). This new policy can only make things worse. How can they possibly show a profit on a schedule like was posted above?
Even if only half or even a quarter of the Ridgewood’s clientele leaves for the new theater. That’s a base the Ridgewood can’t possible afford to loose.
RH, after I posted that I was thinking the same thing. $10 million is probably accurate. A run down brownstone in Bed=Stuy will cost you at least $500,000 today, so a large theater property in a better part of Brooklyn would only fetch $500,000 more? Not happening. It probably is $10 million, the more I think about it.
PKoch, I agree with you that it is still a very busy and thriving commercial center on both Myrtle and Fresh Pond Rd. The Atlas Terminal will definitely not kill either of those commercial strips, as the type of stores that are on both of those streets are not the type of stores that will be in the Atlas Terminal Park.
That being said though, it still doesn’t add up well for the Ridgewood Theater itself. There are plenty of strong commercial strips within Queens (and Brooklyn), some stronger than the Myrtle and Fresh Pond corridors, and they don’t have a theater…. So I really feel this new multiplex will not be good for the Ridgewood. And the Ridgewood’s current policy of one or two movie times in the evening now (if that is still in effect) is not helping matters. The writing seems to be on the wall unfortunately.
I iagree with Warren on this, $10 million is a lot, even in NYC’s real estate market. The amount has to be “1 million”, but who knows, anything is possible.
But I think a more important is the rest of the post, and not worrying about the price. The important part of the post is really this part:
included in the bill of sale is a provision that prohibits the property from being operated as a Motion Picture Theatre for a twenty year period.
That is the really unfortunate part of the post, and perhaps the one worth discussing.
Yes, the facade would be taken care of like a landlord would take care of any commercial building.
Wow, very nice Ed! Thanks for sharing.
I always liked this theater. I have been there a few times, and think the old theater interior is fascinating. I had never experienced anything close to the description given above.
What I always wondered is why since Disney spend such a fortune on beautifully restoring the interior of this theater, that they left the remuddled exterior as it was. Why didn’t they restore the exterior fascade to the way it was built since they did so much of that on the interior? Why would they leave this exterior?
Both probably. He must have done it all day, at various times when the movies began at the various theaters. Apparently, Jerry Lewis got around promoting this film….as I noticed Bob’s post in a few theaters mentioning this.
My father remembers these sort of appearances well at the RKO Madison Theater. He said stars often came to that theater. I am sure that the RKO Bushwick, like the Madison was one of the showcase theaters where these sort of events took place.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the stars still did this nowadays. But then again, it’s not as glamorous going into the nondescript multiplexes as it was entering these old showcase theaters.
That’s how the RKO Madison Theater in Ridgewood met it’s final end….a “mysterious” fire.
Thanks Ed. Yeah, the Richmond Hill Keiths is a diamond in the rough. It unfortunately does desperately need a renovation inside, but, what is so wonderful about it is that even though it’s in desperate need of some help inside, it also hasn’t undergone any major alterations either. Last I was in there for a flea market, even the chandeliers hung in the theater yet, filthy and full of cobwebs, but all still there just the same. The plasterwork was painted beige on the wall, but it’s relatively intact, as is the ceiling (which still has original colorful goldleaf paint, contrasting with the beige walls. The extched mirrors still hang in the lobby, the marble on the floor. The marquee was uncovered by a movie company, and after they were done, the owner of the building restored it further. The current owners obviously have some interest in the building as they beautifully restored the marquee. Obviously, they can’t restore the theater as it should be, as there wouldn’t be a profit in it. Some organization would have to do that, and it would have to have some sort of profitable purpose, which may be hard to find. But in the mean time, It’s a diamond in the rough, and even though a bingo hall flea market, the building is being minimally maintained (which is good, as it’s not sitting there derelict by any means), awaiting a potential renovation – one day.
The only thing the fate of the Keiths in Richmond Hill and the Keith’s in Flushing have in common is the name, other than that, it’s a pretty clear have and have not scenario.
Read more here:
/theaters/3972/
There’s links to photos in that thread too.
