Plaza Theatre
617 State Street,
Schenectady,
NY
12305
617 State Street,
Schenectady,
NY
12305
1 person
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The RKO Plaza Theatre was opened on August 28, 1931, with Maurice Chevalier in “The Smiling Lieutenant.
It was demolished in 1964.
Contributed by
Bryan
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
The marquee and vertical sign of the RKO Plaza are visible in the background of this 1937 photo.
The Plaza was a John Eberson atmospheric theatre, and I believe it opened in 1931. It was demolished in the late 60’s-early 70’s and remained an empty lot until recently when an office building was erected on the site. It’s across and just up the street from Proctor’s Theatre.
Is the Proctor Theatre listed on CT?
The Plaza Theatre opened on August 28, 1931 with 2382 seats. It was the second of two theatres built by Jacob (father) and Si (son) Fabian after they left the Stanley-Fabian Theatres that were acquired by Warner Bros. in 1928. The two theatres, the Palace in Albany and the Plaza in Schenectady were leased to RKO. RKO defaulted on the leases and the theatres were taken back by the Fabians and operated as part of the Fabian Theaters circuit. The Plaza Theatre was demolished in 1964.
Check out some Plaza ads here:
http://plantweed.blogspot.com/search?q=plaza
I believe this is the theater my dad, who was born in 1924, often spoke about. He said when you looked up at the ceiling, it looked like stars were shining and that it was air conditioned (which was apparently a novelty).
Grand opening article and ads is at View link