Broadway Theatre

Photos of the Basil's Broadway/Sattler and other Buffalo theaters can be viewed here.

A current status on this theater for anyone that knows would also be appreciated.

Bryan: When I clicked on the word 'here' I found the site entitled Buffalo's Forgotten Theaters. Thank you!

This theater should have an aka name of Broadway Theater. The sequence was Sattler, Broadway, Basil's Broadway.

Style - Classic Function - motion pictures Seats - 942 Chain Basil Theaters Inc. (which consisted of 4 brothers)
The Broadway Theater by 1932 was part of the chain of Basil Theaters, Inc. It was remodeled and seating was 942.
Yes, a very impressive front to this day. I managed theaters in London, England for Associated British Cinemas and also in the United States for Dipson and Basil (my familys firm). For questions I may be reached here or at 716-834-0348
My book True Theater History should be released within a year and will cover the Nationwide tragedy of "Illegal Schemes" against theater owners.

John, are you a relative of the "Basils" of this theater, or is this just a cooincidence?

I can't wait for that book to be published!

The Broadway is located on Buffalo's east side in the 'war zone' of abandoned and derelict buildings, as well as weed strewn vacant lots.
The last time I was past the theatre it looked abandoned with graffiti adorning the walls. I have no idea what the interior must be like. Quite probably anything of value has long since been removed. Given the location I'm quite sure security is a problem.

Yes Bway I am the son of Bill Basil one of the four Basil Bros. who owned Motion picture theaters. I was born 1929 and into the theater business most of my life.

In addition to true theater history, my book will reveal how and why Michael Shea never owned or built a "Sheas" Theater with many true stories and photos to be included

When will your book be coming out?

I am just finishing up the order of pictures then it will be off to the publisher. I will leave a notice here on the web site when it comes out. Thank you for your interest

The theatre does have a stage. I can't say if it was original, but it does have a stage at this point in time. Records inside show attendance lists for a Muhammed Temple of Islam dated 1969 and 1970. There are 2 pianos on the main floor, the entry way has been painted purple, some seats left, in bad shape of course. No noticable grafitti. The sign outside was for the Joy Temple. Photos coming at http://www.institutionalgreen.com in the next few days.

The terra cotta facade still appears to be in remarkable condition considering the age of the building. Unfortunately I can't say the same for the rest of the building judging from recent photos I've seen. A notice to vacate the premises was posted by the Buffalo buildings department over a year ago against the most recent owners of record (God's Holy Temple). Although the building is supposed to be boarded up and secured, a side door was open. Bulldozers are in the area demolishing the neighboring abandoned Buffalo Forge site. Could the Broadway theatre be next? It's highly unlikely, given the urban blight in the surrounding area, that any white knight will
appear on the horizon in time to rescue the theatre from ultimate demolition.

Here is a recent photo of Basil's Broadway.

The next time I'm in Buffalo and near Broadway I plan to check out this former theatre. I was near Broadway the other night enroute to the Shea's to see Mamma Mia and thought about going then, but time didn't allow for that theatre side trip! The intricate facade is still there though the marquee is long gone. BTW, I highly recommend seeing Mamma Mia as it is a wonderful musical storyline set to the music of Abba. And if you want to see and read about one of the very talented actors who plays "Sam Carmichael" go to www.seanallankrill.com

A few more photos associated with the former Sattler Theater can be seen here. Click each photo to expand it.

There are some really great pictures of the interior of this theatre on the site above. I would have loved to see this theatre when its marquee was intact.

Two pages of recent interior photos can be seen at this link. Click each photo to expand it.

Lost Memory: These interior photos are really something as it's the first time I have ever seen any interior photos, but have known about this former theatre in Buffalo for quite awhile thanks to CT. This theatre needs to be restored. I have forwarded the photo site to a Buffalo friend of mine to get his thoughts. And I can't help but wonder why the church didn't take better TLC when they had possession of it!

And I wonder who was able to enter this theatre/church to get these unbelievable photos now that it has been abandoned?

Patsy: The theatre has been abandoned for a long time now. The religious group that last occupied it couldn't afford to maintain it. Anything left vacant on Buffalo's east side is ripe for vandalism and/or arson. It has been repeatedly broken into, regardless of the fact that it was posted as off-limits by the Police department. A trip through that part of town would soon convince you that any hope of restoration is futile. There are countless abandoned buildings and weed strewn vacant lots all through the area...not a pretty sight!

