Autumn Years Fall 2023

Volatile nitrate film.

Fire in a movie theater, however, was a real problem since the film was made with nitrate, which is extremely flam mable. While on fire, the film produces its own oxygen and will even burn under water. A 1903 fire at the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago killed 602, and a later fire in a Canadian theater resulted in the death of 78 children. A search of the Library of Congress newspaper database between 1890 and 1930 revealed that the words “theater fire” were used over 4,000 times in front-page articles. Going to the mov ies could be a life-threatening activity. As a result, many Bergen County theaters promoted how “fireproof” they were. Not all of the early local theaters were in buildings. The first of the six theaters to be located in Westwood was a tent appropriately called the Canvas Theatre . It operated before 1912 and of

An example of an early open-air theater.

fered “Vaudeville” and “Moving Pictures.” Another non-building theater in Westwood was dis covered on a July 1914 fire insur ance map labeled as an “Open Air Moving Picture Show.” This outdoor theater, located on a lot (that was likely surrounded by a fence), had a 28-foot-wide screen and an 8-foot-square projection building.

Pleasure Park Airdome, Wood-Ridge.

Ridge predated the development of com mercial outdoor movies with automo biles by more than 20 years. In Ridgewood at today’s Van Neste Square, the Opera House (also known as Ridgewood Hall ) opened in 1893 as a performance center where vaudeville shows were often held. The building could hold 600 folding seats and became the center of social activity. (In 1894, the vote to create “The Village of Ridge wood” took place there.) 17 In the days before movies, “Illus trated Lectures” were very popular at the Opera House (glass slides in a pro jector displayed pictures on a screen while a lecture was given). When the moving picture arrived, this building

In Wood-Ridge, another open-air theater called the Pleasure Park Air dome was in operation as early as July 1911. This theater had a front that looked like a building (complete with a ticket window), and the remainder of the “the ater” was simply a high board fence that

kept people from seeing a movie without paying. (Before 1917, this open-air theater was converted into an actual building and re named Jantzen’s Woodridge Theatre; it operated until 1927.) Although technically not drive-in theaters (since patrons entered and exited on foot and sat on chairs), these two open-air venues in Westwood and Wood

Canvas Theatre, Westwood.

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AUTUMN YEARS I FALL 2023