Ridgewood Theatre

Lost, yeah, I wasn’t sure of the numbers vs the configuration. All I remember (hopefully correctly) is that when in the lobby:
-the left most doors went to the old staircase in the back of the original full auditorium, and that was the left balcony (facing the screen).
-the middle doors went to the left orchestra theater
-the right most doors went to the right orchestra
-the old balcony stairway in the lobby went to the middle and rightmost balcony.

Robert, I agree, the Ridgewood will HAVE to renovate in order to compete. As for Atlas, it’s not “that” far. When I was a teenager, I “abandoned” the Ridgewood Theater to go to the Midway, Elmwood, and Continental Theaters in Forest Hills (as did many people from Ridgewood go to Forest Hills), and that was a heck of a lot further than Glendale….

And and just to add, the theater 3 stairway to the left balcony, I believe was in the back of the auditorium on the left if facing the stage (when one theater). When one theater, one balcony stairway was int he lobby (like you see in Ken’s photo), and the other was actiually in the auditorium, I believe in the back left when you walked into the main orchestra level (when it was one theater).

Peter K – you are definitely one of the nostalgic writers I was talking about – your memory is amazing!

LostMemory – you are feeling what I and others feel about this site
(Sorry Warren) – the Ridgewood & the Madison theatres are our common memory which in turn links us to the neighborhood and each other. Noone else from outside the areas understands this sentimental journey we go on when we enter this site, it connects people to wonderful, shared remembrances. I was on a trip to Florida last month and while doing some chores in my Condo, my husband called me and said come on down by the pool – there was a “girl” originally from Ridgewood who lived about 3 blocks from me on DeKalb & Irving (Brooklyn side) across from the old Robert Hall — well this stranger and I talked about Ridgewood for over an hour (as I proceeded to get very sunburned) – we understand that special bond of growing up in the same neighborhood in the sixties. She knew Fr. Kelly from St. Brigid and the Kirshbomb(Sp?) family/gang.

So keep up the memories and Long Live the Ridgewood Theatre for bringing us together!

Warren, having both the Ridgewood and RKO Madison theaters within three blocks of my home for most of my childhood and teen years it is very difficult to separate the theaters themselves from the rest of my life. They were an important part of the experience of living in this community.
I did not know that it is not acceptable to reminisce about anything here except things that stricly pertain to the theater or what happened to you while you were within those walls. Personally I believe that our various neighborhood stories (which cause you inconvenience) prove how much the Ridgewood and Madison Theaters were ingrained into our everyday lives.
So…is this website supposed to be only about the brick theater building or also about the hundreds of thousands who patronized it and these snapshots of everyday life during the theater’s history? I believe these stories help show the fabric of the neighborhoods the theaters served and puts them into context. Thank you Broadway, Lost Memory, Kenroe, PKoch, AprilW and all the rest of you for helping me reinforce my memories of the theaters, the stores around them and growing up in this small town in the big city in the 60’s.
Regards from Billy C

You are right. NOW is the time to try and save the Ridgewood. Even if it doesn’t close. Once closed, the building is much more at risk, and it’s already late to try and save it (think of the Trylon, and what happned to it in the final hours).
And from the photos, Ken Roe posted, it’s still in decent shape, and at least minimally maintained, if not better. Once close, it’s a much harder battle. It may not even close, but now is when we need to hear the “emergency bells”, and try and work on it, not when it’s closed, and left to the elements.

And I thought I’d throw this in quick about the RKO Keith’s Richmond Hill while we are talking about landmarking or preservation. If you go to that section, you will see that Ken Roe just posted somewhat current photos of it, and it’s very much intact. Thankfully, the current owners seem to see the gem they have, and at least minimally maintain it, and really haven’t harmed it at all while still being able to use it for the use they are using it for (Bingo hall and flea market). While it’s a shame it can’t be a theater currently, and of course it’s not maintained the way it would if it was, they really have made great strides to at least keep all the old features there, right down to the chandeliers still hanging.
See link:
/theaters/3972_0_2_0_C/
Now is also the time to save THAT Queens theater. It can go on as it has been used as the current owners are, but even the interior is basically intact, and should remain that way. They even worked with the restored marquee the movie company uncovered when filming in Richmond Hill. That shows they care about their building, but even so, it should be landmarked, as you don’t know what future owners will bring.

