Ridgewood Theatre
55-27 Myrtle Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NY
11385
55-27 Myrtle Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NY
11385
31 people
favorited this theater
Showing 726 - 750 of 2,835 comments
God were there a blizzard of comments on this page today!
While I am reluctant to raise any hopes regarding a cinematic future at the Ridgewood, since the chances of achieving this are very slim, a point that Bway made does make sense and should be pursued. An active artist movement has emerged over the past few years in Bushwick. Among other things, several informal cinematic programs have been organized in small venues that usually serve different purposes. One or two of the Ridgewood’s small theaters could be used to provide a more permanent and cinematically appropriate site for these endeavors. They could also be used to host live performances by other Bushwick based groups. I have promoted the “Save the Ridgewood” petition in the terrific www.BushwickBk.com blog, and additional outreach to these groups may yield valuable benefits. This is certainly an area worth exploring.
The main focus here, however, should be the landmarking of the theater’s facade. This is both doable and, if successful, could be utilized to leverage other cinema oriented uses.
Also, nothing in that article says anything about really saving the theater. Moving seat? “Furnishings”? It’s nonsense, as Michael Perlman himself pretty much posted in a prior comment as well.
Looks like this theatre is getting saved, per the Sunday NYTimes. View link
Now that an Alabama couple have purchased the Cheyenne Diner on Ninth Avenue and 33rd Street, they say they are eyeing the historic Ridgewood Theater in Queens, which played movies from 1916 until it closed last year.
The 93-year-old movie house, designed by Thomas W. Lamb, who was considered the king of theater architects, never missed a day of showings until it closed last March, making it the longest-continuously operated cinema in the country, according to the Theater Historical Society of America.
Ms. Miller said that she and Mr. Owens learned of the theater’s uncertain fate from Michael Perlman, a local preservationist who has rallied supporters in efforts to save the theater and recently got the preservation commission to consider designating it for protection. In any case, only the facade would be granted landmark status. Of the 25,000 landmark buildings in New York, only 125 are protected inside as well.
Mr. Perlman, 26, who has a graphic arts business and collects vintage postcards, said that the relocation of the seats and other furnishings of the Ridgewood Theater to Birmingham would be “bittersweet.†But he said, “At least it would allow future generations to cherish it.â€
True, all, Bway. Thanks.
Peter, again, remember that we can’t take the Ridgewood’s past performance as a “first run mainstream” cinema completely at face value. The theater was falling apart for at least 20 years, and again, very old fashioned, etc. I stopped going there in the late 80s already because it wasn’t as pleasant to see a movie there as it was at “The Midway” or some theater in Forest Hills.
If the Ridgewood was made into a modern, COMFORTABLE, and clean and new multiplex, I don’t see it doing any worse than any other modern multiplex. It has a great location, and can draw from not only Ridgewood and Glendale, but also Maspeth, Middle Village, Bushwick, Williamsburgm, Greenpoint. Even Bedford Stuyvesant. There’s no theater anywhere around those locations in easy access. The Ridgewood IS very much in the middle of all those areas, and not other theater other than Atlas, which is in an sheltered upscale onclave of a mall.
As for an art house, I don’t think it would survive on just that, but you could always gear one of the theaters to it. And if you added another theater or two to the stage area, perhaps the old billards area, and even perhap an adjacent store to the building could be taken over. that would make it even more viable to allow a couple theaters to gear to art films or something, which I think would really attract people from up and coming Bushwick, and hip Williamsburg.
It’s all about the presentation and the product. If the theater renovation is done in a first class way then I believe it is possible. The Ridgewood might not succeed as an art house (it is not the demographic of the area), but if the new owners were to create a first class environment and show the movies that people want to see, then it might have a shot.
I agree that it is not fair to judge the performance of the Ridgewood on the last years of its existence because the theater was just poorly maintained. I myself avoid certain theaters that are closer to me but that I feel are dirty or poorly run (Regal Union Square). But if you provide grade A product in a grade A venue, everything changes.
Maybe. The Ridgewood’s already a five-plex, and would require less interior work than the Austin, which was a single cinema. But would an art house cinema thrive in Ridgewood when the Ridgewood did not thrive as a first-run mainstream cinema ?
