Hamilton Movie Theater
7 Lebanon Street,
Hamilton,
NY
13346
7 Lebanon Street,
Hamilton,
NY
13346
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The Sheldon Opera House opened in 1895 as an opera house, and was eventually cineplexed.
In 2002 or 2003 it was purchased by Colgate College and resumed showing first-run films with occasional art, foreign or classic film screenings. In 2006 a new marquee was put on the theater as a gift of the class of 1956.
Contributed by
Ben Model
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Recent comments (view all 12 comments)
Lost: I found my way here after visiting the Colgate University campus via the internet. A neighbor of mine is a graduate of Colgate and wears his school colors….proudly. Sorry to read that it is triplexed though was pleased to read that the Class of ‘56 contributed to the marquee project.
As the Sheldon Opera House, the Hamilton is listed in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. E.B. Sheldon was the Mgr. The seating is given as 1,000 (probably rounded up).The proscenium opening was 30 feet wide and the stage was 30 feeet deep. The theatre was on the first floor. The local newspaper was the Hamilton Republican, a weekly. Hotels for show folk were the Hotel Moxwell and the Pock House. Railroad was the New York, Ontario and Western. The 1897 population of Hamilton was 2,000.
Here is another photo. The sign over the entrance reads Hamilton Movie House.
LM: Would love to see some interior photos of this theatre!
My neighbor may have graduated from the Class of 1956 so will have to ask if it was his class who donated the marquee.
No photos yet but I might have found the architect:
Architect A. W. Reynolds of Binghamton designed the Nichols & Beal Block at 6-12 Utica Street, an eclectic mix of architectural forms including round arch windows, Palladian motif windows, and a finial crowned corner tower. The Sheldon Opera House Block (1895) at 3-9 Lebanon Street, also designed by Reynolds, features Classical details, such as brick pilasters and garland panels, and a three-tier stepped pediment in the front gable. Source
Here is the Hamilton Theater website.
This is a 2009 photo.
Photo of the Hamilton Theatre courtesy Nick’s Classic American Theatres.
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This house was called the State Theatre until at least 1950. Prior to becoming the State, it was showing movies as Smalley’s Theatre from about 1918, according to an article in the Hamilton & Morrisville Tribune of May 10, 2006. The Schine circuit took over the house about 1934.