Ridgewood Theatre
55-27 Myrtle Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NY
11385
55-27 Myrtle Avenue,
Ridgewood,
NY
11385
31 people
favorited this theater
Showing 2,201 - 2,225 of 2,835 comments
Thanks, Bway, and Life’s too short. False alarm !
Let’s resume the fight to keep the Ridgewood open !
Cypress probably walked by early. Weekdays I believe they still only have an evening schedule.
Doesn’t look closed to me. See below. Their answering machine also still has showtimes on it.
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Date: Today, Fri. May 12 Sat. May 13 Sun. May 14 Mon. May 15 Tue. May 16 Wed. May 17 Thu. May 18 Fri. May 19 Sat. May 20 Sun. May 21 Mon. May 22 Tue. May 23 Wed. May 24 Thu. May 25 Buy tickets from MovieTickets.com by clicking linked showtimes.
Ridgewood Theatre [ Add to My Favorite Theaters ]
55-27 Myrtle Avenue, Ridgewood, NY, 11385 Theater Info | Map It
An American Haunting
Rated PG-13, 1 hr 31 min
Showtimes: 4:00, 5:50, 7:40 Goal! The Dream Begins
Rated PG, 1 hr 57 min
Showtimes: 4:30, 7:00, 9:30
Hoot
Rated PG, 1 hr 30 min
Showtimes: 6:25, 10:05 Mission: Impossible III
Rated PG-13, 2 hr 6 min
Showtimes: 4:00, 6:30, 9:00
Poseidon
Rated PG-13, 1 hr 38 min
Showtimes: 4:00, 6:00, 8:00, 10:05 Scary Movie 4
Rated PG-13, 1 hr 23 min
Showtimes: 4:30, 8:15
Closed ? Oh, no ! That means we didn’t do enough, soon enough.
Now, the battle will be to re-open it, which, I suspect, will be far more difficult than getting it to remain open, would have been.
I passed by the Ridgewood Theatre on Wednesday and noticed that it is closed.
Warren, have you filed your complaint with the management of Cinema Treasures ? Have you unchecked the box for notification of comment responses re : the Ridgewood Theater ?
I remember a Dairy Queen or Carvel at the southeast corner of Myrtle Avenue and Madison Street in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. I think I was there on or around July 4, 1967. I remember being there with a kid on my block, Adam Fajek, and hearing either an ash can or M-80 go off, and seeing the flash light up the six-family houses on Madison Street, just northeast of Myrtle Avenue and Triangle Furniture, across Madison St. from the Ridgewood Theater. I also recall a Carvel or a Dairy Queen on the south side of Myrtle between Madison and Palmetto Sts. adjacent to the Madison Theater, and a Dairy Queen sign out over the sidewalk, on Myrtle near Palmetto, near the Optimo Cigar Store and McDonald’s.
AprilW, good having you back. You will get that private e-mail from me today. I think Koletty’s went out of business in the early 1960’s.
I don’t remember Abner’s Bakery, but I DO remember Pernice Cleaners very well, as my parents and I were regular customers for a LONG time. Ditto Madison Drugs.
NewYorkDave, your description could have fit the Madison or the Ridgewood. The Madison was a good deal fancier, especially its huge baroque, mirrored lobby. I will defer to Bway about the Oasis.
I’d forgotten about opening hydrants in the summer, and the resultant annoying loss of water pressure in homes.
More power to you for getting your Bauer’s mustard ! Did you go to the Karl Ehmer’s on Fresh Pond near Metropolitan, near where the Oasis used to be ?
Congrats on your Grover Cleveland Park visit !
Yes, Ridgewood is still a viable community, although troubled recently by increasing crime. There is massive re-construction and new construction going on in Bushwick, and, with it, very high prices being asked for housing. In May 1999 I sold my Ridgewood home for $ 146 K. About a year ago I saw a very similar house in Bushwick on sale for $ 420 K. I’m no finance or real estate expert, but still, I don’t think those high prices will continue indefinitely.
As a close corrolary, if this is happening in Bushwick, can adjoining Ridgewood be far behind ?
Thanks to all for the warm welcome—and to Warren, my apologies. I just posted an on-topic message over on the page for the Grandview Theater, so I hope that redeems me somewhat.
I do have memories of going to the movies in Ridgewood; but since I was so young at the time, I couldn’t tell you if it was at the Ridgewood Theater, the Oasis, or someplace else. I remember a large, old-style theater—single-screen, of course—with baroque decorations, balconies, a loge, and smoking permitted in the “side” sections!
