The Inaugural program featured an overture by the Paramount Symphony Orchestra, an appearance by the village mayor, and “A Paramount All-Talking Picture”, The Big Pond, starring Maurice Chevalier and Claudette Colbert. Publix Theatres was recognized as a leader in the theatre building industry, and the Peekskill Paramount was constructed as a state-of-the-art facility for the times. The Paramount building is a designated Westchester County Landmark, declared eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Paramount prospered for decades despite the Depression and World War II. However, it was the advent of shopping malls and television that brought on its demise as a movie theatre. Paramount sold the building in 1973. Eventually the building was acquired by the City of Peekskill in 1977 due to a tax default.

The Peekskill Paramount Center for the Performing Arts presented its first series of performances in the spring of 1982. Its mission was to bring cultural and educational programming to the northern Westchester and Putnam County area at affordable prices. Since 1982, what was a grass roots “Save the Paramount” campaign has grown to become a true center for the arts, with live performances, arts-in-education programs, films, and visual art exhibitions, serving over 50,000 people annually.

Parks attractions include: Biking, Fishing, Hiking / Walking, Ice Skating, In-line Skating, Nature Study, Outdoor Film Festival, Picnicking, Playground, Refreshments

Since our opening, enthusiastic, sold-out audiences have enjoyed Peter Yarrow, Marcel Marceau, Barbara Cook, Moscow Boys Choir, Joan Baez, and The Bacon Brothers. Film-goers have seen a range of movies from Oscar-winners such as Traffic and Chocolat to family fare to our international film series. Community events such as the Ridgefield High School Orchestra Concert and the Annual Town Meeting found a new home at The Playhouse.

While we can all agree with Shakespeare that "the play's the thing," we also know that this beautiful theater adds a great deal to the experience of a performance or movie. In an age of multiplexes and stadiums, what a pleasure to be in an impeccably renovated, historic theater with near-perfect acoustics!

Notable Beginnings, Legendary Performances
Designed in 1938, the auditorium in "the old high school" was at one time the center of Ridgefield's cultural life. In its heyday, before being abandoned in 1972, it was home to school performances as well as community events and town meetings. During World War II, residents had the privilege of twice hearing the legendary Arturo Toscanini conduct here.

In its new life, The Ridgefield Playhouse has been designed to embrace its former role and more. The interior preserves the hall's excellent acoustics that make it an ideal venue for musical performance and live theater. At the same time, retractable draperies cover the walls enabling the "deadening" effect needed to show movies. Thanks to a generous legacy from Patricia Schuster, founder of the Ridgefield Studio of Classical Ballet, the stage was built to have the resilience necessary for dance performances. Parts of the old stage rigging have been preserved and supplemented to enable use of the stage's large fly space. Stage lights and a state-of-the-art sound system have been installed.

Echoing the importance of the town of Ridgefield in the theater's life is a hand-painted mural covering the lobby walls with familiar scenes of historic Ridgefield. The mural, a gift from a Ridgefield couple, was created by a local artist. Other murals enliven the interior of the performance area as well as the entryway to The Playhouse; all were gifts of Playhouse supporters. Press "Blue Button" to explore the Ridgefield Playhouse."

Ridgefield Playhouse -- 80 East Ridge Avenue, Ridgefield, CT 06877

Title Rating Runtime Showings Up PG 96min (1:00pm)

Each year, The Film Society presents the New York Film Festival, the New Directors/New Films series (co-sponsored by The Museum of Modern Art), and a fundraising Gala Tribute, which honors preeminent actors and directors. Year-round programming at the 268-seat Walter Reade Theater explores new international cinema and the rich tradition of American film. The Film Society also publishes Film Comment magazine.

As an independent constituent of the world’s foremost performing arts center, the Film Society of Lincoln Center presents a 363-day season that includes premieres of new films from an international roster of established and emerging directors; major retrospectives; in-depth symposia and high profile events. The Film Society is one of those rare institutions whose stature is matched by its popularity, each year welcoming an aggregate audience of more than 200,000 film aficionados, filmmakers and industry leaders of every nationality, age, economic and ethnic group. The organization has been a pioneer among film institutions and one of the film world’s most respected and influential arbiters of cinematic trends and discoveries. François Truffaut, R.W. Fassbinder, Jean-Luc Godard, Pedro Almodóvar, Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson – over the last four decades there is scarcely a major director who has not been introduced to American audiences by the Film Society. Press "Blue Button" for more information.

Each year hundreds of students of all occupations, races, ethnicities, and of a wide range of ages from around the world benefit from the extraordinary education offered at the New York Film Academy. Today, little more than a decade after the first students graduated, the New York Film Academy is considered one of the most prominent fixtures of film education in the world. Press "Blue Button" for more information.

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