RKO Palace Theater
71 Clinton Avenue,
Rochester,
NY
14604
71 Clinton Avenue,
Rochester,
NY
14604
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Here’s a new direct link to a slide show about the RKO Palace. It may take a few seconds to start loading:
View link
The year given for this photo is 1964.
I played a concert on the RKO Palace Wurlitzer in the Auditorium theatre last December. It is one of the best wurlitzer theatre organs you will ever hear.
Hi Warren, right now you may well be the one person at this website that knows the most about the RKO Temple in Rochester. It was torn down when I was very young and I don’t have any distinct memories of it at all. It may even have been torn down before I was born. I have memories of the block it sat on being cleared, but the theatre may have already been gone before then. If you were to start a posting on it you would be doing us a service! There was another theatre near the Temple called the “Victoria”, but I also have no memories of that.
The Temple Theatre was reported to have 2,200 seats when it first opened as a vaudeville house on December 6th, 1909. It was built and operated by James H. Moore, who also owned the Temple Theatre in Detroit, Michigan. Both the exterior and interior of Rochester’s Temple were described as “modified Colonial style.” A gorgeous mural on the sounding board above the proscenium arch was painted by Rafael Berk, a prominent Rochester artist at the time.
Thanks, Ken! Perhaps some citizen of Rochester will start a listing for the Temple. I know nothing of its history, or even if that 1914-15 address is still the same in 2007.
Warren; The Temple Theatre is listed in the American Motion Picture Directory 1914- 1915 edition. The address was 37 Clinton Avenue S., Rochester, NY
This 1932 ad also mentions an RKO Temple Theatre for Rochester, but I can’t find a listing for that theatre at Cinema Treasures. According to the 1932 Film Daily Year Book, the Temple had 1,496 seats. I wonder whatever became of it?
www.i8.photobucket.com/albums/a18/Warrengwhiz/rkousa.jpg
ziggy: And the site you posted on July 20th was most interesting especially the collection of Palace photos. Such a shame that Rochester has lost this beautiful theatre in 1965 to urban renewal. The exterior was breathtaking and the interior lobby photo(with Christmas tree) was even more so.
kohoutek: Watching the demolition video that you posted on Feb. 9th of this theatre was very heartbreaking and so sad for the citizens of Rochester! The wrecking ball had taken down the brick wall and the parking lot behind was visible from the once opulent auditorium. Does anyone have memories of this grand old lady?
ziggy: Glad to read that the Rochester Theatre Organ Society is taking care of the Palace Theatre’s Wurlitzer. I have friends who are members of MTOS (Metrolina Theatre Organ Society) in Charlotte NC so they will appreciate this bit of organ news.
Hi Patsy, I realize it’s 4 months after you asked, but the Palace Theatre’s Wurlitzer is now installed in the Auditorium Theatre on the other side of downtown, and is very well cared for by the Rochester Theatre Organ Society.
And what happened to the RKO Palace Wurlitzer organ? The Wurlitzer organ in the Tennessee was removed, restored and re-installed which is the way it should be!
What in the world was going on with the City of Rochester when this RKO Palace was brought down? I’m sure the preservationists weren’t as active or even a well organized group back then as they are now!
And the RTOS site is fascinating to view as the b/w slide show is complete, but very sad to watch as the RKO was a beautifully ornate downtown theatre that is gone forever.
I just found this link after researching the architect names of Graven and Mayger. I am truly saddened and appalled at what the City of Rochester did in regards to their RKO Palace in 1965 and now the site is a PARKING LOT! The City of Rochester should hang their heads in shame!
You can see fascinating shots of this grand old gal being demolished at at the following websites;
www.wroctv.com/features/story.asp?id=222&f=News_8_Then
www.wroctv.com/features/story.asp?id=219&f=News_8_Then
I remember visiting the RKO Palace in late 1962 during a visit to Rochester. The balcony was closed off and the theatre seemed a bit run down. I wished I had been there during its better days.
It would have made great showplace for Rochester but back then I don’t think many people gave much thought to saving old theatres. The demolition of many grand old theatres across North America was just beginning.
The RKO Palace closed on 2nd August 1965 and demolition of the building was completed four months later.
The address for the Palace Theatre was 71 Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY.
You can go to the site for the Rochester Theatre Organ Society at http://theatreorgans.com/rochestr/index.htm and click on the “Photographic Memories of Rochester’s RKO Palace to see a slide show of black and white photos of this theatre.
Hi Hilarie. If you have access to the Rochester Public Library their local history department used to have photos of several Rochester theatres, including the Palace. You might also try the Rochester Historical Society. If you’re not local (even if you are) you can contact the Rochester Theatre Organ Society. They may have some photos they are willing to share with you. You can probably get their contact info from the internet. As a final possibility, there is a series of books called “Images of America”, their volume on “Rochester Labor and Leisure” has some interior and exterior photos.
Does anyone have a photo of this theater?
The architects who designed this theatre were Graven and Mayger.