Genesee Theatre

marley111 on April 6, 2010 at 9:56 pm

I lived on Nevada St.in the 60s and went to the Genesee Show often. I remember if the Ushers saw you throwing popcorn they would make you stand in the center of the lobby for 5-10 mins before allowing you back to your seat.
After the movie we would walk a block to Wicks on the corner of Genesee & Montana Streets where we’d enjoy a fosfate & listen to music from the jukebox.
It was great being a kid back then….so many special memories.
Brenda P.

LouB on October 1, 2008 at 11:08 pm

http://buffaloah.com/h/movie/k/source/6.html

The website above shows a picture of this theatre.

railroad on April 5, 2008 at 8:48 am

In the mid to late fifties I lived near the Jefferson-Utica Sts. intersection and frequently patronized the Apollo and Genesee
theaters. The Genesee was quite a hike but it was always well worth it. From what I remember, on Saturday, there would be a line outside and I believe it cost 10 cents for admission. These obviously were not first run movies. As a kid, who cared. I especially remember seeing the Ten Commandments there, (boy that was long) and also two of my favorite movies The Last Voyage and The Wreck Of The Mary Deare. I do have a b/w photograph that was taken at night. Based on the parked autos this may have been taken in the 40’s early 50’s.

arl on March 13, 2008 at 4:45 pm

The Genesee Theater opened in 1928, in a structure called the Genesee Theater Building. It
was an Adams style theater by archiect Harold Spann. The building housed several other
businesses. The Genesee was run by the Basil Family and was their major theater and offices,
until they acquired the Lafayette Theater in the 1940s. This was the last theater in the Basil
Chain and was closed in 1966. Other interests re-opened the Genesee in 1970 and X-rated
films were shown there, along with second run films until around 1979. The entire structure
was leveled in 1985. The chandelier in the Genesee went to the Riviera Theater in North
Tonawanda.