Thanks for the Buffalo commentary though sad to read. I've learned of a Sattlers Department Store at 918 Broadway which is historically connected to the Sattler Theatre at 516. Also, another East side department store called Eckhardt's on Broadway. What happened to the East side as it must have been nice at one time?

Patsy: Sattlers department store was located at 998 Broadway (actually the address was 1000, but for whatever reason 998 always prevailed and was promoted in countless commercials and jingles over the years). It was a Buffalo institution. It and Eckhardts are now only a memory, along with many other east side businesses. About the only thing left that is still operating is the Broadway market. Over the years I've heard countless plans put forward to revive interest in the east side and the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood, but all have died on the vine. One previous city administration managed to coerce K-Mart into building a store on the site of the old Sattlers store. I'm not sure now if the city offered K-Mart a financial incentive to make the deal more attractive. However, eventually that also failed and the store sits abandoned.

Wish I could find interior photos of those former department stores. Do you recall the Parasol Room where customers ate lunch?

Wow, great find those interior photos! Unfortunately, the place really looks to be in shambles.

Yes, those are quite the interior photos....one can only imagine when this theatre was in its heyday. I wonder how long it has been since the Joy Temple used it? Yes, it really is in shambles. My favorite photos are of a seat with face design and of the ceiling design.

I don't know how the person that took the photos gained access to the building. I have adopted the Clinton policy of don't ask-don't tell in situations such as this. :)

After looking at the photos, it seems that the interior needs some dusting and a little spackle on the walls. LOL Seriously, there are times when the neighborhood has to be restored before the theater can be restored. Unfortunately, this seems to be one of those times.

I sadly agree....to restore that neighborhood might be quite a challenge...in the meantime this theatre will sit abandoned and further decay.

If this theatre had been built downtown near the theatre district, it might have had a fighting chance in today's world!

It is restorable, but would take a huge amount of money. It's not just some missing plaster, it's down to bare bricks for vast stretches of wall in many places. Water and moisture damage appears to be everywhere. And even the plaster remaining may be loose. When you have huge stretches of wall with bare brick, that can't mean that the remaining plaster is solid.
And what is that light coming in through the ceiling? Hopefully it's a skylight added by the church for some natural light, otherwise could it bee a hole in the roof?

Hopefully it will be saved.

The exterior terra cotta work, alone, makes it worth saving. I, too, hope that the light above is a skylight and not a hole in the roof. It would be interesting to talk to someone who is or was a member of Joy Temple during the period they used the former theatre for services though a Google search brought forth...nothing.

"This 928-seat, $35,000 "fireproof" theatre was built in 1914, on the site of the old wood-frame Casino Theatre. The architect was Henry L. Spann, probably in collaboration with his much-younger brother William T. Spann. John G. Sattler, the local real-estate tycoon and owner of Sattler department store, commissioned it. In 1919 or 1920 the theatre changed hands, and it was renamed the Broadway. In 1922 the new management installed a Marr & Colton 2-manual organ. Later still the Basil brothers took over and renamed it Basil's Broadway. In recent years it was used as a church, Joy Temple, and possibly a Mosque of the Nation of Islam. Records found inside contain attendance lists for Muhammad's Mosque of Islam No 23 dated 1969 and 1970. Church info list Muhammad's Mosque of Islam No 23 as being at a nearby address (an empty lot), but not the listed address of the Sattler Theatre (but then, the listed address for the theatre is not the address on the building...and if the address on the building is correct, the location of the Mosque was at Sattler). The Mosque has sinced moved, info to be updated soon when I can make a trip to the current Mosque. There is no info about Joy Temple."

This is interesting that the Sattler Theatre may have been used by not only Joy Temple, but as Mosque of the Nation of Islam. Whoever used it as a house of worship didn't put any TLC into the building when being used by those organizations.

What is the address you have for the building? I added this theater along with Lost Memory, and we found the address from "somewhere" (it's been a while, I don't remember). Perhaps "516 Broadway" is the original address for the property? Often times addresses change over the years in some cases, so perhaps the address you have is the "current" address?

