Rivoli Theatre
1111 Broadway Street,
Buffalo,
NY
14212
1111 Broadway Street,
Buffalo,
NY
14212
2 people
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The Rivoli Theatre opened in 1919 and closed in late 1977. It was demolished in February 1984.
Any further information on this theatre would be appreciated.
Contributed by
KenRoe
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
The architect for the Rivoli Theatre was Joseph J. Geigand of Buffalo.
Stanley Kosanowski opened this theater, and continued to run it until the mid 1960s. He
often showed Polish movies and religious films, along with second run films. Kosanowski
filed a suit in the mid 1940s against Sheas, who ran the nearby Roosevelt, claiming he
was unable to get good films because of Shea’s monopoly of the area. The suit was
eventually thrown out. The theater closed for a period in the mid 1960s, opening again
in the 1970s , as the Old Rivoli. Now anything was shown, including X-rated films.
After closing in the late 1970s, it was sold at a tax foreclosure sale for $1,000. The
building was razed in 1984.
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This article deals with the demolition of this theatre.
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The site above shows a picture of this theatre.
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Here is a different view of the theatre.
Phone number 1960: HUmboldt 3523
http://buffaloah.com/h/movie/k/source/8.html
The above site shows a picture of the Rivoli.
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!).
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!
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?