The Kew Gardens Cinemas expanded into a neighboring dry cleaner to create a 6th screen. This theater is a premier example of a neighborhood house that was successfully multiplexed to create an “arthouse cinema” that, from the commentary on its page, is praised by all who visit. It was outfitted with new comfortabe seating and state of the art sound and, while the auditoriums are not large, they create a great theater experience nonetheless.
Maybe, the owners of the Kew Gardens Cinemas could be enticed to do at the Ridgewood what they did in Kew Gardens!
Thanks, LuisV and Bway. I’d forgotten about the stage area and Hank’s Billiards upstairs.
Quote Luis:
“don’t live in the area, but I hear that the Atlas cinemas are actually quite nice and comfortable. How far is this multiplex from the Ridgewood? Would it truly be able to compete?”
It’s not terribly far, not particularly walkable, but perhaps 15-20 minutes by car or bus. The problem is you have to pay to park, and that multiplex is also within a more upscale development, and you must pay to park. The Atlas movie theater “could” live with the Ridgewoood, as I think the Ridgewood would get a lot of people not only from Ridgewood, but also from up and coming Bushwick, and also Williamsburg. I think you have two totally different demographics and locations that would be served between the Atlas and the Ridgewood.
I don’t know if they would have to go through the extent of what they did to the Midway. They COULD make stadium seating within the two lower auditoriums. I have seen them do it at older multiplexes, they just put the structure into the existing auditorium. It is possible, and not all that hard. That would give it comfortable seating (with much better seating that the original old Ridgewood seats have to be at this point.
The three balcony theaters are already “stadium seating” just by the design of an old balcony. Just change the seats.
Combined with cleaned up walls, new flooring, sound upgrades, there you have 5 modern theaters right there. The sight lines are fine in most of the current auditoriums, and with the addition of stadium seating downstairs, that would improve that.
I am sure there is enough room for at least one, perhaps two theaters in the old stage area. Of course, that one would also be a modern theater. The harder part would be designing a corridor to get there, but that could probably be fairly easily be incorporated into the structure they use to make the two downstairs theaters into stadium seating, probably using what is currently the surface floor of the orchestra level.
I have no idea of what sort of space exists in the old Billards area on the second and third floors, but perhaps another auditorium, even if small could be made up there too.
So in summary, I think while it would be wonderful to see the Ridgewood converted back to one large theater, I think the Kings probably would be looked at first, and within good reason. But the Ridgewood’s value does definitly still have a large value as a neighborhood MOVIE theater. And you can’t use the Ridgewood’s supposed bad performance at it’s end as a guide, as remember, the Ridgewood was not maintained as well as it could have near the end, and wasn’t for the last 20 years or more. If upgraded and modernized, it would be no less superior to any modern multiplex.
That is the $64MM question! First, of course, it would take money. The first thing a bank would want to see is a viable business plan and marketing studies that supported a need (or probability of success) for a multiplex in Ridgewood. Times being what they are, geting a loan wouldn’t be easy. But, on the positive side, in bad economic times Americans tend to go the movies more often.
I don’t live in the area, but I hear that the Atlas cinemas are actually quite nice and comfortable. How far is this multiplex from the Ridgewood? Would it truly be able to compete?
As Bway stated, more screens could possibly be carved out of the Ridgewood which would make it more viable though most of the theater interior (except for the foyer and lobby) would be somewhat lost. But perhaps that would be worth it to save not just the facade but the entry and lobby and have that fully restored.
I have to think that the prior owners considered this option, but perhaps they just weren’t credit worthy or didn’t want to take the risk. Who is willing to take that risk today?
That’s true, Bway. The most direct route from Ridgewood to Forest Hills that I know of, and I walked this way many times, is Myrtle to Cooper to Yellowstone to Austin to Continental, and there you are in busy downtown Forest Hills. The only part of it with a bus is Myrtle (Q55).
I was expressing my opinion that Ridgewood should have a movie theatre, and that it should be the Ridgewood, within walking distance of much of Ridgewood and Bushwick. I was not commenting on the likelihood of the Ridgewood being restored to full time operation as a movie theater, but, while we’re on the subject, what would it take to upgrade the Ridgewood to a state of the art multiplex cinema (like the Midway in Forest Hills, only smaller) and, once this was done, would it make enough money to survive ?