Here’s one last off-topic comment from me: I was in Ridgewood last summer, as I was taking the “scenic route” back north from Coney Island and I wanted to stop at Ehmer’s to pick up some jars of my beloved Bauer’s mustard. Since I was in no big hurry, I drove over to Grover Cleveland park and spent a very pleasant hour just hanging around. The park has been renovated and I’m pleased to report that it’s very nice, or at least that was my impression on that particular summer afternoon. The “sprinkler pool” has been replaced by a sort of jungle-gym village with fountains. As they have for decades, the kids of Ridgewood can enjoy frolicking in some cool running water in the heat of summer—without having to crack open a hydrant ;)
A lot has changed but Ridgewood still seems like a pretty nice neighborhood.
Please drop me a line at electronic (underscore) dave (at) hot mail dot com if anyone should manage to start a Ridgewood forum. I won’t have a lot to contribute but I’d love to read the messages.
There was also once a Dairy Queen on that block, on that side of the street, but closer to Wyckoff. I think Koletti’s was still there; in any event the Dairy Queen did not last. When did Koletti’s go out of business, must have been the early 70s?
Does anyone remember the Carvel that took over for a very short time after Abner’s Bakery went out on my block, diagonally across from the Ridgewood Theater? Pernice Dry Cleaner came afterwards and remained there a long time. There always seems to have been an ice cream shop near the theaters now that I think of it. Must have been a German thing.
Peter, I too ran through those Ridgewood sprinklers. And speaking of Carvels…..what about the one that was directly next to the RKO Madison Theater!
Hello, NewYorkDave, and welcome !
Having been born in Wyckoff Heights Hospital, you can say you are from Wyckoff Heights, which is a neighborhood distinct from both Ridgewood and Bushwick, albeit perhaps not clearly defined.
My dad, born in Brooklyn in 1919, and raised there, in Bushwick and Ridgewood, recalls the reaction of “You’re from BROOKLYN ?” as though that made him a second-class citizen.
This page is indeed a cyber-“wailing wall” of Ridgewood, both past and present.
I remember the Fresh Pond Diner, on the southwest corner of Fresh Pond Road, and Metropolitan Avenue, very well, having eaten there many times, starting in Fall 1965, and lastly in February 1999. I was sad to see it gone when I last walked by there September 2, 2005, on the way home from a high school friend’s wake.
You remember “The Chaplains” correctly. There were also the “Halsey Bops”.
I remember shopping on Myrtle Avenue very well. Early Saturday afternoons, right into the mid 1990’s, my Dad would return from shopping on Myrtle Avenue and exclaim, “The Avenue WAS JAMMED !”
More power to it. Better that, than a ghost town or shooting gallery.
I, too, ran through sprinklers in Ridgewood playgrounds, and remember Carvel on Metropolitan Avenue, southwest corner with Forest Avenue. I can still taste those big salty Myrtle Avenue pretzels.
Hello, everyone. I found this page while doing a Google search for some information on “the old neighborhood.” I lived on Grandview Ave. between Menahan and Grove, directly across from the Bohack supermarket. I was still in grade school when we moved “upstate” in the mid ‘70s; but even though I mostly grew up elsewhere, I still have a special affection for Ridgewood since I spent my earliest (and possibly most formative) years there.
My dad grew up in Ridgewood in the ‘50s and has shared a number of interesting stories with me over the years. For instance, he talks of buying pretzels from a factory located in some guy’s basement and reselling them on the street, at a decent profit. He says he’d walk with his basket of pretzels down Onderdonk Ave. intending to sell them on Myrtle, but he almost always sold out before he made it that far. He’s also shared some memories of singing doo-wop on the streets and running with a gang—I want to say “The Chaplains” but I might have that wrong.
My own memories include jumping around in the “sprinkler pool” in the little park across from Grover Cleveland high school; running after the Mister Softee ice cream truck for a bomb-pop or a double cone—or enjoying a soft-serve or “flying saucer” at the Carvel on Metropolitan Ave., with its king-sized cones crowning the building; pizza at Joe’s on Forest Ave.; and being dragged by my mother down to Myrtle Ave. for an afternoon of shopping. My mom worked as a waitress at the Fresh Pond Diner. I was grateful for the chance to see the diner one last time, prior to its demolition, during a 2003 visit to Ridgewood.
I’ve heard many speak of “the Brooklyn side” and “the Queens side” of Ridgewood, and I know that the ambiguity over which is which goes back many years. (Even in my father’s time, my grandparents were annoyed about having a Brooklyn address even though they considered themselves residents of Queens; I guess the bad rep for Brooklyn goes back even further than the Bushwick riots of the ‘70s). I was born at Wyckoff Heights Hospital and I’m never sure if I should say I was born in Bushwick or on the “Brooklyn side” of Ridgewood. I’ve looked into it somewhat and haven’t turned up a definite answer so far.