Why does it appear to be a straight rectangle marquee? The original was curved, IINM, and the abandoned theater has a curved remnant of a marquee. Was the marquee in Warren’s photo just posted simply covering the original, which is now exposed once again on the abandoned building?
bobosan, thanks. It appears they were just beginning to concrete block up the windows in your earlier photo.
Wouldn’t it be nice to get a historic photo from that angle to compare.
Also Warren, nice photo. To only see the marquee dressed up with words again…
Is the Lion King still playing at the New Amsterdam? I heard it may be moving to another theater, but don’t know if it did or not.
You guys have to remember though that this “change” in the people of the neighborhoods have little to with the closure of all these great theaters. This phenomena is happening all over the country, not just in the neighborhoods you have described. It’s the dawn of television, video cassettes, DVDs, multiplexes that did all the old great theaters in, not changes in demographics.
These single theaters would have folded even had all the same exact people remained in the neighborhoods.
The theater must have ghosts that are upset that the building is no longer a theater, and are doing their best to stop the building from reopening as anything else.
Seriously though, once was strange, twice in the same theater is down right weird.
Greenpoint, I agree with you completely on most of what you said, however, the Ridgewood Theater is much closer that Astoria or Sunnyside to Williamsburg.
I understand when the conversation goes off in very far directions (The Ridgewood theater’s section has done that, and now it takes forever for the theater to load because there are so many comments).
It did keep the theater quite active and alove though.
Perhaps maybe there should be a section on this site for general coneversation (theater/movie/etc related), but perhaps not directly related to the theater itself. Such as if someone finds a photo of a building that looks like a theater, and wants to ask questions about it, neighborhood memories around a theater, or conversation such as had progressed above. It doesn’t bother me in the theater sections, but perhaps it would be more productive in it’s own section of the site under a “general discussion”. Most of the people here have formed a internet freindship, started from theater conversation, but sometimes you have a little more to say, that may not necessarily pertain to the actual plaster and bricks of a particular theater.
PKoch has been a tremendously valuable member here at CT, and I enjoy his comments. The truth is, how much can anyone say about the bricks and walls of the “Loews 46th St” [or place any other theater name there]. After a while it’s said that, done that. These sort of comments keep the theaters alive. A theater is more than just bricks and plaster, it’s also all the memories that were in these buildings, and many of the memories are the movies or performances that were within their walls. Talking about them is just as much on topic to the theater as a conversation about the procenium arch is.
Haha. I’m 6 foot, and wear a 13 (sometimes 14 shoe), but lickily was never mistaken for Bigfoot when in a theater!
Agreed Bill for both Ridgewood itself’s future (which I see nothing but good things), and of course the Ridgewood Theater. I want nothing more than to be proven wrong by PKoch’s optomistic outlook for the Ridgewood Theater’s future after the Atlas opens….
Yup, it’s funny how the “crud” wears off right around the Ridgewood Theater. It lasts from about the el (Madison Theater) to about the Ridgewood theater, and then it’s fine once past that around Putnam/Cypress.
Again, it’s not that I find it “bad”, just cruddy or seedy. The stores are crappy junk stores, and the look of that block or two is just a “has been” seedy look to it, right to this day.
Unfortunately, you are absolutely correct. The section of Myrtle to about the Ridgewood Theater to the Madison Theater (el tracks) began to deteriorate (getting seedy) in the late 70’s, right around when the Madison Theater closed and sat there as an abandoned hulk. And it never really recovered completely, as that last block of Myrtle before heading under the el is still a little seedy, or at least grungier than the rest of Myrtle (again, not to say “bad”, but just “seedy”).
I wonder if it was in fact the loss of the Madison as a viable building on that block around that time which spurred the seediness of that block.
There seems to be some sort of misunderstanding here that Ridgewood is a “bad” neighborhood or something. mrbillymc is absolutely correct. Bushwick and Bed-Stuy are in fact beginning to come back, and are showing the beginning stages of gentrification. However, Ridgewood really has nothing to “come back from”. It never became a bad, abandoned, and run down neighborhood like Bushwick did. RIdgewood always remained a stable, working class neighborhood. The only place Ridgewood deteriorated a small bit was right around the Buswick border, and on Myrtle from about the Madison theater to the Ridgewood theater. But even there, it only got a little “seedy”, not a terrible neighborhood. Ridgewood had just about zero abandoned buildings, right through the 70’s and 80’s. It never got that bad at all like Bushwick did. If anything, Ridgewood’s fortune is now spreading into Bushwick, not the other way around.