That is a WONDERFUL photo of how beautiful the Ridgewood’s Lobby still is in that NY Times article. The detail is ALL still there, as well as it’s white marble stairway. Sure, the colors of the plaster may not be authentic, but that’s just paint. What a gem, that needs to be saved, or at least preserved in it’s transition. I would HATE to see what happened to the beautiful Madison Theater down the street happen to the Ridgewood….especially after having survived this long….
View link
Oh, and just to remind everyone, “Forest Hills is 4 miles from Ridgewood”, but only as the crow flies. Just see how many people will walk to Forest Hills to see a movie. And let’s see how many people can get to “The Midway” by car, and park too in less than 45 minutes to an hour…..and my subway, and three trains later……
While it may not be 4.7 miles to Forest Hills, it’s certainly not within the “Ridgewood/Bushwick” area, or even Williamsburg, etc. Forest Hills is not even gotten to easily by bus or subway, it’s at least a 40 minute subway ride, using at least two or three subway train lines. The buses also roundabout, and probably would take longer, using traffic.
So no, Forest Hills' theaters are not viable alternatives to one in Ridgewood. Granted, as a teenager, I abandoned the Ridgewood Theater for the Forest Hills Theaters myself, but that was more because as a kid, we wanted to make a day out of it, not to mention, yes, the Ridgewood was dingy, and not kept nearly as well, even in the 90’s already.
That would not be the case if the Ridgewood was upgraded within it’s walls more modern to be competitive, and make people WANT to go there, not just becasue it’s close. They may even be able to make more than 5 screens using the existing 5 auditoriums, but also perhaps the old stage area as another, or somehow out of the unused 2nd and thurd floors for more. You could perhaps even make up to 8 screens within the building, which would make it more profitable, as well as more attractive to people coming to see a movie.
That all being said, someone mentioned the fact that the Ridgewood was multiplexed “taking away it’s interior grandeur”, well obviously not the same as when it was one large theater, the plaster does all still exist (even though painted unfortunate dark blue, black, and brown). it’s there. It “could” be restored into one theater (remember, the Paradise in the Bronx was also multiplexed, yet brought back, as were some other theaters I know like the Patchogue on Long Island). That also being said, I also have to agree with Luis to an extent. The Loews Kings would be much more important to save as Brooklyn’s “live venue location”. But that is not to say that the Ridgewood doesn’t hold value as a theater, I think it’s value does remain, but remaining as a multiplex, just with restored and updated and upgraded auditoriums, while saving whatever historic features inside, which would make that viable.
I don’t want anyone to misunderstand. I love movie palaces and believe in their preservation, but I also am a realist and my background is in real estate. Preservation and restoration can’t be done on wishes alone. They need government grants, tax credits, volunteers, neighborhood activists, historic preservationists, landmark laws, philanthropists, a viable business plan or any combination thereof.
Sadly, it is difficult for palaces to be restored on movies alone. The only theater that I know of in the metropolitan area that has done so is the Lafayette in Suffern, New York and this is a small town theater that is far from the high land value, high tax situation in the city. The Jersey has managed to thrive through a combination of grants, tax incentives and, most of all, volunteers who are commited to restoring this palace to its former grandeur. Even so, they still host weddings in the foyer to help pay the bills.
The Beacon has just completed a multi-million dollar renovation and its location on New York’s Upper West Side will and its backing by a major corporation will ensure that it will be very successful. The St. George on Staten Island has also done very well as a performing arts center. There is no doubt in my mind that The Paradise in the Bronx will eventually do very well once it is taken away from its crooked owners.
Unfortunately, the Jersey, Beacon and St. George have an architectural pedigree that the Ridgewood simply does not. That is what makes saving the Ridgewood so hard. It is readily apparent by the fact that the only piece of the Ridgewood up for Landmark designation is the facade; not the interior.
The Loews Kings sits as a beautiful decaying ruin just a few miles away. If any theater deserves to be converted to a Performing Arts Center it is the Kings. The fact the the Kings, which has so much more going for it, has had so much trouble getting off the ground doesn’t bode well for the Ridgewood.
