You’re welcome, Panzer65, and thank you. Yes, that segment was known as the Lutheran Line, or extension, after Lutheran Cemetery.
I know all about that trolley beneath the el. My father and I grew up with it. I am from Ridgewood, and it is in my DNA ! My father saw that trolley running. I did not, but have seen the tracks, and the right-of-way, thousands of times.
Panzer65, the faded sign you saw painted on the wall, what did it say ?
You’re welcome to the comments about the el and its tower. First, the el was extended from Myrtle and Wyckoff to Fresh Pond Road, then to Metropolitan Avenue, Middle Village (1913 – 1918, Bway, please jump in, and correct me if I’m wrong) causing a building boom in Ridgewood, then the RKO Madison opened, the weekend after Thanksgiving, 1927.
The building to the right (west) of the Madison was probably always stores, and / or restaurants and coffee counters.
Thanks, Bway. It makes sense. By “new station building”, you mean the building housing the connection between the L and M lines, on the Gates-Myrtle-Wyckoff triangle, correct ?
Good-bye, dark, dirty, hole-in-the-wall Ridgewood Diner, under the el, on the north side of Myrtle, between Gates and Wyckoff, adjacent and wedged into the old station building ….
Good work, Panzer65 ! I commend you. You are ONE of the Madison Theater’s last fans … Bway and I are others.
While you were there, did you get a view of the RKO Madison’s western wall from the platform of the Wyckoff Avenue station of the Myrtle Avenue elevated (M) line ? “RKO MADISON THEATRE” in block letters on top is growing ever fainter (like our memories of the Madison, perhaps ?) while the graffiti on the bottom of the wall, near the roofline of the adjacent building to the west, is growing ever bolder and more garish.
Panzer65, that is a very good observation, and you are probably right about the phone booth. I myself do not recall phone booths in theaters I attended as a child, though they very probably were there, adjacent to the restrooms, probably on the balcony levels of the Ridgewood and Madison Theaters.
Good to see you on this page, leroyelliston. I was rather hoping you would get here. You may have already read, on this page or elsewhere, that the Decatur was known as “The Itch” among Bushwick residents, due to its unsanitary condition. My father’s sister may have gotten lice or nits in her hair there.
Thanks, J.F. Lundy, for pursuing my idea of “Els Showing The Cinemas”, which I first promulgated on this site 3 years and 2 weeks ago, in early June 2004.
Thanks for the recollections, guys. I remember it as a bowling alley, not as a theater. My parents and I only bowled there once, in spring or summer of 1966.
I will leave Mr. Huang where he and all of us belong : in the hands of God. I hope the condition of the former RKO Keith’s of Flushing improves in spite of Mr. Huang. I hope you find that fountain some day.
Sorry can’t help you about owner of Nagengast’s, though I remember the place well. I think I was last there in Sept 1969 to buy my second plastic model kit of the original starship Enterprise. My wife and father were there summer 1992, to get some furniture feet, or casters, but I was not.
I think I may have seen excerpts from “An El Called Myrtle” at the “Elevated City” exhibit at the Transit Museum Store, GCT, summer 2002 or 2003. I remember the view of the Madison as the train entered Wyckoff Avenue station. The music on the soundtrack was “East side, west side, all around the town …”
No, I have not purchased the “New York Transit Memories” book. Thanks in advance for xeroxing the pages from it. Hope to see you in Ridgewood this August. If not, you can mail them to my home address, which I could provide by private e-mail.
Thanks, jack martin, for posting your Ambassador Theater movie memories from the 1940’s. They are very special and important, and I enjoyed reading them.
Was the roar of the IRT el on Livonia ever a distraction ?
Have you looked at the images of the Ambassador Theater on nycsubway.org that I’ve posted links to, in my post dated May 12, 2004 near the top of this page ?
Thanks, BklynJim and Panzer65, for your replies. Yes, “Hang Huang” has a good alliterative ring to it. Depending on how Huang is hung, that may give us something interesting to hang him by …
Panzer65, I know all about overprotective mothers … west of Cypress Avenue … I lived southwest of Cypress Avenue, so, for me, it was west of Wyckoff Avenue, under the el, in deepest, darkest Bklyn, that was no longer “safe” … Bway has mentioned his childhood perception of “unsafe lower Ridgewood” as being south of Myrtle Avenue.
Feel free to plumb my memory of my RKO Madison movie-going, as I’ve posted it on this page.
As I have posted many times, to my chagrin and annoyance, I cannot recall precisely when the Madison showed its last film, (my working assumption is Halloween 1977, based on what I have read on this site)but I DO know it was closed by the last Saturday of February 1978, when I noticed that “THIS IS HOW YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD STARTS TO DECAY” sign on the front of it.
I have absolutely no idea when the Maspeth stopped showing movies.
You’re welcome, Panzer65, and thank you. Yes, that segment was known as the Lutheran Line, or extension, after Lutheran Cemetery.
I know all about that trolley beneath the el. My father and I grew up with it. I am from Ridgewood, and it is in my DNA ! My father saw that trolley running. I did not, but have seen the tracks, and the right-of-way, thousands of times.
Panzer65, the faded sign you saw painted on the wall, what did it say ?
