Ridgewood Theatre
55-27 Myrtle Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NY
11385
55-27 Myrtle Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NY
11385
31 people
favorited this theater
Showing 826 - 850 of 2,835 comments
But again, after watching the NY 1 News video, only the facade would be protected. They could still destroy the interior, and then still no theatre. I am so sick of the ‘out with the old, in with the new’ attitude.
What would be even nicer is having Ch 7 4 2 5 11 & 9 cover it.
RECENT PRESS COVERAGE
“Queens Residents Push For Landmarking of Ridgewood Theatre,” (Interview with Michael Perlman, Chair of Friends of Ridgewood Theatre), NY 1 News, Jan 23, 2009:
http://www.ny1.com/Default.aspx?ArID=92744
“Ridgewood Theatre May Be Landmarked: LPC To Hold Hearings In Newar Future,” Times NewsWeekly, Jan 15, 2009: View link
“City Eyes Ridgewood Theatre Landmark,” Ridgewood Ledger, Jan 15, 2009: View link
Indeed they do, Mpol.
Any more news about the Ridgewood Theatre ?
My, my, how things change over the years.
Yes Peter I saw the unbleeped version of it. LOL
Hey Mpol I don’t know if a bank and a theatre can hold a community together. I seem to recall that when the Midwood closed a bank went in there. I just went to the Midwood site and it is now an eye surgery center.
Not to mention everything else that makes up a community.
It’s quite possible, Mpol.
So….a bank and a theatre could both serve to hold the Ridgewood community together?!
East Coast Rocker, I remember “Saturday Night Fever” playing seemingly all of January 1978 at the Ridgewood Theatre, although I did not see it there. I remember being relieved at the absence of garbage piled up on Myrtle Avenue on one day only when I looked at the marquee then.
Which version of SNF did you see at the Ridgewood ? Did Tony (John Travolta) call Annette (Donna Pescow) a “pig” or something worse, which I can’t type here, rather than a “nice girl” ?
To see “an old-fashioned banking hall” still in action, while in Ridgewood, visit the home office of Ridgewood Savings Bank, 71-02 Forest Avenue, corner of Forest Avenue and George Street, at the intersection of Forest and Myrtle Avenue. There have been changes since I was first inside as a small boy in 1959 or so, but the mural painting, “Savings : The Secret Of Wealth” is still on the three-story high southwest wall of the main lobby.
With more than thirty branches in Queens, Brooklyn, Nassau, Suffolk, Manhattan, Bronx, and Westchester, it may be the best place for one’s money in these uncertain economic times.
Ridgewood Savings Bank opened in 1921, the main office at 71-02 Forest Avenue opened in 1929, the year of the stock market crash and beginning of the Great Depression, and was expanded in 1931. It never failed the way many other banks did. The “hungeleiters” (Ridgewood slang for German-Americans who were frugal to extremely stingy) who founded RSB knew what they were doing, apparently.
The nearby bank on the east side of Forest Avenue, between Myrtle and 70th Avenues, which was once a Home Federal Bank, has become several banks in the last twenty or so years, yet Ridgewood Savings Bank is still there, and still going strong.
I know there was a Strand Theatre but for some reason I guess I was to young to remember. What I do remember was there was Strand Lanes. It was a bolwing center on the second floor. I do remember the RKO Albee and the Loew Metropolitain before it was turned in to an 8 screen clusterf**k. And the UA Duffield. Ah yes the Duffield where a man was shot and killed during a showing of “New Jack City”. A&S Korvettes and Mays department stores. Fulton Street was always busy even before they made it a pedestrian mall.
I have known Marty markowitz for years and he is far from being on my top 10 list of favorite people to deal with. He ran or still runs the Seaside concerts and MLK series at Wingate HS. I can go on and on about him but I have gone off topic again.
I am trying to remember what other movies I saw at Ridgewood besides Saturday Night Fever and Sasquatch. I think I saw 2 others there but i am blank.
ECR, the AIA stands for the American Institute of Architects. They produce the gold standard – or at least ONE of the gold standards – of architectual surveys in NYC. It’s definitely worth the price – and I need to buy a more recent edition.
