Good god, conversion to a “garage” would be even worse than the fate of the Madison Theater’s massacre conversion to retail.
Panzer, the theater you are thinking of is the Michigan nTheater in Detroit. Yes, the Ridgewood doesn’t deserve NEAR this sort of descecrtation after being able to survive this long.
Here’s a link to photos of the Michigan Theater, it’s heartbreaking to see:
Great work “possibilities”, I would love to see this plan come to fruit.
Georgy Girl, where was this place in the 60’s you mention, where the Harbor Crab Bar is now?
Anyway, as for theaters, the Granada Theater was midway between Railroad Ave and West Ave, it was torn down when they built the court building on the corner of West and Main. Is that where the sloped floor store was?
Georgy Girl, the La Strada Restaurant used to be further over in the shopping center. They had to move the restaurant when Waldbaums expanded about 10 years ago, and at that time, they moved next to Howard’s Cafe, in the old theater space. Howards Cafe also had been in another store in the same shopping center, until Rockbottom expanded, and needed the old Howards Cafe space, that’s when Howards moved into the old theater space. You are correct, it was a carpet store before all that.
RVB, the auto store you are talking about west of 112 on the north side of Main is AID Auto stores, but that building is a new building built specifically for them about 15 or so years ago. The auto store georgy girl is talking about has to be an older store that no longer exists. The old CVS site is at the foot of Route 112, and that was a county liquidators before that. The drug store propr to CVS tore down whatever building was there before to build the drug store which CVS eventually took over. They have since moved out, and it’s now a Advance Auto Parts store.
I remember the Sunwave Theater in the Waldbaum’s shopping center at Waverly and Sunrise. Currently Howards Cafe Bar and an Italian Restaurant occupy the former theater space. From the outside you can still see it’s theater past, if not only for the higher part of the building where Howards Bar is.
The building’s facade, still shows it’s theater past quite evidently judging by this street view of the old front. I guess the whole lobby front was preserved, but opened up to a sort of courtyard and parking lot now where the theater auditorium used to be?
The Madison St side of the Ridgewood has looked like that as long as I can remember going back into the 70’s. It was never a nice block on the backside of the Ridgewood Theater. Even when the Ridgewood was still running in full force as a one scree theater in the 70’s, the back side along Madison St always had broken glass all over the sidewalk. But then again, even the parks of the city were strewn in glass in the 70’s. Two things changed that….the changeover of soda containers from glass to plastic, and the bottle refund law in the early 80’s. Glass bottles were no longer left on the streets as they were in the past to smash all over the place. Kids must have thrown them all the time against the back side of the Ridgewood Theater along Madison St, as I remember glass being everywhere there, along with trash in the 70;’s.
Wow, that is shocking. It’s come a long way since when the banners were up saying “Coming soon: Cinema de Lux”, when they were supposed to build a new theater in front of the old in the parking lot.
Ironic it’s going to “Lowe’s”, even if it’s the wrong spelling for the movie chain, haha.
So I guess that means that the Balcony would be made part of the main theater again? They could have the downstairs as a performing arts center, with the three movie screens in the balcony area theaters. Or does the Performing arts center include the balcony being made part of the theater again?
Oh good, like I said, I had a strange thing happen a few weeks ago, where photos didn’t show up, and a system restore solved the problem. I never figured out what it was.
John, I think it has to be a problem with your computer, as I see the photos fine. You also commented about my photo in the Parthenon Theater “not coming through”, so I think you may have a problem with your computer. You may want to do a system restore, I had a similar problem like that some weeks ago, and that fixed the problem. It’s definitely on your end.
I have been so busy lately that I didn’t have time to log onto Cinematreasures for almost a month! Anyway, I forgot all about posting this photo! I believe I found it on the Brooklyn Library digital images collection.
Here’s an ad I found in a program from the Colonial Theater from January 1904….it’s an ad for a play “Mother Goose” which was playing at the New Amsterdam Theater the same week…
I believe that’s how they were able to keep the theater “open” eben during the time it was being multiplexed. They closed off the balcony probably during the night, and while they were doing that, the main orchestra was still open. Then once the the balcony was closed off and up and running, they would show the movie up there, and were able to close off the down stairs, and split that into two. Then they were operating the three auditoriums. When they decided to 5-plex it, they closed the balcony theater again to cut that into three, and showed movies in the two downstairs theaters. So it’s easy to see how it “continually” ran, right through the multiplexing.
