Comments from Buffalo International Film Festival

Showing 1 - 25 of 29 comments

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about North Park Theatre on Jun 11, 2013 at 11:30 pm

With community support, it is possible that the Buffalo Cinematheque may help resurrect and upgrade the theater. Look for a KickStarter soon to support this. It will require serious interest on the part of the entire community.

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about RKO Warner Twin Theatre on Apr 12, 2012 at 11:51 pm

Does anyone have photos of the INTERIOR of the theater at different times in its history?

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Strand Theatre on Jul 4, 2011 at 4:33 am

It’s Mitchel Mark (only one “l”).

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Avondale Theatre on Jul 4, 2011 at 4:20 am

Here are several photos of the Avondale Theater http://www.nthistorymuseum.org/Collections/assemblyofgod.html

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Palace Theatre on Nov 18, 2010 at 9:55 pm

The PALACE / PARAMOUNT Mystery

According to these sources (and others)

View link
View link

the Lockport Palace Theatre is based in some mysterious way upon the design of the Paramount Theatre in New York City.

What is particularly mysterious about this is that the Paramount Theatre in NYC was built one year AFTER the Palace.

The Lockport theater was designed by Lempert who doesn’t seem to have had anything to do with the NY theater.

Can anyone cite the source of this notion?

Thank you.

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about North Park Theatre on Aug 12, 2010 at 1:41 am

The Riviera in North Tonawanda, by the way, seems to keep it a big secret and tries to dismantle them from time to time. Big mistake. The public should be well aware of how important carbon arc is and help to maintain those systems.

Carbon rods are available all over Asia since it is the primary method in India and other countries.

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about North Park Theatre on Aug 12, 2010 at 1:39 am

The Riviera Theatre, The Capital Theatre in Rome, NY, The Shea’s Buffalo and others…

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about North Park Theatre on Aug 10, 2010 at 11:11 pm

Sorry. Carbon arc is disabled. Lamphouses there, but they are using Xenon.

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Strand Theatre on Nov 13, 2008 at 12:21 am

The original post (abvoe) from Nov 2, 2008 at 4PM reads.

Information on the original Strand Theater is under Mark Strand.
posted by arl on Nov 2, 2008 at 4:00pm

We wondering exactly where this listing is…. We can’t find it.

Thank you.

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Strand Theatre on Nov 3, 2008 at 1:07 am

Not knowing how to contact “arl” in a different way, we are unable to find a listing for The Mark Strand Theater in Buffalo. Would “arl” be kind enough to post the exact URL for this?

We’re thinking “arl” is referring to the Mark Strand in NYC, not the one in Buffalo.

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Strand Theatre on Oct 20, 2008 at 7:47 pm

Does anyone have information about the ORIGINAL Strand Theater on Main Street?

Years?

Address?

Thank you.

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Strand Theatre on Oct 20, 2008 at 7:47 pm

View link

Here is correct link.

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Strand Theatre on Oct 20, 2008 at 7:37 pm

The building, still standing, is now the Autumnwood Senior Center.

View link

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Vitascope Hall on Oct 8, 2008 at 4:56 am

112th Birthday Party for Mitchell and Moe Mark’s Vitascope Theater in Buffalo, NY, USA.

Saturday, October 18, 2008, 1-2PM
Ellicott Square Building, Main and Swan Streets. Enter on Washington Street.

Boring Speeches, interesting tours, official presentations, and BIRTHDAY CAKE. Plus the unveiling of a new, commemorative Poster and Limited Edition Print by artist Scott Alexander Wood.

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Nickelodeon on Jul 30, 2008 at 3:05 am

There is absolutely no doubt that the Pittsburgh Nickelodeon was NOT the first dedicated movie theater. Nor were any of the Talley theaters in LA. The first “store-front converted to a movie theater” was the May 1896 New Orleans' theater that ran for several weeks. The first architect designed, permanent (two years!) dedicated movie theater was the Mark Brothers' Vitascope Theatre opened in Buffalo, New York in October 1896.

What is still to be determined is the first “built from the ground up on an empty lot” movie theater. This is, in July 2008, unknown.

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Tally's Electric Theatre on Jul 13, 2008 at 2:31 pm

New research has just revealed that Tally’s Electric Theatre was NOT a free standing building: it was part of a larger building. Apparently, it was not a store-front conversion, but a purpose-built storefront.

This now leaves in doubt what the actual first “Theater” built free-standing from the ground up was.

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Facebook group for classic cinemas and theatres on Apr 11, 2008 at 1:31 am

There is a MySpace site at:

myspace.com/singlescreenmovietheaters

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Riviera Theatre on Mar 1, 2008 at 7:05 pm

Harold Lloyd Film Festival, April 18-20, 2008.
Sponsored by The Riviera Theatre, The Buffalo Film Society, and the Bufffalo International Film Festival.

More information:
View link

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about New Comique Theatre on Feb 8, 2008 at 7:22 pm

Can someone post a photograph of the standing building at 95 Munroe Street? The two reports of “demolition” and “still standing” are sort of contradictory. :–)

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Vitascope Hall on Dec 6, 2007 at 3:53 pm

The article above appeared on November 25, 2007, not October 25, 2007 as stated. A typo.

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Vitascope Hall on Sep 22, 2007 at 3:44 pm

An opening day (October 19, 1896) advertisement refers to it as “The Electric Theater.”

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Vitascope Hall on Aug 31, 2007 at 8:07 pm

Vitascope Hall is also referred to as The Vitascope Theater.

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Tally's Electric Theatre on Aug 31, 2007 at 8:05 pm

Sorry to post this here, but we’ve tried every other way to reach Joe Vogel. Mr. V… if you read this, could you write to us at
BuffaloFilmFestival AT gmail.com ? (substitute @ for AT) Thank you!

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Vitascope Hall on Aug 22, 2007 at 4:57 pm

The theater was open six days a week until November 1897 when it was opened seven days a week. Shows were presented on the hour from 10:30 in the morning until 11:30 at night.

Between the opening of the theater on October 19, 1896 and November 1897, Mitchell Mark claimed that 200,000 people had visited the theater! This is substantially more than the population of the entire Western New York Region.

Buffalo International Film Festival
Buffalo International Film Festival commented about Vitascope Hall on Aug 22, 2007 at 4:54 pm

To clarify, the theatre itself is “demolished” although the approximate space it occupied has been identified and would have occupied an area now taken up with a workshop and tools.

The Ellicott Square Building still exists and has not been demolished. So, in principal, the location of the theatre exists, but not the actual theater.

There is some ongoing discussion about reconstructing the theater provided enough details about its exact configuration can be located. There are newspaper articles that describe it.

The known facts are that it had 72 seats in 9 rows of 4 seats each separated by an aisle down the center.

There was a stage and screen at one end of the room which was painted white with trim. The floor was covered with a red “velvet” carpet.

It is easy to suppose that the 1896 Vitascope sat on a table at the back of the room since this was the typical mode of projection.

The ceilings of the basement space are roughly 20 feet high so that is the physical boundary of the space.