I live a few blocks from this building and recently took the photo that I’m posting. Today I drove past and noticed a painter scraping loose paint off the upper part of the front. I stopped and and he let me take a peek inside, I had my ipad handy so I took a shot of the interior, which I am also posting and which also seems to be getting some work, perhaps it will be opening as some sort of venue again. The painter had no idea what was up. There was no stage, but the wood floor almost certainly dates from 1909. Alan Cohen writes in his “A History of Berkeley, From the Ground Up”, that this was the first movie theatre to open in town, followed shortly by the “It Theater” a short distance away.
49 years ago today the Ritz went dark. About time I gave it a favorite, as it was. Saw my first movie there, countless kiddie matinees and when older, evening shows. Doesn’t seem that long ago somehow.
Maurice Spewak, who built the Ritz, was there to turn off the lights. I wonder how many other venues have had a 37 year run under the same individual, I’m sure there are a few. He and his wife were well known around town, active in various social affairs. Their son Wes coached the Carteret High basketball team quite successfully throughout the 50’s and up until his untimely death in 1965.
Mr. Spewak died in March 1966. His wife sold the building in August of 1967, the new owner retained the offices and retail space, turned the auditorium itself into a clothing factory, tore down the adjacent building for a parking lot. They also punched a hole in the side to build a loading dock. My last look inside came through that door in 1968, I pulled over and parked when I saw it open. The floor was mostly leveled, architecture remained, as did the blue paint.
In 1976 the clothing factory departed, and an Italian bakery moved in, I’m guessing it was around this time that the retail space on Washington Avenue disappeared, I had long since left town.
Recently the bakery has relocated. The building, or at least the auditorium, stands vacant and is up for sale. Anybody with $600,000 handy looking for a real fixer upper?
I’ve recently uploaded a couple of pictures I took of the Ritz while back for a visit last month, along with a couple of old ads earlier today. The ads come from the historic newspaper archive at the Woodbridge Public Library, the person in charge there didn’t mind my posting them to Cinema Treasures and assured me that except for some of the comics, all the papers are in the public domain.
MarkP, I recognized your family name when I first saw it. I think there was at least one of your relatives in high school the same time I was attending, though not in my class. Enjoying stagehanding? Great profession, though I do look forward to retiring from it in the next couple of years.
I just uploaded a couple of pictures of the former Woodbridge Theatre which I took while I was in the area last month, including one from the rear that shows the fly loft. While it is not that deep, I imagine it had a few other line sets to hang drops on. I believe the ventilation system visible on the roof dates from the building’s early days. You can still see portions of the original tin ceiling exposed near the back of the store, though the public area doesn’t extend to where the stage once was.
I’ll upload a few old ads in the near future, along with a brief history.
walterk
commented about
Ritz on
Dec 30, 2013 at 1:59 pm
A side view of the Ritz, taken on December 28, 2013. The small lower window after the first vertical was the location of the ladies room, located at the back of the auditorium, mentioned here for scale of the auditorium size.
I haven’t lived in Carteret in over 44 years, but I have fond memories of the Ritz, I lived only a few blocks from it when I grew up.
The owner who someone mentioned looked like Hitchcock was Maurice Spewak. His wife often sold the tickets. I never knew the name of the usher who someone said resembled Lurch from the Addams Family, but I do remember he wore a hearing aid, which was more visible than the compact ones used today.
Mr. Spewak at one point also owned 2 of the other 3 Carteret theaters listed on CT, the Majestic located in the Hill section and the Crescent, located in the Chrome section, both on Roosevelt Avenue. The Crescent is listed on Cinema Treasures as the “New Palace” (it is listed in the 1927 Film Daily Yearbook, as the Crescent, located in Chrome). Spewak built the Ritz to replace these venues, according to a 1926 article in the Carteret Press. He wanted a large modern centrally located theatre to replace the two smaller ones, citing labor costs of operating two houses at the opposite ends of town. He also said it would be better suited to the needs of the public, who would appreciate the modern equipment and conveniences. It’s worth noting that on the same page a few columns over was an article about another theatre to be built in Carteret by a corporation of “local and New York men” who purchased property at Cooke Avenue and Irving Street, which would have placed it around the corner from the Ritz, possibly on the same block. This project never materialized.