I believe that’s how they were able to keep the theater “open” eben during the time it was being multiplexed. They closed off the balcony probably during the night, and while they were doing that, the main orchestra was still open. Then once the the balcony was closed off and up and running, they would show the movie up there, and were able to close off the down stairs, and split that into two. Then they were operating the three auditoriums. When they decided to 5-plex it, they closed the balcony theater again to cut that into three, and showed movies in the two downstairs theaters. So it’s easy to see how it “continually” ran, right through the multiplexing.
Originally, I believe the orchestra level was made into two theaters, and the whole balcony was a third screen. A couple years later, they further multiplexed it by cutting the balcony into three.
By the way, the balcony was theater 1, the downstairs was theater 2 and 3. When it was 5-plexed, the downstairs remained 2 and 3, and the balcony was 1, 4 and 5. I don’t remember which side was 1, and which was 5 however.
Thanks John! Those are the same photos they had in the print article…it’s nice to finally get an interior photo of the Ridgewood posted here. I know there were some interior photos posted while it was operating yet, but this one shows some of the once hidden ornamentation behind the walls. It seems a lot of the inside is still all there.
Now if ONLY we could get a historic photo of the auditorium….I don’t know why getting a photo of that would be so hard to obtain….
The Timesnewsweekly has a LONG awaited interior photo of the Ridgewood, or at least one of it’s now uncovered and exposed Juliet balconies next to the proscenium. It’s in color, and you can see where they ripped away a fake drop ceiling which partially covered it, and I would guess a sheetrock wall which covered over the ornamental plaster. It was a long overdue sight to behold! Now if only someone could come up with a historic interior photo, it’s amazing that no one has been able to dig one up yet….
Anyway, the online version of the Times Newsweekly’s April 8 version should be up by Thursday or Friday, hopefully that will include this great photo…
Good god, conversion to a “garage” would be even worse than the fate of the Madison Theater’s massacre conversion to retail.
Panzer, the theater you are thinking of is the Michigan nTheater in Detroit. Yes, the Ridgewood doesn’t deserve NEAR this sort of descecrtation after being able to survive this long.
Here’s a link to photos of the Michigan Theater, it’s heartbreaking to see:
View link
Here’s also a link to it’s CT page:
/theaters/1963/
Here’s a link for the Granada Theater:
/theaters/7424/
Great work “possibilities”, I would love to see this plan come to fruit.
Georgy Girl, where was this place in the 60’s you mention, where the Harbor Crab Bar is now?
Anyway, as for theaters, the Granada Theater was midway between Railroad Ave and West Ave, it was torn down when they built the court building on the corner of West and Main. Is that where the sloped floor store was?
I still can’t believe the needlessly and deliberately destroyed the Commodore and tore it down. And for what?
Georgy Girl, the La Strada Restaurant used to be further over in the shopping center. They had to move the restaurant when Waldbaums expanded about 10 years ago, and at that time, they moved next to Howard’s Cafe, in the old theater space. Howards Cafe also had been in another store in the same shopping center, until Rockbottom expanded, and needed the old Howards Cafe space, that’s when Howards moved into the old theater space. You are correct, it was a carpet store before all that.
RVB, the auto store you are talking about west of 112 on the north side of Main is AID Auto stores, but that building is a new building built specifically for them about 15 or so years ago. The auto store georgy girl is talking about has to be an older store that no longer exists. The old CVS site is at the foot of Route 112, and that was a county liquidators before that. The drug store propr to CVS tore down whatever building was there before to build the drug store which CVS eventually took over. They have since moved out, and it’s now a Advance Auto Parts store.
I remember the Sunwave Theater in the Waldbaum’s shopping center at Waverly and Sunrise. Currently Howards Cafe Bar and an Italian Restaurant occupy the former theater space. From the outside you can still see it’s theater past, if not only for the higher part of the building where Howards Bar is.
Thanks for your post, it’s great to know the theater is in good hands.
The building’s facade, still shows it’s theater past quite evidently judging by this street view of the old front. I guess the whole lobby front was preserved, but opened up to a sort of courtyard and parking lot now where the theater auditorium used to be?
