Carter's Review

This 5-story, orange-brick apartment building at 55-27 Myrtle Avenue in Bushwick includes the landmark façade of the former 2,500-seat Ridgewood Theater that was designed in 1916 by Thomas Lamb, the famous architect of Times Square theaters including the Strand, the Rialto, the Rivoli, the Capitol and the Loew’s State.  Lamb also designed the 1925 Madison Square Garden on Eighth Avenue and the 1927 Paramount Hotel.

The expansion and conversion of the landmark building was completed in 2016 and includes 54 rental apartments and more than 13,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor.

Bushberg Properties was the developer and ND Architecture, which is headed by Nataliya Donskoy, designed the conversion and expansion.

The movie theater was one of the nation’s longest running when it closed in 2008 and its exterior was designated a landmark in 2010.  The theater was built by the Levy Brothers Real Estate concern and was made part of the Fox chain around 1923 and in the 1980s it became part of the United Artists chain and was converted to a multi-plex theater complex with five screens.

It is close to the Myrtle-Wycoff station of the L subway.

Bottom Line

A former major movie palace in Bushwick designed by the legendary Thomas Lamb, the building’s exterior was landmarked and it now contains 54 rental apartments.

Description

Much of the original theater’s ornate glazed terracotta façade with classical and geometric elements such as pilasters and heavily encrusted shields above its large marquee remains.

Its name is carved on the building’s top bandcourse that substitutes for a center cornice.

The enlargement of the site resulted in a building with more than 30 sides that was 5 stories tall at its rear.

The building, which is adjacent to a row of three-story buildings with red window surrounds and a crenellated roof life, has numerous balcony indentations on its Madison Street façade some of which are angled.

Amenities

The building has a doorman, a bicycle room, a package room, storage, a roof deck, a courtyard garden and a gym.  It allows pets.

Apartments

Apartments have washers and dryers and some have balconies.