The Ritz, which was designed by a T. Glivae, a local artist and architect, who lived a few blocks from the structure he designed, held 1200 and opened its doors on Sept 1, 1927. The bill for the evening included war comedy “Lost at the Front” and 4 acts of “high class vaudeville”. Gone or out of commission by time I started to see movies at the Ritz (mid 50’s) was the “huge organ powered by electric motors” mentioned in the CP article about the opening night. Early on, the Ritz also experimented with vaudeville on Saturday evenings, the idea to expand to other nights if successful.
Hard to say what happened with that experiment from reading the newspapers, as the Ritz, Majestic and Crescent seldom advertised in the local paper. There were a few ads for the Ritz immediately after it opened and mention of occasional benefit shows the Ritz seemed to rent out for, but it wasn’t until 1949 that it began to advertise regularly in the local paper. Meanwhile there were always ads for theatres located in the towns surrounding Carteret.
I recollect they didn’t have a concession stand, I remember buying popcorn from a machine for 10 cents and there was a candy machine. I believe they had a soda machine, but after nearly a half century, I could be wrong about that. Mr. Spewak kept the front half of the theatre closed off, because as someone mentioned, kids threw candy and whatnot at the screen. It was closed at evening shows also, except when the crowd warranted opening it. In regard to mention of possibly a small balcony near the front, there wasn’t one. I think the architecture referred to housed the speakers or pipes for the organ I mentioned (and possibly later speakers for the movies), or could just have been decoration. Their angle wasn’t right for viewing the screen.
Speaking of the screen, the wide screen and sound system that those of us who have posted comments remember were installed in the spring of 1954. Ads from that period also announced that female patrons would receive a hand painted piece of seaspray dinnerware every Monday night.
The Ritz, as mentioned by another contributor, featured movies that already had their initial run, I remember seeing West Side Story with my folks at the Majestic in Perth Amboy and then with my friends on a Friday night somewhat later @ the Ritz. Same with the Beatles first movie which I saw with friends, again at the Majestic, several weeks before it came to the Ritz. I also remember one New Year’s Eve going to see the 10 Commandments with my family. An old ad tells me that was 1958; it was originally released in the fall of 1956. They changed their double bill twice a week at least, kids 35 cents, adults 70. The lobby had numerous displays of coming attractions, each in its own glass case mounted on the walls, most of them featuring glossy publicity photos of scenes.
After a double bill featuring Jerry Lewis as “The Disorderly Orderly” with second feature “Dual of the Titans”, the Ritz closed its doors for the last time on January 31, 1965. I’m basing that on the lack of ads in the Carteret Press after that date, and it jibes with my own recollection that it closed sometime in 1965. Had I known, I would have gone for one last show. It was a part of my growing up, not only the weekend matinees, but later Friday and Saturday nights on some of my earliest dates, or just with my friends and even earlier as I mentioned, occasional shows with my family.
Acherepo, your recollections of the neighborhood brings back memories. I well remember Harrigan’s candy store, though her pinball machine got a lot more of my quarters than did her register for candy. Klein’s had the best collection of comics for sale in Carteret, in addition to a fine selection of models to build, lots of other stuff, the classic mom and pop 5 and 10. Ulman’s bakery wasn’t down the street from the Ritz, rather at the corner directly across, where Atlantic Street ended. Kochek’s Pharmacy was on the other corner. I could go on about other businesses on that street….
Much credit to the Woodbridge Public Library, which has an online archive of the Carteret Press from 1925—65 (also a fine collection of Woodbridge papers), where a little bit of search and research supplied the historical background to this bit.
