I would love to know more about both the theater and the organ (I’m a life-long organist). It had ceased to be a theater long before I was born, but for a long time during my life the Army-Navy store was in the building. Even that is gone now.
Another old Rochester theater I would like to know more about is the Home Theater. The only thing I know about it was that it was on the lower end of New York Avenue. I don’t know if it was torn down when the four lane road (Ohio River Blvd) was put in, or before that.
I’ve just started getting involved with the local historical society, so I’ll have to ask around and see what I can dig up.
I spent many Saturday afternoons with my friends at the Oriental. It’s a part of my life I’ll never forget. I did go to movies with my parents the Family Theater across the street, but despite the good times, the experience just wasn’t the same as at the Oriental. Even before the movies started, I got a lot of enjoyment out of just sitting there and looking at the decor.
In the late Seventies, my cousin’s family bought it and transformed it into Infinity. I did attend when I could (and the band I was in in 1981 performed there once when the regular band had to cancel), but it still lacked the je ne sais quoi of my early youth.
I still live here in Rochester (I was born here, and I’ll probably always be here), and walking around town is enjoyable, but I always feel a bit of sadness when I walk by the Oriental’s former site (and other long-gone places). But I still have my memories.
I would love to know more about both the theater and the organ (I’m a life-long organist). It had ceased to be a theater long before I was born, but for a long time during my life the Army-Navy store was in the building. Even that is gone now.
Another old Rochester theater I would like to know more about is the Home Theater. The only thing I know about it was that it was on the lower end of New York Avenue. I don’t know if it was torn down when the four lane road (Ohio River Blvd) was put in, or before that.
I’ve just started getting involved with the local historical society, so I’ll have to ask around and see what I can dig up.
I spent many Saturday afternoons with my friends at the Oriental. It’s a part of my life I’ll never forget. I did go to movies with my parents the Family Theater across the street, but despite the good times, the experience just wasn’t the same as at the Oriental. Even before the movies started, I got a lot of enjoyment out of just sitting there and looking at the decor.
In the late Seventies, my cousin’s family bought it and transformed it into Infinity. I did attend when I could (and the band I was in in 1981 performed there once when the regular band had to cancel), but it still lacked the je ne sais quoi of my early youth.
I still live here in Rochester (I was born here, and I’ll probably always be here), and walking around town is enjoyable, but I always feel a bit of sadness when I walk by the Oriental’s former site (and other long-gone places). But I still have my memories.