This theater has experienced a number of incarnations:
1) The Farman Theater was originally built as a live performance venue predating the movie era.
2) In 1944-45, it was gutted down to the walls and rebuilt as a movie theater designed by architect Michael D'Angelo (who also designed theaters in Batavia and Mt. Morris, NY among others). At this time, it retained the name Farman Theater.
3) In 1968, the building was purchased by Frank R. Versage and continued to run as a movie theater under the name Warsaw Cinema.
4) In 2008, the building was purchased by WNY Performance Center, Inc., a not-for-profit organization and is currently being refitted for live performance once again.
From Paul Penner — I am the president of the board of trustees of WNY Performance Center, Inc., the new owner of the Warsaw Cinema. We are refitting the theater for live performance: Back to the Future! We will soon have a live web cam in operation and I will post that URL here. Does anyone have any contact information for Lynda Wilson Smith, the granddaughter of Oscar Glas. We have two murals of Glas' in the theater that we wish to restore.
Here’s some more information to fill in in the header above:
Style: Art Deco
Seats: ~500
Chain: Independent
Firm: DeAngelis headed up his own firm; I don’t know what name it had.
No. That is the name of the organization. The theater will have its own name. We are aiming at multiple venues eventually, each with its own name.
Sorry, I got the architect’s name wrong. It is Michael J. DeAngelis. He also designed the strand in Brockport which is still open.
This theater has experienced a number of incarnations:
1) The Farman Theater was originally built as a live performance venue predating the movie era.
2) In 1944-45, it was gutted down to the walls and rebuilt as a movie theater designed by architect Michael D'Angelo (who also designed theaters in Batavia and Mt. Morris, NY among others). At this time, it retained the name Farman Theater.
3) In 1968, the building was purchased by Frank R. Versage and continued to run as a movie theater under the name Warsaw Cinema.
4) In 2008, the building was purchased by WNY Performance Center, Inc., a not-for-profit organization and is currently being refitted for live performance once again.
From Paul Penner — I am the president of the board of trustees of WNY Performance Center, Inc., the new owner of the Warsaw Cinema. We are refitting the theater for live performance: Back to the Future! We will soon have a live web cam in operation and I will post that URL here. Does anyone have any contact information for Lynda Wilson Smith, the granddaughter of Oscar Glas. We have two murals of Glas' in the theater that we wish to restore.