Click here for Google Street View
The Madison St side of the Ridgewood has looked like that as long as I can remember going back into the 70’s. It was never a nice block on the backside of the Ridgewood Theater. Even when the Ridgewood was still running in full force as a one scree theater in the 70’s, the back side along Madison St always had broken glass all over the sidewalk. But then again, even the parks of the city were strewn in glass in the 70’s. Two things changed that….the changeover of soda containers from glass to plastic, and the bottle refund law in the early 80’s. Glass bottles were no longer left on the streets as they were in the past to smash all over the place. Kids must have thrown them all the time against the back side of the Ridgewood Theater along Madison St, as I remember glass being everywhere there, along with trash in the 70;’s.
Wow, that is shocking. It’s come a long way since when the banners were up saying “Coming soon: Cinema de Lux”, when they were supposed to build a new theater in front of the old in the parking lot.
Ironic it’s going to “Lowe’s”, even if it’s the wrong spelling for the movie chain, haha.
So I guess that means that the Balcony would be made part of the main theater again? They could have the downstairs as a performing arts center, with the three movie screens in the balcony area theaters. Or does the Performing arts center include the balcony being made part of the theater again?
Oh good, like I said, I had a strange thing happen a few weeks ago, where photos didn’t show up, and a system restore solved the problem. I never figured out what it was.
John, I think it has to be a problem with your computer, as I see the photos fine. You also commented about my photo in the Parthenon Theater “not coming through”, so I think you may have a problem with your computer. You may want to do a system restore, I had a similar problem like that some weeks ago, and that fixed the problem. It’s definitely on your end.
Great photos, thanks. I have never seen the Brooklyn Library image showing a side view of the two layers of Juliet Balconies.
I have been so busy lately that I didn’t have time to log onto Cinematreasures for almost a month! Anyway, I forgot all about posting this photo! I believe I found it on the Brooklyn Library digital images collection.
Here’s a photo of the Subway Theater:
Click Here for Photo
Here’s a rare view of the Parthenon Theater:
Click here for photo
Here’s an ad I found in a program from the Colonial Theater from January 1904….it’s an ad for a play “Mother Goose” which was playing at the New Amsterdam Theater the same week…
Click for scan
I believe that’s how they were able to keep the theater “open” eben during the time it was being multiplexed. They closed off the balcony probably during the night, and while they were doing that, the main orchestra was still open. Then once the the balcony was closed off and up and running, they would show the movie up there, and were able to close off the down stairs, and split that into two. Then they were operating the three auditoriums. When they decided to 5-plex it, they closed the balcony theater again to cut that into three, and showed movies in the two downstairs theaters. So it’s easy to see how it “continually” ran, right through the multiplexing.
I believe that’s how they were able to keep the theater “open” eben during the time it was being multiplexed. They closed off the balcony probably during the night, and while they were doing that, the main orchestra was still open. Then once the the balcony was closed off and up and running, they would show the movie up there, and were able to close off the down stairs, and split that into two. Then they were operating the three auditoriums. When they decided to 5-plex it, they closed the balcony theater again to cut that into three, and showed movies in the two downstairs theaters. So it’s easy to see how it “continually” ran, right through the multiplexing.
Originally, I believe the orchestra level was made into two theaters, and the whole balcony was a third screen. A couple years later, they further multiplexed it by cutting the balcony into three.
By the way, the balcony was theater 1, the downstairs was theater 2 and 3. When it was 5-plexed, the downstairs remained 2 and 3, and the balcony was 1, 4 and 5. I don’t remember which side was 1, and which was 5 however.
Thanks John! Those are the same photos they had in the print article…it’s nice to finally get an interior photo of the Ridgewood posted here. I know there were some interior photos posted while it was operating yet, but this one shows some of the once hidden ornamentation behind the walls. It seems a lot of the inside is still all there.
Now if ONLY we could get a historic photo of the auditorium….I don’t know why getting a photo of that would be so hard to obtain….
Photo above courtesty of Warren G Harris.
The Timesnewsweekly has a LONG awaited interior photo of the Ridgewood, or at least one of it’s now uncovered and exposed Juliet balconies next to the proscenium. It’s in color, and you can see where they ripped away a fake drop ceiling which partially covered it, and I would guess a sheetrock wall which covered over the ornamental plaster. It was a long overdue sight to behold! Now if only someone could come up with a historic interior photo, it’s amazing that no one has been able to dig one up yet….
Anyway, the online version of the Times Newsweekly’s April 8 version should be up by Thursday or Friday, hopefully that will include this great photo…
Here’s an old photo of the Folly Theater:
Click Here for Photo