Varsity Theatre
3165 Bailey Avenue,
Buffalo,
NY
14215
3165 Bailey Avenue,
Buffalo,
NY
14215
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The Varsity Theatre was opened November 28, 1923, with 863 seats. The opening movie was “Pioneer Trails”. The Capri Art Theatre opened in the former Varsity Theatre building sometime in the early-1960’s. In the 1970’s it ran adult movies. Last known as the Uptown Theatre, it had been closed several years when it was purchased by its current owner Ibrahim Cisse in 2010.
In February 2014, plans were announced to restore the theatre, to be used for live performances, occasional movies and community events, with a planned re-opening for 2015. It reopened February 12, 2015 as a live music venue and has been renamed Varsity Theatre again.
Contributed by
Ken MC/Lost Memory
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
This was known as the Palace Theater during the 4 years I was attending the University of Buffalo (1988-1992). They showed porn double features on video projection, for a hefty $8 admission price. One double bill I attended was a ‘70s film (FAREWELL, SCARLET) paired with a shot-on-camcorder cheapie (OPEN HOUSE). There was no longer a marquee above the entrance, just a sign that said “Palace Theater.” Patrons had to go inside and ask what movies were playing, or call the theater and listen very carefully to the answering machine for the titles. Painted on the walls on either side of the entrance were words that basically stated “The movies shown inside this theater are for health and educational purposes only” — meaning the Palace, under whatever name, had been showing skin flicks since the early '60s. The ticket booth was right inside, with a turnstile. I don’t remember the lobby, except that it was small and there was a little bulletin board announcing the following week’s double feature. I never saw the auditorium with the lights on; it was always pitch black, to the point where it was almost impossible to find a seat. Very scary. I went a few times, always with at least 2 friends and only when old-school classics were being shown, and then swore the place off.
The “Varsity” was designed by G. Lewis & R. Hill and opened in 1923 or 1924 with 1,000 seats.
The Palace Theatre in the picture DonLewis linked to is not this house, but one on Main Street in Downtown Buffalo. It isn’t listed at Cinema Treasures. As far as I’ve been able to discover, that Palace was always a burlesque house.
This house might have been called the Circle Arts Theatre, if the claim about Fred Keller, operator of the earlier Circle Arts Theatre, on this web page is correct:
Here is a weblog post from early 2010 about Abraham Cisse (though they misspelled his surname as Cissie), who had recently bought the Uptown Theatre and was in the process of renovating it. I’ve been unable to find any more recent information about the project, but Mr. Cisse is apparently still the owner of the property.Here is another recent photo of this house as the Uptown.
Where did the postcard picture go? It was there this morning. Does anyone have a direct link to the Don Lewis postcard showing the Palace (and the building that replaced the Bijou)? There a few other Buffalo sites that have photos of the Palace Theatre and Shelton Square. It is amazing how many theaters there were in Buffalo during the 1930’s-40’s. If you ever have the time, see Shea’s Buffalo Theatre. It is astounding! It is the grandest, most extravagent theatre I’ve ever seen. It’s been a while since I’ve been there…I saw “North By Northwest” there in 1996. Radio City Music Hall is fantastic, but for sheer opulence, see Shea’s.
Agreeing with Joe about my postcard image of the Palace Theatre and the Capri Art, I have pulled it.
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This link deals with a grant the theater has recieved.
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The above link deals with this theatre.
The $150,000 Kensington neighborhood theatre launched on November 28, 1923 in Buffalo with the film, “Pioneer Trails.” Manager James Cardina was then able to temporarily close his Kensington Theatre to remodel it.