Regarding the scope of landmark designation, I think the best that the Ridgewood can realistically hope for is exterior protection. Even if the movie house had not been divided, its less than extraordinary decor would probably rule out anything more. Besides protecting the facade, exterior designation would be useful in leveraging the future cinematic and/or theatrical use of at least a portion of the old theater. Economically, this is probably the most we can hope for.
LuisV, I have read your fine posts re the Loews King with great interest. You are a terrific reporter/commentator. Despite the BP’s posturing, Marty Markowitz is probably the only real hope to make this dream a reality – especially since we will probably be stuck with him for four more years. Also, at the risk of being accused – probably correctly – of pushing pork, the renovation of this palace could very well be included as part of NYC’s Federally funded stimulus package. I’m not sure how much besides Marty’s BS makes it “shovel ready”, but it is worth being pursued.
Finally, between posts, my wife and I took in – alas, by DVD – the latest Batman movie. WOW!! I was especially impressed that the secondary roles were both cast and written from strength. Talk soon.
Wow..ECR…I’m with you on everything you said! I also don’t understand why people like Streisand don’t do anything at all to give back to the borough where it all happended for them.
I also have to say that I am incredibly disappointed in Markowitz. At one time, I really did feel that he was doing everything he could to get the Kings going, but now we hear nothing but cricket noises!
BAM did announce that they were doing a resotration of the Strand? next door to the Majestic. Apparently, the interior had been gutted years ago to house retail so I’m not sure what the new theater will look like but it’s always great to get a theater back in business whether it is for films or, as in this case, for live performances.
Hi Luis. I have mentioned both of those. Read about 8 posts above yours where I heard that LIU may renovate the Paramount.
I recently saw some pictures of the Kings when some people went on a tour of it. It would be nice if the celeberity types who went to Erasmus Hall HS would contribute. One off the top of my head is Barbara Streissand, Niel Diamond, Clive Davis CEO of BMG. Even Bernie Kopell aka Zigfeid and Doc. Donny Most from Happy days. The one person who has said alot but always seems to be blowing smoke up peoples asses is Marty Marlowitz the boro president. He had been talking about saving the Kings while he was still a NY State senator.
I wonder wehy BAM hasn’t done anything. I can understand the Majestic because logistcaly it was only a couple blocks from BAM. I forgot what year it was but one day I walked by it when it was closed and there was a door open and I went in. Other then the fact it smelled musky something about that placejumped out at me and it wasn’t a mugger or homeless person. Just that it was sitting there rotting away.
I wish they could save every theatre. There is a small movement in the DC Metro area to save the Howard. It is only about 1300 seats but has a history.
That is much easier said than done ECR. There is only room for so many Performing Arts Centers.
But in your discussion of theaters that could be restored to public use you have not mentioned the two most prominent closed theaters in all of New York City and possibly the entire country – The Loews Kings and The Brooklyn Paramount! (the only other contender would be the Uptown in Chicago)
The Kings is stunning even in its decay. Read my posts on that theater’s page. I have been on two tours there. That theater is totally salvagable and would make an amazing Performing Arts Center. The Brooklyn Paramount is also stunning and still mostly there and could be easily restored. All it would take is…….MONEY! Brooklyn, a city of 2.6MM people, has only The Brooklyn Academy of Music (and the associated Majestic theater) and the Brooklyn College Performing Arts Center to serve that huge poplation. Surely, a population this large could support a theater like The Kings and/or The Paramount restored to their former opulence and glory. Yet, it hasn’t happended, though the city is still “technically” working on the Kings and LIU is “considering” a restoration now that the gym has been moved to a new facility.
The Ridgewood, by comparison……is a historic local theater that has a lot of meaning to neighborhood residents but not much appeal to the outside world.
If you are looking to restore a theater for Performing Arts purposes there are only two theaters that should be considered: The Loew’s Kings and The Brooklyn Paramount!
John did you look under Palladium? That was the name of the building when it closed down. By the way I have no idea what this AIA guide is.