That beigng said though, I LOVE your idea for the Ridgewood Theater….even if a pipe dream…..
Thanks so much for posting those photos Mark. It’s actually nice to compare them to the historic views of the interior Warren had posted above (July22).
The Strand actually looks quite good. I was by it about two weeks ago, and aside from the Walgreens side on the side of the marquee, it still looks like a theater. The Walgreens company did a terrific job of recreating the old marquee. In fact, I had no idea it was not original until I saw the photos linked in this thread, and in them there was no marquee.
Anyway, I went inside, and there is not too much remaining from the theater to tell it was a theater unfortunately. Not much ornamentation at all. However, I have no idea what the theater looked like to begin with inside, nor how ornate the interior was to begin with.
Anwyay, here’s the link to a photo:
Click here for link to photo
I don’t know too much about the stores that will come into the Atlas terminal, however, I read they are to be “higher end”. That is good for the Myrtle and Fresh Pond corridors retail, as they are not exactly “higher end” stores, but rather just average stores, nothing like “mall material” anyway.
Other ocmmercial strips off hand I can think of would be Steinway St in Astoria, Main St in Flushing, Bell Blvd in Bayside, and others, that are at least as “strong” as Myrtle or Fresh Pond. Personally, I find the stores for example on Steinway St to be of a “higher quality” than Myrtle (or Fresh Pond for that matter), and many of these other areas don’t have a theater anymore.
Back to the theater.
Even when I still lived in Ridgewood, I “abandoned” the Ridgewood for “better theaters”, and that was two decades ago, and the Ridgewood was only a two or three block walk away from my house! Unfortunately, the Ridgewood hasn’t gotten better in that time. The Ridgewood’s management may be it’s own worst enemy, and for decades already. They really should have upgraded or renovated it a long time ago. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the Ridgewood Theater, and will absolutely loose a piece of myself when/if it closes, but I know myself from going there in the 80’s and 90’s that it was then already unfortunately a “stick to the floor” theater. Maybe it got better (but I doubt it). There was a reason as a teenager and in my 20’s that my friends and I went elsewhere to see a movie.
And now with this new policy of only showing movies in the evening has to hurt it further. Obviously there’s a reason they are doing this (probably because they aren’t making a profit staying open in the afternoon). This new policy can only make things worse. How can they possibly show a profit on a schedule like was posted above?
Even if only half or even a quarter of the Ridgewood’s clientele leaves for the new theater. That’s a base the Ridgewood can’t possible afford to loose.
RH, after I posted that I was thinking the same thing. $10 million is probably accurate. A run down brownstone in Bed=Stuy will cost you at least $500,000 today, so a large theater property in a better part of Brooklyn would only fetch $500,000 more? Not happening. It probably is $10 million, the more I think about it.
PKoch, I agree with you that it is still a very busy and thriving commercial center on both Myrtle and Fresh Pond Rd. The Atlas Terminal will definitely not kill either of those commercial strips, as the type of stores that are on both of those streets are not the type of stores that will be in the Atlas Terminal Park.
That being said though, it still doesn’t add up well for the Ridgewood Theater itself. There are plenty of strong commercial strips within Queens (and Brooklyn), some stronger than the Myrtle and Fresh Pond corridors, and they don’t have a theater…. So I really feel this new multiplex will not be good for the Ridgewood. And the Ridgewood’s current policy of one or two movie times in the evening now (if that is still in effect) is not helping matters. The writing seems to be on the wall unfortunately.
I iagree with Warren on this, $10 million is a lot, even in NYC’s real estate market. The amount has to be “1 million”, but who knows, anything is possible.
But I think a more important is the rest of the post, and not worrying about the price. The important part of the post is really this part:
included in the bill of sale is a provision that prohibits the property from being operated as a Motion Picture Theatre for a twenty year period.
That is the really unfortunate part of the post, and perhaps the one worth discussing.