This theatre was originally known as the Crescent. It is listed as that in the 1927 Film Daily Yearbook, seating 370. The location was given as Chrome rather than Carteret, though Chrome is just a section of Carteret. The Crescent was owned and operated by Maurice Spewak, who also operated the other two theatres in town, the Majestic and the Ritz. The Ritz was the newest and largest of the three and built to replace the other two, which he never converted to talkies and closed shortly after the Ritz opened in September 1927.
I couldn’t find any mention of the New Palace or Palace looking through copies of the local Carteret paper of the time, the Carteret Press, which can be accessed online at the Woodbridge public library. They certainly didn’t advertise. Unfortunately my relatives who were around in those days are no longer here to ask about this.
The Crescent was also known for a short period of time in the early 50’s as the Gem Theatre, which opened under that name on February 9th 1952. It was operated by Steven J Babics Jr. Not sure if he was the owner or perhaps the son of the owner of Babics Furniture Store, which was located several doors down from the Gem. It didn’t last very long, ads disappeared from the Carteret Press after several weeks. Here’s an ad announcing the opening of the Gem:
http://tinyurl.com/kh7jade
This is a PDF from the Woodbridge Public Library.
I couldn’t find any mention of the Palace in the 50’s, but the timing of the appearance of the Gem probably explains the two different Palace names.
The Majestic was listed in the 1927 Film Daily Yearbook with a seating capacity of 450. It was owned and operated by Maurice Spewak, who also ran the Ritz and Crescent. It never converted to talkies and my father (who would be 94 if he were still around) remembered it closing when he was a kid. Spewak btw lived in the house to the left of the theater. The entrance may look a little trashed, but the theatre itself was converted at least in part to living space several decades back, the entrance around the corner on Charles St. If you go to 586 Roosevelt Avenue on google maps, enter the street mode and go around the corner (to the left of the Majestic) onto Charles St a short distance, you can see the far back end of the theatre and conversion.
I live a few blocks from this building and recently took the photo that I’m posting. Today I drove past and noticed a painter scraping loose paint off the upper part of the front. I stopped and and he let me take a peek inside, I had my ipad handy so I took a shot of the interior, which I am also posting and which also seems to be getting some work, perhaps it will be opening as some sort of venue again. The painter had no idea what was up. There was no stage, but the wood floor almost certainly dates from 1909. Alan Cohen writes in his “A History of Berkeley, From the Ground Up”, that this was the first movie theatre to open in town, followed shortly by the “It Theater” a short distance away.
49 years ago today the Ritz went dark. About time I gave it a favorite, as it was. Saw my first movie there, countless kiddie matinees and when older, evening shows. Doesn’t seem that long ago somehow.
Maurice Spewak, who built the Ritz, was there to turn off the lights. I wonder how many other venues have had a 37 year run under the same individual, I’m sure there are a few. He and his wife were well known around town, active in various social affairs. Their son Wes coached the Carteret High basketball team quite successfully throughout the 50’s and up until his untimely death in 1965.
Mr. Spewak died in March 1966. His wife sold the building in August of 1967, the new owner retained the offices and retail space, turned the auditorium itself into a clothing factory, tore down the adjacent building for a parking lot. They also punched a hole in the side to build a loading dock. My last look inside came through that door in 1968, I pulled over and parked when I saw it open. The floor was mostly leveled, architecture remained, as did the blue paint.
In 1976 the clothing factory departed, and an Italian bakery moved in, I’m guessing it was around this time that the retail space on Washington Avenue disappeared, I had long since left town.
Recently the bakery has relocated. The building, or at least the auditorium, stands vacant and is up for sale. Anybody with $600,000 handy looking for a real fixer upper?