I do however know for a fact that when the new owners of the Palladium wnet and installed “in the wall” air conditioners they were told the needed to apply for a varrience because of the landmark status. Those people were the former owners of Studio 54.
As far as Ridgewood goes I don’t see anyone running to demolish it to build something else on it or turning it in to a retail space like some other former theatres are(Madison). The Walker in Brooklyn has a store that takes up what used to be the loby but from what I read is that according to the property owner they can not use the rest of the building. and have hear that the rest of the theatrer behind the store is as it was from it’s last show. The Loews 46th has a furniture store in the front but from reports from other CT members the rest of the theatrer is still intact. It would be nice to see those both reopen as a performing art center as well as a movie house when there are no live shows. 1 large screen many seats.
Thank you John for your thorough post above. I actually wasn’t sure whether the Academy of Music had protection or not but it does make sense now that we have discovered that it does not. That is why it is so critical that the designation be obtained to have any real hope of salvaging the Ridgewood. It would also explain why I had no real memory of the landmark fight when NYU decided to tear the theater down. It was because there was no such designation! Thanks again.
Since “landmark designation” has been derided on this page because it did not save the Academy of Music and Luchows, I just have one question: Were either of these two properties ever so designated? In researching this item, I have come up with a resounding NO! Specifically, the 1988 edition of the AIA guide – the latest one in my possession – does not make any landmarks reference to the Academy but notes that the Commission had dithered with the interior and exterior designation of Luchows since the mid 1970’s without taking any action. By that time, the restaurant had been closed – and fire damaged – for a number of years. (The reference, in fact, appears in the Guide’s Necrology section.) In addition, the 1992 listing of NYC designated landmarks makes absolutely no reference to either building. Considering that NYU demolished both by 1996, this did not leave much of an opening for the glacially lengthy designation process to occur.
What this means is that these two gems were destroyed not despite their landmarks designation but – to a significant degree – because they never enjoyed that protection. While the Commission’s chronic inability and/or unwillingness to adequately address legitimate designation requests – see e.g., the old Huntington Hartford Museum – is both real and quite notorious, that is an entirely different question than the inadequacy of the protection provided to properties officially designated as landmarks.
These facts clearly underline the critical importance of aggessively suppporting official landmarks designation for the Ridgewood. While the road to secure this will probably be long and not a little frustrating – the Commission’s capacity to dither can never be overstated – it represents the best relistic hope of saving the old theatre in recognizable form – or at least leveraging the community’s ability to effectively negotiate with the owner.
Here is the actual posting from Queen Crap web site:
From the Times Ledger:
Ridgewood’s embattled historic movie house may get a reprieve from the wrecking ball as the city Landmarks Preservation Commission will soon decide whether to consider the 92âˆ'yearâˆ'old theater for landmark status, a Landmarks official said.
No date has been set yet, but a discussion of the theater was expected to be on the calendar for a meeting in the near future, the official said.
News of the pending decision buoyed Forest Hills resident Michael Perlman, an avid preservationist who founded the Friends of the Ridgewood Theatre and advocated for its preservation last year.
“I was feeling elated,†he said. “Official landmark status would be the crown to a landmark in the eyes of the majority [of neighbors]. It would ensure a rare survivor’s longevity for future generations to cherish.â€
To empahsize the importance of Landmark Legislation: The Ridgewood will have a greater chance to survive with the designation than without.
This:
“ it is more likely that the Ridgewood will be saved WITH Landmark designation, than without. ”
makes great, good sense.
East Coast Rocker….I appreciate your enthusiasm in saving theaters. We’re all on the same page, but it is simply incorrect to say that landmark laws are ineffective. MANY theaters have been saved through landmark protection. Virtually all broadway theaters are now landmarked in addition to theaters like The Beacon, Radio City and The Hollywood. (Hopefully, The Ziegfeld will be added to the list when it is eligible – I believe this year it celebrates its 40th anniversary which is the minimum age requirement for landmark status).
