Windsor Theatre

Here is my final addition of theatres, I have no more…the Windsor was one of the great Bronx Theatres…large inside and had vaudeville, etc …in later years it showed three movies instead of a double feature…I was about 15 and went to one…and got home so late I thought my father was going to kill me…

The Google Map picture that now pops up in this post’s heading shows a stretch of Bainbridge Avenue, too far east of the Windsor to show any of the theater’s building. The posting needs a gizmo to allow a viewer to navigate around the block and fix the correct view. The Windsor’s façade still faces East Kingsbridge Road.

Shortly after the Broadway production of “Arsenic and Old Lace” closed in 1944, it toured NYC’s Subway Circuit theatres, including the Windsor Theatre in the Bronx. For my 12th birthday, the theatrical producer, Carol M. Sax, arranged for his secretary (my sister) to take me to see the comedy play at the Windsor. The play starred Josephine Hull, Jean Adair and Boris Karloff, the same cast that appeared in the Broadway production. Mr. Sax also arranged for me to go backstage after curtain and meet, his friend Josephine Hull. She was as sweet in person as she was in her role as Abby Brewster. She chatted with me for a while, introduced me to Jean Adair, and then gave me a goodbye kiss for my birthday. When the movie, starring Cary Grant, opened later that year at the Strand Theatre, I was thrilled to see Josephine Hull once again, this time on the big screen.

Hi Lesthezuck- thanks for the kind comments about the Lido Rivera Restaurant. My father was one of the owners and my uncle was a waiter there. I’m wondering if you’re someone I would remember or vice versa. Who was your friend? I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks, Mr. Harris. You’re doubtless right. I was a teenage “action” movie freak. The Windsor was doubtless far too sophisticated for my tastes, so I just blanked all memories of it. I often caught the Number 4 bus to go home at its stop just around the corner, at Fordham and Bainbridge, so I must have seen the Windsor countless times, but….

One of my first theatre experiences was at the Windsor, and I still have the program. It was A Streetcar Named Desire, seen during the week beginning June 27, 1950, according to the program. It starred Richard Kiley as Stanley Kowalski, years before he became famous. Others in the cast were Polly Rowles as Blanche, Norma Connolly as Stella, and Harry Kersey as Mitch.
The following production, as noted in the program, starting July 4, was The Madwoman of Chaillot, starring Joan Croydon.

..that was a typo…it should be fordham…. also, my frien’s family owned the lido rivera restaurant next to the windosr theater..a very classy restaurant at the time…later on, Jahn’s opened up across the street..great ice cream place……..but not as famous as Krum's
on the Grand Concourse……..

BronxGuy – I remember seeing a stage show at the Windsor either very late 40’s or early 50’s. Only act I can remember was a group of Chinese meen kicking barrels back & forth on the stage. Can’t recall any films.
Bobmarshall

Sometime around 1950, the Windsor stage came back to life from their usual policy of double feature movies for MAE WEST in DIAMOND LIL. I was about 11 years old and did not have the money for a live show.

To view some interesting “then” and “now” pics of the Windsor, click here:
View link

Take note that the old Con Ed building, a neighborhood landmark which can be seen in the background of both pics, was just TORN DOWN this summer to make room for a new library building. Also, the Bronx BBQ restaurant, which for many years was located in the sidewalk-level space of the building, appears to have closed in just the past couple weeks. I’ve eaten there recently and have to say the quality of food and service had gone downhill.