Ridgewood Folly Theatre

Myrtle Avenue,
Ridgewood, NY 11385

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Showing 1 - 25 of 88 comments

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on November 3, 2009 at 2:12 pm

What a Folly about the Folly!

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on November 3, 2009 at 2:07 pm

Address Numbers can change the old address you have tried may not even be good anymore. There are a lot of posts on this site and we still do not know were this movie house was.

Bway
Bway on April 19, 2009 at 10:28 am

Yes, Myrtle Ave should be taken off, as the location is still not 100% known. It should just say “Ridgewood, NY” for now, until we get the actual street address.

EcRocker
EcRocker on February 9, 2009 at 4:13 pm

Hey Bway from what I was reading it sounds like this whole thread was a goof from the get go.

Bway
Bway on February 9, 2009 at 12:51 pm

The Ridgewood Folly Theater was a real theater that showed movies, but it’s location is still a mystery. Myrtle Ave should be removed, as that was misinformation, just as the “Queens Historical Society” comments were a goof.

EcRocker
EcRocker on January 29, 2009 at 7:43 pm

The Paradise and the Kings have lots in common unfotunatley one of thos things is that they are both in neighborhoods that have been run down. I am more familiare with the area where the Kings is now. When it was in it’s hey dey it was in a mostly white working class neighborhood. Now it is run down. Most of the stores nearby are closed or run down as well. Mostly West Indian and Jamaicans live there with scattered bits of Korean and Vietnamese. Not to many white people left. The same can be said about the area where the Paradise is.

I was watching a news story on line where some guy promoted a show andused Joe Gentie’s Ticketmaster account for ticket sales. When he called Ticketmaster to get his money he was told that since it was no his accoun that he had to get the procedes from Joe Gentile’s company The ammount was about $240,000. Also on that same report were others who had problems collecting money or obtaining deposits back for events canceled by the owners. The Bronx Boro president seemed all gung ho about the the restoration and reopening. SOmeone posted a link to the Bronx Ball 2007. You would never know there was trouble in Paradise from that video.

EcRocker
EcRocker on January 29, 2009 at 6:04 pm

I have to say one thing about this site. When I try to go to sleep at night rather then counting sheep i try to go back in time and remember the times that i was in most of the theatres I had been to. i would love to go up to the Bronx to see the Paridise but from everything I have been reading there is trouble in Paradise. $25 million to restore it and now it is all going to waste. The interior is beautiful and reminds of the Loews 46th street which is now a furniture store. From what I gather the Kings had a simalar amospheric interior. As far as I am cooncerned NYU should be taken to court and be forced to tear down that building they call a dorm and rebuild the Academy of Music on it’s original foundation. It did have a Mighty Wurlitzer organ but it was sold and removed in 1976. I wish I had the moiney to just drive to all the theatres that are still standing.

EcRocker
EcRocker on January 29, 2009 at 5:38 pm

I have had it happend quite a few times. It’s gotten to the point where before I hit submit I copy it so if I get that I log back in and paste it. Is there really a Queens Historical Society or is it Hysterical Society?

EcRocker
EcRocker on January 29, 2009 at 4:56 pm

Sheeeesh. Do you ever sleep? It seems like no matter where I go in here you are everywhere. LOL The Ridgewood Bill’s “Follys” When is the picture database going to be functional again and why is it there are time when I come in here showing my self logged in and then I post a message informing me that I need to be logged in to post? it happend to me twice today.

EcRocker
EcRocker on January 29, 2009 at 3:46 pm

WOW after reading this thread I tried to stand up and got dizzy from the mass of info and missinformation. Has anyone really found out the real deal. i must say i had a good chuckle reading all this.

Bway
Bway on June 6, 2006 at 8:02 am

Well, it’s been a while, and I’m trying to get back on the email list for this theater anyway…..
So over a year later, did we ever find out where the Ridgewood Folly Theater was?……

Bway
Bway on March 28, 2005 at 9:24 am

Oh please. Have fun and try not to take an internet message board too seriously.
See you at the movies.

Bway
Bway on March 28, 2005 at 7:52 am

I am going against what I said would be the last messgage I will post about this theater, but anyway….
The proof could one day come in the form of proof written in a reputible book or newspaper article, the city records are not necessary, and have been exhausted on this topic anyway. But I really don’t care either way if we ever find out….it’s not one of life’s great mysteries….

As for “Eddie” and “Tom”, neither of which are real names, they are both the same personn anyway. There is only one person manipulating here, not a group of them. His style of writing is the same in all the nonsense posts. For example, when “Otto” first appeared, he used his “formal” writing style, then sometimes he would write Otto in the “Eddie” style, as has been seen more recently. He does this for all his aliases.
I already believe I know which regular this “Tom” person is, but since I can’t prove it, I would not publish it (and of course I could be wrong, so I would never want to embarssas an innocent person). Although, I believe he already slipped up in some of his posts incriminating himself. But that’s fine, I don’t care as long as most of the time he posts valid information, which he does. It keeps it interesting. There’s just so much the same people can talk about the same theaters….so it’s all good.

Bway
Bway on March 28, 2005 at 7:13 am

In this case, I don’t agree. There is no doubt that the Ridgewood Folly existed. I have seen the photo posted by Bryan above in a few places, and of course in the Times Newsweekly Newspaper a few times. The controversy is not whether it existed, but rather where it existed in Ridgewood. At this point I need to see positive proof of where it existed (proof that may never come). I will not accept the fact as truth that the Ridgewood Folly and the Grand View are one in the same until I see written proof of it, from somewhere or someone other than a poster here that says so – the same person that then sometimes goes on to sign in here under a different screen name and then posts nonsense about making out with Mae West in a balcony, or the, pretending to be “SG Cogan and Sally” and then the messages he posted above in this thread under aliases, and all the other nonsense he posts here sometimes.