Wow, they quoted a lot of our comments from the site here! From how the theater had traditionally not always been well kept, to how the theater is near and dear to many of us, and right down to the Energizer Bunny comment!!!
Let’s all hope the Ridgewood can survive the new multiplex. But as the article suggests, the RIdgewood management can’t chose the status quo. They will have to find a nitch, or at least renovate.

I’m just amazed the staff writer waded though the hundreds of comments in this theater section.

Thank you to KenRoe for those pictures of the Ridgewood Theater. Even though they are pictures of the theater today, they really bring me back!

Very insightful post Lost Memory — I really enjoy this site and the other nostalgic writers on it – thanks for your/our memories!

Does anyone remember if the Beatle movie a “Hard Days Night” played at the Ridgewood or the Madison theater? I tend to think it was the Ridgewood but can’t say for sure. It was one of the most fun times at a movie. All the girls screamed their heads off and you couldn’t hear anything, but my friends and I watched it at least three times in a row that day and heard it the last time when most of the children’s section emptied out (we ducked the matron to stay later!)

I agree totally LostMemory. Since the theater was just one of the elements of our community it is impossible to totally separate it from our daily life in the neighborhood. For example, it is hard for me to think of the RKO Madison Theater (the one I seemed to go to most often) without thinking of Gottlieb’s, Lee Fong’s, Bickford’s (and later McDonald’s) and best of all Koletty’s Ice Cream Parlor at the same time. These neighborhood places were often part of the experience and went hand in hand.
I left the area in 1990 after a divorce. I now have a home in South Amboy NJ, which looks alot like Glendale with freestanding houses built closely together. It reminded me of where I grew up and I took to the area right away. It is also a fairly quick ride to my family in Queens.
I appreciate this board and the opportunity to keep the memories of my ‘hometown’ very much alive. Regards to all…Billy C.

Peter, you are so right. Just look what a neighborhood theater has caused here, one of the most popular theater threads on this site, at least certainly rivaling many of the “famous” theaters in popularity on the site.
It’s strange, we are all seperate people, yet in passing, the plaster in that lobby has seen us all, and our joys and happy moments we spent both before and after a movie walking in and out of that lobby, and think of all the countless other people that lobby has touched, both past and present. The movies have come and gone, and some movies I don’t even remember, but all the memories do flood back if I think hard enough, especially when a photo such as those spark buried memories.
I can close my eyes, and actually visualize sitting in the Ridgewood Theater, and can actually see the surroundings if I look had enough. I can see them opening and closing the curtains between the previews and the feature. I remember the cartoons before the movies (yes, they still did that in the 70’s!). I remember a lot of small details. I remember later years, the individual cut up auditoriums, especially the rightmost balcony one (if facing the screen), and the lower left auditorium. I remember looking up at the ceiling, and seeing semi-circles in plaster (that used to be full circles when it was one theater).
Ahh, the memories. It’s way more than plaster and bricks. The building is alove with all our memories.

Peter, we posted at exactly the same time!
Anyway, yes, if I hadn’t seen the recent scaled down schedule for the Ridgewood, and had just seen those photos instead, I would so optimistic for the theater’s future, as at least the lobby looks great, and well cared for. like I said before, it’s better and cleaner than I remember it.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the theater will continue to thrive….

Bway, your car thefts read quite gruesome. Like a Stephen King or Clive Barker horror story : “Blood Car” ! Like King’s novel, “Christine”. Ironically, I remember going with my dad and the younger of my two uncles to shop for a new car for my uncle and his family, at this inexpensive dealership near Atlantic Avenue and Eastern Pkwy.

Speaking of the Ridgewood library : I was there Friday November 10 1989, and a black man named Mr. Wilson who had just started working there, also just found out that his car, parked across the street at P.S. 93, had just been broken into. Welcome to Ridgewood !

I have always felt that having a car in NYC was more of a liability than it was an asset.

I, too, have gotten used to suburban quiet and space. No graffiti, no boom boxes, no car alarms. Moving back into NYC would require some re-adjustment, though I still work in NYC.

Thanks for the additional photo, KenRoe. It makes me, too, want to return to the Ridgewood Theater and see a movie there once again.

I wonder how the Ridgewood Theater can look so great and yet be open so little compared to its busier, earlier days.