I tend to agree with Luis on this one. The Loews Paridise in the Bronx underwent a $25 million dollar restoration and ever since it reopened has had major problems with the owners and promotors. Te intent was not to reopen it as a movie house but a live venue. Concerts, live theatre and the like even boxing. One promoter held a show that sold the place out and is still trying to get his money. He agreed to use the theatre owners ticketmaster account to sell the tickets. When he went back to ticketmaster to collect his money they told him that it was paid out to the account holder and had to get his money from them.
I know this is something not everyone wants to hear. Sad but it is true. The wb site is down as well. The phone # goes to some managing angency not the box office. Even turning a former movie palace in to a live venue doesn’t always work either.
I’ll have my say, LuisV.
Thanks, Warren.
It’s not enough to say that Ridgewood “deserves” an operating cinema in the area and then dismiss the Atlas cinemas. Times have changed. In all of Staten Island (a borough of almost half a million people, there are but three theaters (all multiplexes). The Bronx and Brooklyn have equally dismal numbers.
If Ridgewood could support a multiplex it would have one. The Ridgewood held on for many years until it could go on no longer. From what I understand, the Ridgewood was quite dingy and couldn’t compete with the much newer theaters with comfortable stadium seating and superior sound systems. So, as hard as it is to hear, Ridgewood, the neighborhood, is no more deserving of a movie theater than any of the other neighborhoods in the city which have lost their beloved palaces over the years.
The best example of what can be done with a neighborhood palace is the St George Theater in Staten Island. This Spanish Baroque beauty was purchased by a family who loved Staten Island in general and this theater in particular and wanted to restore it as a labor of love. But they also wanted it to make money and so they have positioned it as a performing arts center and it has done very well. I have taken the ferry myself to see Joy Behar perform and expect to see the B-52s there later this year.
Movies are not going to save the Ridgewood anymore than they have saved any of the other palaces in the metro area with the sole exception of Loews Jersey and there is no comparison between the grandeur of Loews Jersey (one of the 5 Wonder Theaters) and the Ridgewood.
Just about.
What about them ? They’re four or five miles away from the Ridgewood Theatre and the center of Ridgewood.
Thanks for the link, Warren.
My condolences to you, Michael, on your disappointment.
The Ridgewood Theatre belongs in Ridgewood. Ridgewood needs and should have a movie theatre within walking distance of all of Ridgewood and most of Bushwick. Especially so with the RKO Madison gone now for more than thirty years. The Atlas Park Cinema is no substitute. Except for the Atlas Park Cinema, there are no currently functioning movie theaters within a four to five mile radius of the Ridgewood Theatre.
Hi All! Michael is here, have no fear! I just noticed all your comments from today, in response to the NY Times article by Ralph Blumenthal. First of all, take a huge sigh of relief, since the Ridgewood Theatre is here to stay!
I was supposed to be interviewed on the Cheyenne Diner & the Moondance Diner, which I spared via transport, and to my astonishment, there was not even a mention of my role. I was briefly asked about the Ridgewood Theatre, since the NYT reporter stated “the AL couple” might be interested in making an offer on this theater (besides the Cheyenne Diner they purchased). I explained to the couple earlier this week that the theater facade may be landmarked, and the Ridgewood Theatre owner wants to keep it in his possession. If it was going to be demolished, then it would be a different story, but it’s not.
There was never any solid plan to move the Ridgewood Theatre to AL, but plans circulated between the couple & I, to save a different theater (anywhere in the U.S.) via transport that’s imminently endangered, whether that mean the facade &/or any interior architectural attributes. I never mentioned anything regarding Ridgewood Theatre seats and furnishings. I don’t know where the reporter got that from. I advocate for historic architecture and not furniture, lol.
I was disappointed when first reading this article, and had to do a double-take since my diner brokering credits were omitted, and the theater issue was boggled by misinformation. I am surprised with the NY Times, a reputable newspaper. I was photographed on the theater steps due to my efforts to landmark it only, as well as find a tenant or a new owner, if the current owner planned to sell. That was purely my intention, and that of the majority of supporters. The NYT expressed an interest in photos of myself in front of the Cheyenne Diner during sign removal day, and they were also interested in documenting me in front of the diner as of current. I guess they had a change of heart for some bizarre reason.