Bow-Tie Warner Theater
190 E. Ridgewood Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NJ
07450
190 E. Ridgewood Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NJ
07450
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Here is another photo:
http://tinyurl.com/esn6t
Nice night photo:
http://www.pbase.com/image/29026584
I worked in The Warner for a number of years in the late 80s and early 90s. The stage and screen frame were still intact behind the current screens. Fortunately, plans to add 2 more screens, which would have structurally destroyed the stage, never went ahead. This may be in part to the economic and political turmoil Cineplex was suffering at the time.
The mural needs restoration as years of popcorn oil, cigarette smoke (no longer allowed) and rain leakage has taken a toll. Some of the door frames are mohoganny, hidden beneath layers of paint. We talked of re-exposing them, but some sections had been replaced with cheaper wood. We did expose the black marble baseboard that also spent years covered in a terracotta paint.
There is an underground stream beneath the theatre that formed the coolant of the original air-conditioning. The catwalks still exist above the upstairs ceiling, which lead you to the current air conditioning units.
The upstairs theatres were modified from the original balcony. The Warner was originally planned to become a twin, but during renovation the idea of placing a wall down the middle sealed its fate as a quad.
The original chandalier still hung in the lobby, while I was there, though its glass pieces had been replaced with translucent plastic.
I grew up in Ridgewood, and remember the Warner before they split it into a quad. It had a huge auditorium and I seem to remember a overhanging balcony. At that time the large vertical “Warner” sign was still out in front. I knew several people that worked there so I got to see a number of the back rooms and out-of-the-way places. I remmeber touring the projection booth where the two machines were aimed down at a steep angle. I remember a room above the marquee where there was a huge motorized switching unit that used to drive the animated chase lights on the marquee and Warner sign. I also rememeber the area above the ceiling where there were catwalks to access the ceiling lights when they needed changing. It was a grand theatre, but ultimately fell to the ‘multiplex’ craze.
This theatre opened in 1930, and was designed by Thomas Lamb. The original proscenium is still in tact behind the ground level screens. The lobby features a mural of George Washington standing under an elm tree in Hohokus, NJ. It’s twin resides in the Elmwood Park, NJ Post Office. Still many deco touches to see…