New Rivoli Theatre

1111 Broadway,
Buffalo, NY 14212

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Additional Info

Architects: Joseph J. Geigand

Previous Names: Rivoli Theatre

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New Rivoli Theatre

The 1,700-seat Rivoli Theatre opened on August 22, 1920 with Clara Kimball Young in “For the Soul of Rafael”. It was closed in 1950. It reopened in 1971 as the New Rivoli Theatre, screening “King Kong”. It was closed in 1972. It was demolished in February 1984.

Contributed by KenRoe

Recent comments (view all 14 comments)

LouB
LouB on March 21, 2008 at 6:46 pm

View link

Here is a different view of the theatre.

railroad
railroad on April 9, 2008 at 1:20 am

Phone number 1960: HUmboldt 3523

LouB
LouB on August 7, 2008 at 12:50 pm

http://buffaloah.com/h/movie/k/source/8.html

The above site shows a picture of the Rivoli.

bflonyguy
bflonyguy on March 6, 2009 at 12:25 pm

I remember going there once as a 17yr old in the 70s. They were showing a gay-themed film starring Fannie Flagg called, I believe, “Some Of My Best Friends Are”. I remember getting all dressed up on a cold winter weeknight, thinking I was going to meet other cool gay people there. I drove in from the country, to this (in retrospect) iffy neighborhood, and parked my dad’s new car in (I think) an empty parking ramp. There were six bored, neighborhood folks in the theater. Movie was totally untittilating. Drove home unscathed. Said I went to K-Mart (the latest-open place I could think of!).

alknobloch
alknobloch on June 5, 2009 at 10:28 am

Went here in the 70’s ONCE during a typically frigid Buffalo night and found that I had to sit as close to one of the side walls as I could to be comfortable. Seems the theater was ‘heated’ by radiators located there which failed miserably to adequately heat that big old barn. However, they kept making so much noise that it was hard to hear the film at times. A truly unforgettable experience that I had successfully forgotten about until now!

W Frisk
W Frisk on April 12, 2011 at 4:11 pm

Was this the theatre with the Carrier air conditioning rotory compressor in a vault under the alley that you had to get to by going through the basement air conditioning ducts?

rivest266
rivest266 on May 29, 2022 at 1:43 pm

This theatre started to place ads only in the start of 1920 as Grand opening ads are nowhere to be found.

rivest266
rivest266 on September 22, 2022 at 12:55 am

Listings ended in 1950 and reopened as the Old Rivoli theatre on October 26th, 1971 with “King Kong”

rivest266
rivest266 on September 23, 2022 at 2:16 am

Listings ended again in 1972.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on April 23, 2024 at 8:22 pm

An article about the Rivoli appeared in the September 4, 1920 issue of Moving Picture World:

“RIVOlI Theatre Is Opened.

“BUFFALO’S newest neighborhood house, the Rivoli, owned by Joseph Kozanowski and managed by Harry T. Dixon, opened its doors on Sunday, August 22. The theatre, which is on Broadway, just beyond Fillmore, cost $250,000 and has a seating capacity of 1,700 on the orchestra floor, balcony and gallery. Joseph Geigand, Buffalo architect, designed the building. The opening attraction was ‘For the Soul of Rafael,’ starring Clara Kimball Young. Manager Dixon was showered with congratulations on the opening day.

“The Rivoli is built of red tapestry brick with beautiful terra cotta trimmings. The seats are unusually large and are upholstered in leather. The woodwork through the house is of mahogany finish. Two Simplex machines are used for projection. The stage setting is elaborate. A ten-piece orchestra accompanies the program. Seventeen ushers, girls on the orchestra floor and boys in the balcony, are used.

“The manager’s office opens from an attractive foyer on the second floor, where the rest rooms are also located. The interior decorations present a most attractive appearance, the lighting fixtures being unusually good. Prices will be 11, 22 and 28 cents on week days and 11, 25 and 33 cents on Sunday.

“This house is in the heart of the great Buffalo Polish district, with a population of close to 150,000 persons. Mr. Dixon for the present is confining his advertising to the two Polish newspapers in the district, but eventually will spread it in the big dallies. Buffalo may well be proud of the Rivoli, which will compare favorably with any neighborhood house in the state.”

Note the correct opening date of August 22, 1920. Also of note, the revelation that the theater’s management advertised only in the city’s Polish language newspapers during the early days of its operation.

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