Furthermore, if that positive proof would come up that the Grand View and the Folly are one in the same (and it hasn’t other than this person saying so, someone who has lost all credibility by his various actions here), and then it should be the Grand View theater to be removed, not the Ridgewood Folly, but it’s too early to talk about whether either should be removed, as the proof that they are the same has not materialized.

That is all I will say about this theater or this situation, until the proof one day materializes, if ever.

Bway
Bway on March 27, 2005 at 5:56 pm

Perhaps, but I want to see written proof that the Ridgewood Folly theater was on Woodward Ave at Woodbine St before believing it for certain. To much time, both productive and nonsense, has been spent on this theater to loose the information in this thread, and when I see in print on a reputible website or book, etc that the Ridgewood Folly and the Grand View (please not to be confused with the “Grandview Theater” also in Ridgewood and totally unrelated to either of these theaters) are one in the same. I have not seen this yet. We have photographic proof that the Ridgewood Folly existed with that name, and that photo is linked at the beginning of this thread from the quite reputible Times Newsweekly newspaper.
No hasty decisions invoving this theater or page should be made without absolute reputible proof. And while I do know you have added greatly to this site “Tom”, and you are knowlegdeble, you are the same person that added this theater as a “spoof” (and yes it was a real theater) and other times posted ridiculous posts about making out with Mae West in the RKO Madison’s balcony among other nonsense under scores of aliases, so I am not going to take your word for this without proof, and I would assume the webmasters of this site wouldn’t either.

Bway
Bway on February 10, 2005 at 11:17 am

I’m glad you benefited from all our research and legwork. I (as did others) had a great time while doing it. Unfortunately, we uncovered most of the mysteries and history the area holds, but I’m sure there are a few more here and there.

iemola1
iemola1 on February 5, 2005 at 4:43 pm

Boy, just finished reading all of the above an I’m not sure about posting here since Bway’s got certain criterias that my posts may lack.
But one thing’s for sure: there are a hell of a lot of us Ridgewood-ites and I’m one who’s sort of tippy-toeing around checking out the movie theaters of my past, walking under the marquee of the WAGNER, along Wyckoff and Myrtle Avenues, past the Parthenon and under the El, where you could see the RKO MADISON and further up, The RIDGEWOOD.
Sorry, Bway, but all of your hard fought battles about locations and street addresses are all done for me. For my benefit. I don’t care what drives you to do what you do, I reap the rewards because I’m new here, I’m intrigued by all this love of old theaters and because I’m reminded that there were many theaters in Ridgewood that were no longer theaters by the time I was a little kid in the late-Fifties. I had forgotten about the GRANDVIEW until I saw the picture posted, and I remember that Funeral Home and it all came back. And the Robert Hall on DeKalb and Irving. That was a theater once, too. I guess I’ll be getting out of everybody’s way. Just thought I’d drop in and say, Hi!

Bway
Bway on October 22, 2004 at 9:19 am

That is probably true for the Ridgewood and Madison Theater pages, and there are countless “real” people there, but look at the group of “non-regulars” on this page, and the Grandview Page, and most of the messages from them are kooky.
All the people on this page, with maybe a few exceptions (like Bklyn-Queens and cdjv, and some others) are the same person with a different alias, and again, I apologize if I am wrong, but click on most of the people on this page, and see what they responded too, always on the day they joined, and then you never hear from them again. Not to mention that all these “people” have the same writing style, and that goes for:
bonnie, SG Cogan (multiple accounts with the variations on the same name), Sally (also multiple accounts with variations of spaces or dashes or periods added), Ridgewood Bill, Stan Franz, John Franz, kodak, movie critic, oscar, dan novak, kaspar, and many others.

Again, I have no way to prove this, and am sorry for the accusation if I am wrong, but it looks suspiscious.

Bway
Bway on October 22, 2004 at 8:53 am

I have a feeling “MovieCritic” is KodakDude, aka Sally, aka RidgewoodBill, aka Eddie, aka SG Cogan, aka Mr Franz, aka Edwinyost, etc, etc are possibly all the same person
I feel bad if I am wrong, but I can’t get over the fact that it seems like “someone” is having “fun” with the Ridgewood Theaters. It just strikes me as suspiscious that “new” people come along (that you never hear from again), and always post about the same few theaters, and always ones in Ridgewood.
I may be wrong, and am sorry if I am, but it just looks suspiscious.

That being said….back to the movies.

Carlo
Carlo on October 21, 2004 at 12:01 pm

the folly opened in 1910 and closed in 1915 it was located on grandview avenue but no specific address is known

kodakdude
kodakdude on October 17, 2004 at 11:04 am

it wasn’t on myrtle ave it was on granview

Bway
Bway on October 15, 2004 at 11:51 am

I agree.
Actually, a few of us in private email have specualted about 590 Grandview for a while now, but can’t confirm that, so I am not saying anything.
But yes, I agree, Myrtle should be taken off for now.

EdWood
EdWood on October 15, 2004 at 10:31 am

The game is over. The Folly theatre was located at 590 GrandView ave. How do we know well the old newspaper ad said so. Enjoy your new theatre folks.

carmine
carmine on October 11, 2004 at 6:05 am

There are some people talking about this house on another board and they give the same numbers that Yost gives.

EdwinYost
EdwinYost on October 8, 2004 at 11:45 am

Ridgewood Folly Theatre
1910-1918
590 GrandView avenue
Owner Mr Jochum
Photo taken opening day