Center Theater
580 Main Street,
Buffalo,
NY
14202
580 Main Street,
Buffalo,
NY
14202
2 people
favorited this theater
Shea’s Hippodrome Theater was one of the movie palaces along Buffalo’s Main Street. It stood approximately one block south of the Paramount Theater and on the same side of the street.
The theater had a balcony, but was neglected and dark during the late 1950’s and 1960’s. As a result it was difficult to see any details of the theatre’s internal design.
The original marquee had been removed and replaced with a more “modern” (1950’s style) marquee with the name “Center” on it.
During the 1960’s, the Center was the house that ran almost all of the Warner Brothers / Seven Arts / Hammer films.
Contributed by
E. Summer
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Recent comments (view all 16 comments)
The “Hippodrome”, designed by Leon H. Lempert,Jr., opened on Aug.31, 1914 with 2,800 seating capacity. The lobby was designed by Green & Wicks. On Aug.31, 1949 it became the “Center” Theatre. The Interior Designer was G.Brandt. In Dec.1968, it was turned into a Triplex theatre and was finally razed March 27, 1983.
It’s interesting to read about the theatres in Buffalo. Unfortunately the word ‘former’ has to be written when talking about the Center and many other theatres in western NYS which also includes the Regent in nearby Dunkirk NY and the Geitner in nearby Silver Creek NY. The Geitner was a proud family run theatre for many years, but now is a teen center with the interior basically gutted except for the lobby ‘with a fireplace’! Incidentally, the present owner grew up in that town so he and his wife recall going to the Geitner when they were dating. They recall the balcony and unique decor, but it is all gone now.
My Grandfather was the first orchestra director at the Shea’s Hippodrome,according to his obituary in the Arts Journal. His name was George A. Bouchard,(organist), my Grandmother Mary Bouchard also sang there.(Opera) Do you have any musical information about the theatre or about the performances. I would appreciate it.
Sharon M.
I visite the projection booth in this theatre in May 1967. They were showing “Hombre” with Paul Newman. The booth was tiny,built up on stilts with a steep steel ladder for access. They had two Century JJ-2’s and a third Simplex XL with an RCA 9030 soundhead. All 3 machines had Strong lamps burning 11mm positives. At that time the Buffalo local still had a two man booth in the downtown theatres. It was cozy up there.
Bob Throop
When the Center became a triplex,each theater had a name. There was the Center, Backstage,and Penthouse.
The “REAL” Mighty WurliTzer Theater Pipe Organ for this theater was Opus 585, a 3 Manual/15 Rank organ, shipped on September 29, 1922, a whole 17.9 miles, from the WurliTzer Headquarters in North Tonawanda, New York. The last anyone knows, in May of 1957, the organ went to a residence in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada and was still playable.
“Gee Dad, it’s a WurliTzer!”
Phone number 1960: MAdison 5131
After they carved up this house into 3 theaters, I think the last moment of its glory was their booking, first run, of “Woodstock”. They ran it in the largest theater, and charged what was a truly exorbitant price — I think it was $6.00 — which I finally coughed up since I didn’t get to go to the festival. This film should have been run at the Granada — the sound was poor and the facility was cramped — but the haze in the theater was amazing!
In it’s prior incarnation as a single screen theater, I always marveled at their continued usage of multiple curtains – as did many houses for years in the area. Projection would start off on the solid house curtain which opened to reveal a see-through light curtain which was held in place until the main feature started up. Then it too opened to a clear picture, with all side travelers in place for perfect framing. At film end, the light curtain closed on the credits, then the main curtain as the lights came up. Try finding that today……………
When they made the theater into 3, you could buy a pass to wander from theater to theater. You didnt have to stay in just one show.
Some later Hippodrome history starting in 1938, when air conditioning was added. The last live
entertainment was in 1941 (Major Bowes), and during the war years admission went from 25 cents
to 40 cents. Also during this period, the “Hipp” and the Buffalo were sold by the Shea Estate to
Loews Chain and Vincent Mc Faul, for $2M. After this big movies that opened at the Buffalo, then
went to the Hippodrome. In 1949, as stated the name changed to Center and a redo took place. Also live entertainment returned for a period, including Nat Cole and Peggy Lee. In 1952, a closed
circuit opera was shown, and in 1952 “The Greatest Show on Earth” attracted 60, 000 patrons
in 3 weeks. A Marciano fight at $3 a head was also shown in this period. Buffalo’s first 3-D
movie “Bwana Devil” also shown here. The late 50s and 60s brought decline, and the division
into 3 theaters in 1967. Closed in 1975, demolished in 1983,