Bow-Tie Warner Theater
190 E. Ridgewood Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NJ
07450
190 E. Ridgewood Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NJ
07450
9 people
favorited this theater
Opened in 1932, this Art Deco style neighborhood palace was originally part of the Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp. The Warner Theatre later became part of the Stanley-Warner chain and then the merged units of RKO-Stanley-Warner.
As the decades worn on, the Warner Theatre lost its grand, signature Warner sign. It was twinned on June 26, 1978. In 1981, Cineplex Odeon purchased the theater and converted it into a four screen house on May 23, 1984. Operated by Clearview Cinemas circuit since 1998, in June 2013, Bow-Tie Cinemas took over, as that chain took most Clearview locations. The Warner Quad offers a healthy diet of first run commercial and art house fare and its asymmetrical Art Deco style facade continues to highlight Ridgewood Avenue.
Contributed by
Cinema Treasures
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Recent comments (view all 27 comments)
Did this theatre roadshow “Ben Hur” in 1960?
I have memories of the Warner going back to at least 1964! It was really a beautiful theater at one time. Does anyone know what happened to the clock in the auditorium that advertised the hardware store across the street? I’d pay some real money for that!
I grew up in Ridgewood and have fond memories of the Warner and its grand marquee with yellow and white chaser lights. The YMCA would take a group of kids there on Saturday mornings to see cartoons. Lots of fun for 50 cents. Also saw many movies there on its big screen. There was only one screen then. The theater had a balcony too. I remember seeing “The High and Mighty” and “Spencer’s Mountain”, two movies I still recall in detail. Good memories. Glad to see that it’s still open.
Yeah, it’s amazing how many movies I remember seeing there! So simple on the outside; so opulant on the inside.
Saw my first Bond film (“Goldfinger”) at the Warner just after I turned 13. Many of the biblical epics of the late 50s/early 60s showed there, so there’s a good chance that “Ben-Hur” was one of them.
I remember seeing “Goldfinger” there too! But it was in a double-feature with “Dr. No,” so it was probably a second release. They used to do that in the days before DVDs.
I remember seeing “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” here in September 1984 (for the fourth and final time that year), and also “Last of the Mohicans” in October 1992 when I returned to the area for a visit. (In 1984, I lived in Saddle River with my family – I also attended Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck – and in 1992, I was living in the Detroit suburb of Southfield, Michigan.)
Became a twin on June 26th, 1978. No ad found in the Newark newspaper.
And four screens on May 23rd, 1984. Ad in photo section.
Please update, it became a twin on June 16, 1978. Just uploaded ad from The Bergen Record