Shea's Hippodrome Theatre

For the theatre in Toronto, see Shea's Hippodrome.

Shea's Hippodrome Theatre was a movie house that opened in 1914 in Buffalo, New York. It was renamed the Center Theater, following a renovation in 1951. In 1983, the theater closed and the building was demolished.

Early Years

Shea's Hippodrome Theatre was designed by architect Leon H. Lempert, Jr. It was located at 580 Main Street in a central location of Buffalo now known as "Theatre Historic District".[1] The theater was entertainment mogul Michael Shea's first movie house in Buffalo with 2,800 seats and a staff of nearly 100 employees.[2][3]

A custom pipe organ was designed and installed in 1922 by The Rudolph Wurlitzer Co., model: Opus 585. In 1957, the organ was sold and changed owners several times in the ensuing decades. In 2005, the organ was purchased and restored by the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania and is currently operational.[4]

Renovation

In 1951, in an effort to modernize the facility, Shea's Hippodrome Theatre underwent a major renovation designed by architect Michael J. DeAngelis. The original marquee was replaced with modern signage and the building was renamed the "Center Theater", after being sold by Shea to Paramount decades earlier.[5] Possibly by design, many of the original architectural details were unable to be seen, due to the darkness of the renovated interior spaces. It remained a movie theater until it closed in 1983.[6]

References

  1. ↑ LaChiusa, Chuck. "Theatre Historic District". www.buffaloah.com. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  2. ↑ Del Valle, Cezar (September 7, 2012). "Shea's Hippodrome, 580 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202". www.theatretalks.blogspot.com. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  3. ↑ LaChiusa, Chuck (2012). "Michael Shea – The Improbable Entertainer". www.buffaloah.com. (An excerpt from Against the Grain, pp.136-139 by Timothy Bohen). Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  4. ↑ Lawson, Steven E. (2014). "The Rudolph Wurlitzer Co., Opus 585, 1922". www.organsociety.org. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  5. ↑ Nicole Schuman, and Anna Geronimo Hausmann (2003). "Best of WNY: Historic Theaters". Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  6. ↑ Summer, E. (2006). "Center Theater". www.cinematreasures.org. Retrieved August 23, 2016.

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