WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES OCTOBER 10, 2019 41
Ridgewood’s Oasis spun reels and wheels
to the delight of generations of residents
BY THE OLD TIMER
EDITORIAL@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
You may have read recently about
the impending renovations to
63-57 Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood,
which at one time was one of our
neighborhood’s fi nest movie houses.
More recently the site of a discount
store (and, immediately before that, a
CVS Pharmacy), the location was the
Oasis Theatre, which opened in 1927
as a 1,700-seat fi lm lover’s paradise.
It would last for nearly 50 years
before undergoing the fi rst of its
many transformations, as a beloved
roller rink enjoyed by generations
of children.
Sol Brill opened the Oasis Theatre
on Sept. 16, 1927, according to Cinema
Treasures. It would later become part
of what was called the Randforce
Circuit, and later became part of the
United Artists family.
The Oasis was built in what the
New York City Chapter of the American
Guild of Organists described as
“a subdued Egyptian style, draping
the stage opening and surrounding
area to suggest a tent that might be
found in a desert oasis.”
Though constructed at a time
when vaudeville was still a popular
form of entertainment in America,
the Oasis’ stage was too shallow
for such acts. The theater was used
strictly for showcasing fi lms, and
was constructed during the silent
movie era in which there was no
recorded dialogue — and most fi lms
were accompanied with a soundtrack
played in the theater by a pianist or
an organist.
Like most movie theaters of its
time, the Oasis was equipped with an
orchestra pit for up to 15 musicians
as well as an organ. The New York
City Chapter of the AGO indicated
that the Oasis used a Wurlitzer organ
built in North Tonawanda, New York
which had two manuals, 10 ranks,
fi ve tuned percussions, 14 traps and
a curved console.
As it happened, 1927 was a revolutionary
year in cinema as it marked
the debut of “The Jazz Singer,” the
fi rst-ever feature fi lm to have recorded
dialogue, or “talkie.” The silent
movie era soon faded into memory,
so did The Oasis’ organ and orchestra
pit; by 1929, the theater was equipped
with an audio system that replaced
live music.
Most of the seats were located
on the ground fl oor; the rest were
located in a small balcony.
For the next fi ve decades, The Oasis
featured some of the greatest fi lms in
cinema. During its fi rst few years, a
visitor could expect to see a feature
movie along with several short fi lms
and newsreels.
According to the New York City
Chapter of the AGO, the program
changed every three days, and eventually
the Oasis showed “double-features,”
two movies in one screening.
The growth of television in the
1950s led to dwindling attendance at
movie houses across America, and
our neighborhood was no exception.
The Oasis was one of many Ridgewood
movie houses which suff ered
from changes in the entertainment
landscape.
It’s said that the Oasis screened
its last fi lm in 1976; ironically, it was
“Rocky,” the Oscar-winning tale starring
Sylvester Stallone as underdog
fi ghter Rocky Balboa fi ghting world
heavyweight champion Apollo Creed,
played by Carl Weathers. Rocky went
the distance with Apollo on screen,
but the Oasis couldn’t pull itself up
off the mat aft er years of diminished
attendance and revenue.
Over the next few years, however,
the Oasis found new life after being
renovated into “Oasis Roller World,”
a roller rink where local youth spun
their way around a wooden track for
many a date night, birthday party or
just an afternoon or evening out.
This Old Timer can remember, as
a younger lad, attending a birthday
party at the Oasis — and having
great difficulty standing upright,
let alone navigating the track, on
eight small wheels attached to his
feet. Being a spectator as others took
laps around the wooden oval wasn’t
such a bad thing.
In researching this piece, we
found some interesting video on
YouTube of an actual roller skating
enthusiast enjoying the Oasis rink
and some great music of the 1980s.
But the Oasis Roller World would
eventually go out of business and be
transformed into a CVS Pharmacy
during the 1990s. By 2013, the CVS
relocated down the block to the
former site of Meyer Chevrolet, at
the corner of Metropolitan Avenue
and Fresh Pond Road.
Closeout Paradise, a discount
store, would occupy the former Oasis
site the next year, but went out of
business within a few years.
What are your memories of the
Oasis Theatre and Oasis Roller
World? We’d love to hear them.
Drop us a line! Email us at editorial@
qns.com.
Sources: Cinematreasures.org, the
New York City Chapter of the American
Guild of Organists, YouTube and
the Ridgewood Times.
* * *
If you have any remembrances or
old photographs of “Our Neighborhood:
The Way It Was” that you
would like to share with our readers,
please write to the Old Timer, c/o
Ridgewood Times, 38-15 Bell Blvd.,
Bayside, NY 11361, or send an email
to editorial@ridgewoodtimes.com.
Any print photographs mailed to
us will be carefully returned to you
upon request.
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD: THE WAY IT WAS
The exterior of Oasis Roller World in the 1980s Screenshot via YouTube
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