I know none of this has anything to do with movie theatres and I apologize for contributing to the level of off-topic chatter… but there seems to be more general discussion about Ridgewood on this page than on any other site I’ve come across during my web-surfing.
Or is a combination of films and closed-circuit TV productions, like boxing and other sports matches, more the Ridgewood Theater’s “speed”, given its current clientele ?
Perhaps we first need to ask, “What live venues are currently thriving (making a monetary profit) ?”, then, with that answer in our back pocket, so to speak, then ask the question, “What is the likelihood of the Ridgewood Theater becoming, and then remaining, such a live venue ?”
For example, is it likely for Broadway caliber plays and musicals to be repeatedly performed at the Ridgewood, with packed and near-packed audiences ?
I’m not an expert, but I really don’t see the Ridgewood (or any theater outside Manhattan) being able to survive as a single screen. Unfortunately, that has past.
As a live venue? Again, I don’t know. I am not an expert, but I don’t really see Ridgewood as a “live show” type of area either, but hey, you never know.
It’s great to see all of this discussion about the possible purchase of the Ridgewood Theatre. And I realize that since it hasn’t happened yet that this question probably can’t be answered. Is there any possibility it will be restored to the original configuration of a single theatre? Maybe used for live shows, theatre and movies. We have a few theatres here in NJ that have been restored and are now operated as Non-Profits using member donations to supplement the ticket sales. I haven’t lived in Ridgewood for a long time but I am not aware of anyplace outside of Manhattan where one can see a live show. Not sure the Ridgewood will survive as just a cinema with the new theatres opening in Glendale.
Thanks for the definition of “grind” house, Warren.
I have no problem. The community leaders have already started the process. If you want to make a secondary initiative, that would be great!!
I am just hoping I can give the theater an even better 100th birthday to come!!!!
AL
Thanks for the clarification, Warren. “Grind” house, eh ? But not “bump and grind” and “take it all off” ? OK.
LostMemory – It is true that all demolitions of landmarked properties have to be approved. It is extremely rare that they grant the approval to completely demolish a landmarked building. Most demolitions are alterations that they feel won’t destroy a structure’s historical or architectural integrity.
Al – Thank you for the future invite!!! I hope all goes well, and hope I’m able to assist you down the line.
Those pull chains were there last I looked. We have great plans for that area up there. There isn’t that much room. Theres two levels, one room per level. About the size of a dance school room. But plenty of room for expansion, if done properly. I’m all excited about this whole thing LOL. Can’t wait to get started. If this happens you’re all coming to opening night hahaha
AL
“As for your story in Ridgewood, that revelation is enough to make anyone gag when finding that out! Nothing could be worse than ‘that” surprise!"
Bway, that’s exactly what happened in the 1992 or 1993 film, “The Crying Game”, when the male lead found out that the singer, Dill, whom he’d been attracted to, was a man, not a woman !
He found out while undressing Dill, and finding, not a mound of Venus, but a penis, literally, in his face ! He actually DID gag !
I think the Eltingh-Empire theater also performed burlesque in years past so nudity wouldn’t be foreign to it. I don’t know if it also suffered with porn during 42nd St’s dark years either in between…..
As for your story in Ridgewood, that revelation is enough to make anyone gag when finding that out! Nothing could be worse than ‘that" surprise!
Thanks, Bway, I knew you would remember it, and I thought the name Eltingh was associated with it !
I also remember a [Ridgewood] Times – Newsweekly article about a stripper named Julian Eltinge, who supposedly once performed at the Rathskeller, which was once at the northeast corner of Myrtle and Palmetto, next to Koletty’s ice cream parlor, and that Eltinge was actually a man disguised as a woman !
Peter, that is the AMC Empire Theater. It was built around the old Empire-Eltingh Theater. The lobby of the megaplex is the original Empire Auditorium. An escalator goes right through the Procenium arch! the former balcony is a cafe overlooking the atrium lobby, the original auditorium.
I saw a movie there once, and it was a real treat. The lobby was the highlight of the trip! I don’t even remember what movie I saw there….
Here’s a link to it:
/theaters/255/
I like the idea of additional cinemas being added to the Ridgewood, right up to the roof, however poor a condition those upper floors may be in, with their top-tank toilets that belong in a musuem.
I’m reminded of a Manhattan multiplex I attended with my son last year. Our cinema was on the top floor, the fourth, I think, and my son enjoyed the escalators we had to take to get to the cinema, almost as much as he enjoyed the movie we saw ! So perhaps something similar could be done with the Ridgewood, perhaps with a central atrium and skylight, like that old theater on 42nd Street near 8th Avenue that was proposed to be made into an atrium twelve-plex. Bway, I think you know which theater I mean.