In one group of photos of the theatre there is a vertical sign on the building (since removed). The name on the sign is "God's Holy Temple". They were possibly the most recent occupants since the "Order to vacate the premises" posted on the building by the Buffalo buildings department was against the Temple.

Interesting observation!

I hope that CT member, John Basil can shed more light on this theatre and Mr. Sattler for us.

In one photo of the Sattler Theater the number 512 appears on the vertical sign below the word Temple. Is that the address that your talking about Patsy?

I guess so though the address at the top of this link reads 516. As we've learned before there are discrepancies when it comes to addresses with some of these theatres around the country.

If you click the link in the first comment on this page posted by Bryan, you can see the photo with the 512 number on the vertical sign. Also on that page, the address is given as 516 Broadway. I don't know if the building was renumbered or if it just spans multiple addresses.

I see the 512 in the photo so perhaps the building was either renumbered or it does span multiple addresses. A close-up of the sign showing the weed growing out of the roof really shows the neglect to this beautiful terra cotta exterior in an area that once thrived and is now a decaying neighborhood.

Most of the time, most theaters do span multiple addresses. So probably, 516 was the original address used for the theater, but for some reason, at some point, someone began using one of the other addresses, 512.

As for the condition of the building, I would assume that it's been a very long time since anything has occupied it. It's probably been vacant a very long time. It is doubtful that the church allowed it to get so bad, if they moved out a long time ago, the deterioration probably began after they left.

In the book Silent Screens by Michael Putnam there is a picture of this theater (p.34). A sign above the doors lists it as Joy Temple Institutional C.O.G.I.C. Outreach Ministry. The year the picture was taken was 1986

Interesting. Well that was 21 years ago of course....but I would assume the church must have left soon after that, as the neglect damage in those photos, has to be more than 10 or 15 years worth of major neglect.

I wonder what C.O.G.I.C stands for?

Church of God in Christ? Just a guess....

Good guess and probably a correct guess. Thank you.

Bway guessed right. That's exactly what it stands for. Also, don't forget the vertical sign on the building had the name "God's Holy Temple" on it. At what point did that congregation occupy the premises? Before or after Joy Temple...or were they one and the same?

IMO, they were the same organization but I have read that a Mosque...Nation of Islam occupied it at one point in time.

I have posted pictures of the Sattler at http://www.pbase.com/kjosker/sattler

kjosker

kjosker: Thanks for these important photos. And I would now like to know what the overhead logo reads on that stage.

Was also known as the Broadway and when it replaced the wooden-framed Casino Theatre, it wasn't the Casino on Genesee Street.

An effort is being made to save and restore the theater:
http://www.buffalofilmfestival.com/sattlertheater1914.html

Interesting to see that an effort is being made to save and restore this very neglected theatre which at one time was a beautiful theatre built by the famous Sattler name (i.e. Sattler Department Stores).

Umm, read between the lines in the BIFF blurb. It is only some wishful thinking to create interest in restoring this theatre. No concrete plan appears to be currently in place to undertake such a project.

sam_e: I recently drove by this former theatre and it would take a miracle to restore this one! Yet much of the terra cotta facade is still intact and tells us that this theatre, in its heyday, was a beauty.

Phone number 1960: CLeveland 4189

blfofan: Interesting to read so many of the old theatre phone numbers on so many of the Buffalo related CT links. I wish we still had the letter prefixes as they were cool.

http://broadwayfillmorealive.org/2.0/2008/04/18/the-sattler-theater-saved-from-the-wrecking-ball/

According to the article above the Broadway has been purchased and will be renovated

LOUB: Great news!!

Great news! Please keep us informed if you hear anything else as time goes on....

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/339951.html

Here is an update on the sale of this theatre. Please note the new owners envision showing movies again.

LOUB: I just received notice of this article through a local Buffalo friend's email. I, too, made note that the new owners envision showing movies again. I wish them well as this theatre deserves to be saved.

LOUB: Send me an email (wrlenzo@aol.com) and I will give you the name of the Buffalo friend as you just might know him if you are in the Buffalo area.

http://broadwayfillmorealive.org/2.0/2008/11/18/kick-off-event-announced-for-statler-theatre-restoration-efforts/

The above site has an update on the theatre restoration.

Any update on any restoration on this theater?

I just heard recently that 2 men want to restore the theater. I don't know what type of use they have in mind though.

www.thebroadwaytheatre.net