I forgot to say that it was interesting and exciting being able to see Downtown Rochester’s Skyline growing, from the Town of Greece. You could see Midtown Tower and the ever-growing Xerox Tower. It was just a sad thing seeing all the old movie houses closing. I liked the Lowes, it was big, but as a kid, it was more fun getting lost in all the balconies of the RKO Palace. The Red Velvet Walls, all the mirrors, the stair cases, and the lobby seemed so tall.
In Response to the question of dhroc on August 22, 2011 at 4:14 pm
Xerox now stands where the Lowes Theatre was. I recall going to all of the Movie Theatres in Downtown Rochester, that were open in the 50’s through the 70’s, and saw those that fell, one by one. I was in High School at the time, and recall seeing Xerox growing from my homeroom window, located on Maiden Lane. I remember the new Lowes opening across from Pittsford Plaza in the 1960’s and it was huge, until the subdivided it into several theatres. One of the first movies I watched at the Pittsford Lowes, was “The Prize”,in 1963 with Paul Newman, Edward G. Robinson, Elke Sommer
I don’t know the numerical address of the RKO Palace, but I do recall going there so many times. It had a front entrance, on S. Clinton Ave., and a side entrance on Mortimer St. It was torn down in order to build a circular apartment building or buildings, but that never happened, and since it’s demise, it remained a parking lot. I recall losing my Rochester Red Wings Hat there, when the teams hats were Dark Blue Crown, a Red Bill, and a large R over the bill.
Here is a clip I found on line Rochester’s RKO Palace Theater,
https://www.pinterest.com/edmcewen/rochester-ny/
September 1965. A sign is hung on the marquee proclaiming this the site of new $10 Million dollar twin towers. The theater was demolished and no towers were ever built on the site. [PHOTO: Courtesy of Rochester Theater Organ Society]
Link to more info and photographs of the RKO Palace
The Riviera was a great theatre that showed great movies. It is sad that they are not remembered, and I recall how sad it was to see if close and later erased from the landscape. My father would take our entire family there during the 1950’s and 60’s. Our Elementary School, Holy Cross, would have special outings there as well. This is where the Sound of Music was shown, and the screen was so large that you could almost feel like you were flying over the Alps. The music was so clear and real, that it was like an orchestra playing. Other movies I recall were The Alamo with John Wayne, Ben Hur, and as you can see in the photo, West Side Story. We saw lots of movies, and I can’t remember which theatre we saw them in, but there was The King and I, Oklahoma, Flower Drum Song, Bridge on the River Kwai, (little could anyone have guessed that Alec Guinness, the star of Bridge on the River Kwai, would later star as Obi Wan Kenobi, in Star Wars. We saw all the Disney Classics, animated and movies like Old Yeller, and Swiss Family Robinson, Dumb, Pinnochio, Snow White and what seems like countless others. I see these on television now, and they bring back such great memories, of great movies, happy family times, and beautiful large theatres. My parents have passed away, the the family has all moved away, but the memories still live on, as you were not only entertained by the movies, but the beauty of the theatres; yes, they were called theatres, then, not theaters. The Riviera was nice inside, not as classy as the RKO Palace on Clinton Ave. and Mortimer St., but nice and it was clean too. East of the theatre, where Ridgeway Ave., met West Ridge Rd., there was a diner, in the shape of a Railway Car. Not that it was ever that, it just had the shape, very similar to the one at South Goodman St., and South Clinton Ave., with the shinny stainless steel exterior and the food was good. We might go there sometimes before the movie or after, for a nice treat. There was also a White Tower, on West Ridge Rd. at Lake Ave., but it was torn down to make room for Piehler Pontiac’s Used car lot. The speed limit on Lake Ave., back then was 25 mph. The price compared to now was very inexpensive, but salaries were much lower too, so at the time, it was still expensive to take a family out for an evening at the Movies. People would also dress up, for the fancier movies, and they all seemed to end with the full of the sound of applause. As I write this, I am watching, Heaven Knows Mr. Allison, which we saw as a family back in 1957, and I can still smell the fresh made popcorn.