You’re welcome to the comments about the el and its tower. First, the el was extended from Myrtle and Wyckoff to Fresh Pond Road, then to Metropolitan Avenue, Middle Village (1913 – 1918, Bway, please jump in, and correct me if I’m wrong) causing a building boom in Ridgewood, then the RKO Madison opened, the weekend after Thanksgiving, 1927.
The building to the right (west) of the Madison was probably always stores, and / or restaurants and coffee counters.
Thanks, Bway. It makes sense. By “new station building”, you mean the building housing the connection between the L and M lines, on the Gates-Myrtle-Wyckoff triangle, correct ?
Good-bye, dark, dirty, hole-in-the-wall Ridgewood Diner, under the el, on the north side of Myrtle, between Gates and Wyckoff, adjacent and wedged into the old station building ….
Thanks, Bway. Why was the tower taken down ? Yes, it must look strange without it. I don’t think it ever blocked the view of the Madison much.
Thanks, Warren. I will now post my friend’s Valencia movie memories on the page for that theater.
Good work, Panzer65 ! I commend you. You are ONE of the Madison Theater’s last fans … Bway and I are others.
While you were there, did you get a view of the RKO Madison’s western wall from the platform of the Wyckoff Avenue station of the Myrtle Avenue elevated (M) line ? “RKO MADISON THEATRE” in block letters on top is growing ever fainter (like our memories of the Madison, perhaps ?) while the graffiti on the bottom of the wall, near the roofline of the adjacent building to the west, is growing ever bolder and more garish.
I wouldn’t swear to the Ridgewood and Madison having phone booths on their balcony levels, Panzer65, but that’s my best educated guess at present.
Thanks, Warren. That seems reasonable.
Panzer65, that is a very good observation, and you are probably right about the phone booth. I myself do not recall phone booths in theaters I attended as a child, though they very probably were there, adjacent to the restrooms, probably on the balcony levels of the Ridgewood and Madison Theaters.
Good to see you on this page, leroyelliston. I was rather hoping you would get here. You may have already read, on this page or elsewhere, that the Decatur was known as “The Itch” among Bushwick residents, due to its unsanitary condition. My father’s sister may have gotten lice or nits in her hair there.
Thanks, J.F. Lundy, for pursuing my idea of “Els Showing The Cinemas”, which I first promulgated on this site 3 years and 2 weeks ago, in early June 2004.
Probably not, Warren. What vested interest would they still have in concealing those figures ?
Probably. The exact date of the Glenwood’s last film shown is not yet on this page ?
Thanks for the recollections, guys. I remember it as a bowling alley, not as a theater. My parents and I only bowled there once, in spring or summer of 1966.
You’re most welcome, Panzer65. My pleasure.
I will leave Mr. Huang where he and all of us belong : in the hands of God. I hope the condition of the former RKO Keith’s of Flushing improves in spite of Mr. Huang. I hope you find that fountain some day.
BklynJim :
Sorry can’t help you about owner of Nagengast’s, though I remember the place well. I think I was last there in Sept 1969 to buy my second plastic model kit of the original starship Enterprise. My wife and father were there summer 1992, to get some furniture feet, or casters, but I was not.
I think I may have seen excerpts from “An El Called Myrtle” at the “Elevated City” exhibit at the Transit Museum Store, GCT, summer 2002 or 2003. I remember the view of the Madison as the train entered Wyckoff Avenue station. The music on the soundtrack was “East side, west side, all around the town …”
No, I have not purchased the “New York Transit Memories” book. Thanks in advance for xeroxing the pages from it. Hope to see you in Ridgewood this August. If not, you can mail them to my home address, which I could provide by private e-mail.
Thanks, Lost Memory.
Thanks, Lost Memory. Hadn’t been on Forgotten NY for awhile …
Thanks, LuisV.
Thanks, jack martin, for posting your Ambassador Theater movie memories from the 1940’s. They are very special and important, and I enjoyed reading them.
Was the roar of the IRT el on Livonia ever a distraction ?
Have you looked at the images of the Ambassador Theater on nycsubway.org that I’ve posted links to, in my post dated May 12, 2004 near the top of this page ?
Thanks, Warren. Too bad about those opening night ticket refunds.
Thanks, Warren. Hopefully, competition, in line with the American Way, made both theaters better.
Acknowledged, BklynJim and Bway.
What # theater is the Whitney on this site ?
Thanks, BklynJim and Panzer65, for your replies. Yes, “Hang Huang” has a good alliterative ring to it. Depending on how Huang is hung, that may give us something interesting to hang him by …
Panzer65, I know all about overprotective mothers … west of Cypress Avenue … I lived southwest of Cypress Avenue, so, for me, it was west of Wyckoff Avenue, under the el, in deepest, darkest Bklyn, that was no longer “safe” … Bway has mentioned his childhood perception of “unsafe lower Ridgewood” as being south of Myrtle Avenue.
Feel free to plumb my memory of my RKO Madison movie-going, as I’ve posted it on this page.
As I have posted many times, to my chagrin and annoyance, I cannot recall precisely when the Madison showed its last film, (my working assumption is Halloween 1977, based on what I have read on this site)but I DO know it was closed by the last Saturday of February 1978, when I noticed that “THIS IS HOW YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD STARTS TO DECAY” sign on the front of it.
I have absolutely no idea when the Maspeth stopped showing movies.