Old Vienna Theatre
352 Pearl Street,
Buffalo,
NY
14202
352 Pearl Street,
Buffalo,
NY
14202
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Additional Info
Architects: William H. McElfatrick
Previous Names: Gayety Theatre, Playhouse Theatre, Filmarte Theatre, State Theatre
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This theater, located on Pearl Street at Huron Street, was built in 1914, designed by architect William H. McElfatrick. It was originally a burlesque house, but later turned to movies.
The Gayety Theatre had various later name changes: Playhouse Theatre, Filmart Theatre, State Theatre, and in the 1940’s-1950’s the Old Vienna Theatre. It was razed in 1955 and a parking garage is on the site today.
Contributed by
Bryan
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
List in the 1941 edition of Film Daily Yearbook as the State Theatre with 1,200 serats. In the F.D.Y. edition of 1943 it was the Old Vienna Theatre with a capacity of 1,029. In the 1950 edition of F.D.Y. it is still the Old Vienna Theatre but with 1,602 seats listed.
To be exact: Opened – January 12,1914 and Razed – October 9,1955. G.A.Mang was the Buffalo Supervising Architect and opened with 1,575 seats.
According to newspaper articles, in its later years, as the “Old Vienna”, the chief attraction
here was Bingo. Patrons were charged $2.00 to see a second run movie, after which a
Bingo game was held, with cash prizes. Bingo was illegal at this time, and after a series
of confrontations with the law, the theater closed in March 1951.
That cracks me up. Every church parish hall, legion hall and VFW post in the area had bingo games at least once a week. Were they ever raided…not likely!