I’ve recently uploaded a couple of pictures I took of the Ritz while back for a visit last month, along with a couple of old ads earlier today. The ads come from the historic newspaper archive at the Woodbridge Public Library, the person in charge there didn’t mind my posting them to Cinema Treasures and assured me that except for some of the comics, all the papers are in the public domain.
MarkP, I recognized your family name when I first saw it. I think there was at least one of your relatives in high school the same time I was attending, though not in my class. Enjoying stagehanding? Great profession, though I do look forward to retiring from it in the next couple of years.
I just uploaded a couple of pictures of the former Woodbridge Theatre which I took while I was in the area last month, including one from the rear that shows the fly loft. While it is not that deep, I imagine it had a few other line sets to hang drops on. I believe the ventilation system visible on the roof dates from the building’s early days. You can still see portions of the original tin ceiling exposed near the back of the store, though the public area doesn’t extend to where the stage once was.
I’ll upload a few old ads in the near future, along with a brief history.
A side view of the Ritz, taken on December 28, 2013. The small lower window after the first vertical was the location of the ladies room, located at the back of the auditorium, mentioned here for scale of the auditorium size.
I haven’t lived in Carteret in over 44 years, but I have fond memories of the Ritz, I lived only a few blocks from it when I grew up. The owner who someone mentioned looked like Hitchcock was Maurice Spewak. His wife often sold the tickets. I never knew the name of the usher who someone said resembled Lurch from the Addams Family, but I do remember he wore a hearing aid, which was more visible than the compact ones used today.
Mr. Spewak at one point also owned 2 of the other 3 Carteret theaters listed on CT, the Majestic located in the Hill section and the Crescent, located in the Chrome section, both on Roosevelt Avenue. The Crescent is listed on Cinema Treasures as the “New Palace” (it is listed in the 1927 Film Daily Yearbook, as the Crescent, located in Chrome). Spewak built the Ritz to replace these venues, according to a 1926 article in the Carteret Press. He wanted a large modern centrally located theatre to replace the two smaller ones, citing labor costs of operating two houses at the opposite ends of town. He also said it would be better suited to the needs of the public, who would appreciate the modern equipment and conveniences. It’s worth noting that on the same page a few columns over was an article about another theatre to be built in Carteret by a corporation of “local and New York men” who purchased property at Cooke Avenue and Irving Street, which would have placed it around the corner from the Ritz, possibly on the same block. This project never materialized.
The Ritz, which was designed by a T. Glivae, a local artist and architect, who lived a few blocks from the structure he designed, held 1200 and opened its doors on Sept 1, 1927. The bill for the evening included war comedy “Lost at the Front” and 4 acts of “high class vaudeville”. Gone or out of commission by time I started to see movies at the Ritz (mid 50’s) was the “huge organ powered by electric motors” mentioned in the CP article about the opening night. Early on, the Ritz also experimented with vaudeville on Saturday evenings, the idea to expand to other nights if successful.
Hard to say what happened with that experiment from reading the newspapers, as the Ritz, Majestic and Crescent seldom advertised in the local paper. There were a few ads for the Ritz immediately after it opened and mention of occasional benefit shows the Ritz seemed to rent out for, but it wasn’t until 1949 that it began to advertise regularly in the local paper. Meanwhile there were always ads for theatres located in the towns surrounding Carteret.
I recollect they didn’t have a concession stand, I remember buying popcorn from a machine for 10 cents and there was a candy machine. I believe they had a soda machine, but after nearly a half century, I could be wrong about that. Mr. Spewak kept the front half of the theatre closed off, because as someone mentioned, kids threw candy and whatnot at the screen. It was closed at evening shows also, except when the crowd warranted opening it. In regard to mention of possibly a small balcony near the front, there wasn’t one. I think the architecture referred to housed the speakers or pipes for the organ I mentioned (and possibly later speakers for the movies), or could just have been decoration. Their angle wasn’t right for viewing the screen.