Sometimes, the landmark laws don’t work because it is determined that the new use is more important than saving the theater. That is what happended when the three landmark Broadway houses (The Morosco, The Helen Hayes and the Bijou) were torn down in the 80’s for the Marriott Marquis Hotel. This will be debated forever, but the reality is that Times Square was a cesspool at that time and this hotel, whatever you have to say about its architecture, was an incredibly important catalyst in the rebirth of Times Square. Broadway was dying, many theaters were vacant. Something had to be done.
I don’t know the details of NYU’s situation with the Academy of Music, but their argument for tearing down the building would have been the same. I too, wish an accomodation could have been reached to use the theater as a Center for the Performing Arts. Alas, it was not to be.
Back to the Ridgewood, regardless as to our respective opinions as to the effectivneess of Landmark protection, I think we can both agree that it is more likely that the Ridgewood will be saved WITH Landmark designation, than without.
They were thinking of gutting Radio City Music Hall and turning it into office space? Wow!! That I hadn’t known! I’m glad they didn’t do it, because look at all the missed opportunities there would’ve been, so to speak!
Again, guys—good luck in your endeavor to save the Ridgewood Theatre from the wrecking ball.
To John Dereszewski. Very few buildings interiors have been saved by getting “Landmark Status”. One of them is Radio City Music Hall. Back in the late 70’s-mid 80’s there was talk about closing it down and gutting it out and replace it with office space.
What I meant in my statement of having landmark staus means squat is because of the way it happened and how NYU was able to do what they did. NYU could have turned the Academy (palladium) in to a performing arts center. It had everything you could want and more. 2 on stage elevators and an elevating orchestra pit. 75 foot high fly grid. I am sure they would have had some work to do to undo what the last owners of that building did. By demolishing the Academy to me was like have a family member die. LIU who owns the building in Brooklyn where the Paramount was saved the building and pretty much the whole intirior. Word has it now that since LIU has a brand new sporting center they may do some restoration work on the Paramount interior.
In the meantime lets hoe the Ridgewood will be saved.
I agree with Bway. One of the things that I’ve noticed in many of the palaces that I’ve been to are that the seating is inferior to the newer theaters as is the sound. The screen sizes (relative to the space) are also significantly smaller. The seats don’t have cup holders, the don’t recline, the armrests don’t go up. That is one reason why the old theaters became obsolete for showing films.
The old theaters wouldn’t or couldn’t adapt to the new technologies and new viewing patterns of the modern audiences and so they closed in droves. Some have been saved by returning to Legitimate Theater. Others have been transformed into their town’s performing arts centers. Still others have been turned into clubs/restaurants catering halls or other retail spaces, but a very select few, have been able to survive on movies alone. That is why we have lost so many beautiful theaters.
And not just theaters. Remember the beautiful Banking Halls that used to be everywhere? Huge Corinthian Colums, marble everywhere, Walnut panelling and brass railings and the halls themselves were usually at least 2 stories high! Very few of these remain. At one time they were fairly common but, like theaters, they outlived their intended purposes. Today, New York has the great fortune to have Both Bowery Savings Bank Buildings (one at 42nd St. and the other on the Bowery itself), The Greenwich Bank on 36th & Broadway and the grand Citbank at 55 Wall all preserved beautifully as Event/Catering Halls. A few are still around as actual banks such as the stunning Apple Bank building at 74th and Broadway, but they are relics of the past.
That is why it is so important to keep what we can. They are not building these kinds of buildings this way ever again! And, yes, the Landmarks Laws are the best single weapon we have to do that.
In response to someone’s comment about why all over the country so many movie palaces aren’t showing movies anymore, it’s not that people don’t go to movies anymore. While I don’t think it may be as many as years ago, most multiplexes are packed when I go usually. People still like to go to the movies, but it appears the way they go has changed. It would be hard to fill a 2000 seat theater to keep it profitable with one movie. People have come to expect things like good sound, stadium seating, etc, etc. And they need to have a few movies playing at the same time in order to be able to make money.
The only reason the Ridgewood even survived as long as it did was because it was cut up into 5 theaters, which bought it an additional 25-30 years…where all the neighboring theaters died long ago.