Van Curler Theatre

430 Franklin Street,
Schenectady, NY 12305

Unfavorite No one has favorited this theater yet

Additional Info

Previously operated by: Fabian Theaters

Architects: Leon H. Lempert, Jr., Leon H. Lempert, Sr.

Firms: Leon H. Lempert & Son

Nearby Theaters

Van Curler Theatre

Opened on March 1, 1893 as the Van Curler Opera House. The Van Curler Theatre is listed in the 1941 & 1943 editions of Film Daily Yearbook, as being in the stock of theatres owned or operated by the Fabian Theaters chain, although they had closed the theatre around 1940. It was demolished in 1943.

Contributed by Ken Roe

Recent comments (view all 2 comments)

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on May 18, 2013 at 4:02 pm

This article from the Schenectady Daily Gazette gives a brief history of the Van Curler Theatre. The theater opened as the Van Curler Opera House on March 1, 1893. In its later years it operated as a movie house as well as a vaudeville and burlesque theater. The Van Curler Theatre had been closed for several years when the auditorium was demolished in 1943. The entrance building was demolished eight years later.

The theater was not located on Van Curler Street, but in downtown Schenectady on Jay Street at the corner of Franklin Street. The article has two photos. The front of the theater was a typically Victorian assemblage of Moorish and Classical elements with a Queen Anne style tower of bay windows and belfry stuck onto one corner.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on December 23, 2014 at 7:57 pm

The Van Curler Opera House is on a list of theaters designed by Leon H. Lempert & Son that was published in the 1906-1907 Cahn guide.

You must login before making a comment.

New Comment

Subscribe Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.