I forgot to say that it was interesting and exciting being able to see Downtown Rochester’s Skyline growing, from the Town of Greece. You could see Midtown Tower and the ever-growing Xerox Tower. It was just a sad thing seeing all the old movie houses closing. I liked the Lowes, it was big, but as a kid, it was more fun getting lost in all the balconies of the RKO Palace. The Red Velvet Walls, all the mirrors, the stair cases, and the lobby seemed so tall.
In Response to the question of dhroc on August 22, 2011 at 4:14 pm Xerox now stands where the Lowes Theatre was. I recall going to all of the Movie Theatres in Downtown Rochester, that were open in the 50’s through the 70’s, and saw those that fell, one by one. I was in High School at the time, and recall seeing Xerox growing from my homeroom window, located on Maiden Lane. I remember the new Lowes opening across from Pittsford Plaza in the 1960’s and it was huge, until the subdivided it into several theatres. One of the first movies I watched at the Pittsford Lowes, was “The Prize”,in 1963 with Paul Newman, Edward G. Robinson, Elke Sommer
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=movie+the+prize+paul+newman&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
I don’t know the numerical address of the RKO Palace, but I do recall going there so many times. It had a front entrance, on S. Clinton Ave., and a side entrance on Mortimer St. It was torn down in order to build a circular apartment building or buildings, but that never happened, and since it’s demise, it remained a parking lot. I recall losing my Rochester Red Wings Hat there, when the teams hats were Dark Blue Crown, a Red Bill, and a large R over the bill. Here is a clip I found on line Rochester’s RKO Palace Theater,
https://www.pinterest.com/edmcewen/rochester-ny/
September 1965. A sign is hung on the marquee proclaiming this the site of new $10 Million dollar twin towers. The theater was demolished and no towers were ever built on the site. [PHOTO: Courtesy of Rochester Theater Organ Society]
Link to more info and photographs of the RKO Palace
http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=photos+of+the+RKO+Palace+Rochester+NY&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
The Riviera was a great theatre that showed great movies. It is sad that they are not remembered, and I recall how sad it was to see if close and later erased from the landscape. My father would take our entire family there during the 1950’s and 60’s. Our Elementary School, Holy Cross, would have special outings there as well. This is where the Sound of Music was shown, and the screen was so large that you could almost feel like you were flying over the Alps. The music was so clear and real, that it was like an orchestra playing. Other movies I recall were The Alamo with John Wayne, Ben Hur, and as you can see in the photo, West Side Story. We saw lots of movies, and I can’t remember which theatre we saw them in, but there was The King and I, Oklahoma, Flower Drum Song, Bridge on the River Kwai, (little could anyone have guessed that Alec Guinness, the star of Bridge on the River Kwai, would later star as Obi Wan Kenobi, in Star Wars. We saw all the Disney Classics, animated and movies like Old Yeller, and Swiss Family Robinson, Dumb, Pinnochio, Snow White and what seems like countless others. I see these on television now, and they bring back such great memories, of great movies, happy family times, and beautiful large theatres. My parents have passed away, the the family has all moved away, but the memories still live on, as you were not only entertained by the movies, but the beauty of the theatres; yes, they were called theatres, then, not theaters. The Riviera was nice inside, not as classy as the RKO Palace on Clinton Ave. and Mortimer St., but nice and it was clean too. East of the theatre, where Ridgeway Ave., met West Ridge Rd., there was a diner, in the shape of a Railway Car. Not that it was ever that, it just had the shape, very similar to the one at South Goodman St., and South Clinton Ave., with the shinny stainless steel exterior and the food was good. We might go there sometimes before the movie or after, for a nice treat. There was also a White Tower, on West Ridge Rd. at Lake Ave., but it was torn down to make room for Piehler Pontiac’s Used car lot. The speed limit on Lake Ave., back then was 25 mph. The price compared to now was very inexpensive, but salaries were much lower too, so at the time, it was still expensive to take a family out for an evening at the Movies. People would also dress up, for the fancier movies, and they all seemed to end with the full of the sound of applause. As I write this, I am watching, Heaven Knows Mr. Allison, which we saw as a family back in 1957, and I can still smell the fresh made popcorn.