Speaking of the screen, the wide screen and sound system that those of us who have posted comments remember were installed in the spring of 1954. Ads from that period also announced that female patrons would receive a hand painted piece of seaspray dinnerware every Monday night.
The Ritz, as mentioned by another contributor, featured movies that already had their initial run, I remember seeing West Side Story with my folks at the Majestic in Perth Amboy and then with my friends on a Friday night somewhat later @ the Ritz. Same with the Beatles first movie which I saw with friends, again at the Majestic, several weeks before it came to the Ritz. I also remember one New Year’s Eve going to see the 10 Commandments with my family. An old ad tells me that was 1958; it was originally released in the fall of 1956. They changed their double bill twice a week at least, kids 35 cents, adults 70. The lobby had numerous displays of coming attractions, each in its own glass case mounted on the walls, most of them featuring glossy publicity photos of scenes.
After a double bill featuring Jerry Lewis as “The Disorderly Orderly” with second feature “Dual of the Titans”, the Ritz closed its doors for the last time on January 31, 1965. I’m basing that on the lack of ads in the Carteret Press after that date, and it jibes with my own recollection that it closed sometime in 1965. Had I known, I would have gone for one last show. It was a part of my growing up, not only the weekend matinees, but later Friday and Saturday nights on some of my earliest dates, or just with my friends and even earlier as I mentioned, occasional shows with my family.
Acherepo, your recollections of the neighborhood brings back memories. I well remember Harrigan’s candy store, though her pinball machine got a lot more of my quarters than did her register for candy. Klein’s had the best collection of comics for sale in Carteret, in addition to a fine selection of models to build, lots of other stuff, the classic mom and pop 5 and 10. Ulman’s bakery wasn’t down the street from the Ritz, rather at the corner directly across, where Atlantic Street ended. Kochek’s Pharmacy was on the other corner. I could go on about other businesses on that street….
Much credit to the Woodbridge Public Library, which has an online archive of the Carteret Press from 1925—65 (also a fine collection of Woodbridge papers), where a little bit of search and research supplied the historical background to this bit.
This theatre was originally known as the Crescent. It is listed as that in the 1927 Film Daily Yearbook, seating 370. The location was given as Chrome rather than Carteret, though Chrome is just a section of Carteret. The Crescent was owned and operated by Maurice Spewak, who also operated the other two theatres in town, the Majestic and the Ritz. The Ritz was the newest and largest of the three and built to replace the other two, which he never converted to talkies and closed shortly after the Ritz opened in September 1927.
I couldn’t find any mention of the New Palace or Palace looking through copies of the local Carteret paper of the time, the Carteret Press, which can be accessed online at the Woodbridge public library. They certainly didn’t advertise. Unfortunately my relatives who were around in those days are no longer here to ask about this.
The Crescent was also known for a short period of time in the early 50’s as the Gem Theatre, which opened under that name on February 9th 1952. It was operated by Steven J Babics Jr. Not sure if he was the owner or perhaps the son of the owner of Babics Furniture Store, which was located several doors down from the Gem. It didn’t last very long, ads disappeared from the Carteret Press after several weeks. Here’s an ad announcing the opening of the Gem:
http://tinyurl.com/kh7jade
This is a PDF from the Woodbridge Public Library.
I couldn’t find any mention of the Palace in the 50’s, but the timing of the appearance of the Gem probably explains the two different Palace names.
The Majestic was listed in the 1927 Film Daily Yearbook with a seating capacity of 450. It was owned and operated by Maurice Spewak, who also ran the Ritz and Crescent. It never converted to talkies and my father (who would be 94 if he were still around) remembered it closing when he was a kid. Spewak btw lived in the house to the left of the theater. The entrance may look a little trashed, but the theatre itself was converted at least in part to living space several decades back, the entrance around the corner on Charles St. If you go to 586 Roosevelt Avenue on google maps, enter the street mode and go around the corner (to the left of the Majestic) onto Charles St a short distance, you can see the far back end of the theatre and conversion.