I came down from Buffalo to visit my aunt on South Pershing near Market and decided to go for a walk and wound up at this theater. I didn’t care what movie was playing I just wanted to check it out. The movie was the Unbearable Lightness of Being. I hung around for about an hour of it. The theater was really beat up.
Loved this theater, loved this mall. They had fantastic midnight cult movies on Friday and Saturday nights in the early 80s and not just on one screen but a variety of cult favorites on several screens. First time I saw Dawn of the Dead was here and I was blown away. Loved the unique layout, popcorn was delicious and the films booked were always intriguing. This is one I sorely miss.
This was a big deal in the town when this opened in August of 81. I was there the first day and they had banners and balloons and pomp. I wound up seeing Endless Love that first day because like most 16 year olds of that era I thought Brooke Shields was a babe. Needless to say the movie horrified me.
This became my primary theater, taking over from the neighboring Boulevard General Cinema. I went a couple times in the early 2000s when AMC had taken over but by then I was pretty much going to the Regal and Market Arcade as I was a Buffalo City resident then.
I think this place was right around where the Outback Steakhouse is. The only film I can ever really recall seeing here was The gross out sci fi flick The Demon Seed in 1977 but I may have seen others. I know I walked a couple miles to see a revival of American Graffiti in 1978 with previously unseen scenes only to be turned away at the door for being 13 (!) I asked them if they knew the film was rated PG and they told me it was the policy of the theater to not let any unaccompanied minors in during evening showings. I then told them I had seen the movie over ten times and could recite the dialogue verbatim but that didn’t phase them. I then told them I saw the R rated Demon Seed with my 16 year old sister the year before and that’s when they said bye.
I’d have to look at some old back local papers to figure out when this place closed but I would venture to guess early 80’s….maybe as late as 85.
Though I grew up closer to the Amherst theater and went to many of the older Buffalo neighborhood theaters like the Bailey, Kensington and Grenada the Boulevard Mall was for all intents and purposes the theater of my youth even though it was a trek to walk there from my Eggertsville home. Only other complex that came close was the Holiday Showcase for amount of movies seen at a particular venue circa 1975-1981. I do recall when it was just two screens, then three, then four, then gone. I used to go to sneak previews there all the time. From Nickelodeon to Close Encounters. Saw Star Wars there about ten times and spent the entire summer of 77 watching Rollercoaster close to 30 times. I think the last film I saw there was Do the Right Thing in 1989. Nothing all that special about the place. As soon as the University General Cinemas opened up down the block on Maple in August of 81 and then the AMC Maple Ridge in late 1986 this place’s days were pretty much numbered. Still don’t know how they managed to stay open over a decade past that.
I make it a point to attend here when there is a mainstream movie I might be semi interested in. It’s art house Angelica days are long gone but I would much rather come here than the Regal. Popcorn is better and where else am I gonna have a whole theater for myself. I just hope it can hang in there.
Yeah another theater I grew up with. Sooo many movies. I remember as a kid watching Poseidon Adventure here on a special midnight New Years Eve showing. Then there’s the Dino D remake of King Kong with folks sitting on the aisles. Same a couple years befoe with Towering inferno. Then the theaters in the back that I saw Smokey and the Bandit, Slapshot, Airport 77, Handle with Care etc. I remember the 4 back theaters had this cool vending machine that would sell little cheap mini-toys that I would beg my folks to buy me for 75 cents.
And I also noticed the glaring absence, as somebody has mentioned before, of the Plaza North on Niagara Falls Blvd and the Valu on Clinton. As good as this site is it isn’t exactly all inclusive.
The Granada was in the University Heights district of Buffalo. I lived in the neighboring community of Eggertsville so I saw movies here and at The Amherst as a child. Granada would sometimes play classic old movie matinees in the 70s like King Kong that us kids would go to. Later I remember as a teenager walking down Main street to the Granada for my first ever viewing of Rocky Horror in 1981. I think they finally demolished it a couple years later.
Saw many movies as a teenager here circa 1980-81. Saw Eraserhead, I spit on Your grave, Last House on the Left and Escape From NY. Nondescript with an odd and eclectic booking selection: from foreign art house offerings to porn to horror to martial arts it was one of the few places I remember from that era that never asked for ID.
Took my 11 year old daughter for the final night. Saw one of the Die Hard films. Very bittersweet. Now it’s just the Transit Drive-In. I know Sunset in Middleport and the Silverlake are still around but they are a little far out for city residents.
I remember this place because my friend Jimmy the Clam ran it in the early 90s. I remember he booked Boston cult rockstar Jonathon Richman in October of 91 in what was a great show. Richman spent most of his time during breaks in the concert watching the World Series between the Braves and Twins on a tiny plug in over the air TV in a room off the balcony. The theater later held odd stage productions with names like Psycho Beach Party before the place was knocked down. The curtains from the theater now hang at Mohawk Place in downtown Buffalo.
The Showplace was showing 2nd run films well into the nineties. I remember seeing Little Man Tate there in 92 and other films after that. I remember the odd Mens restroom where you had to go downstairs to this small room with 70s movie posters plastered on it like The Spy Who Loved Me. I think it finally became a concert venue in either 1995 or 1996. They removed the first ten rows of seats for standing room close to the stage and installed a bar against midway up from the stage on the left hand side. In addition to seeing a lot of movies here I also saw a lot of concerts including the Cramps.
I came down from Buffalo to visit my aunt on South Pershing near Market and decided to go for a walk and wound up at this theater. I didn’t care what movie was playing I just wanted to check it out. The movie was the Unbearable Lightness of Being. I hung around for about an hour of it. The theater was really beat up.
In a 1979 episode of the White Shadow the character of Abner Goldstein is seen walking out of the Optic after seeing the film Lenore Loves Louisville
The old marquee
Last film was Splash (1984)
I remember that title remaining on the marquee for awhile before it was knocked down.
And yes, this was always AMC.
Loved this theater, loved this mall. They had fantastic midnight cult movies on Friday and Saturday nights in the early 80s and not just on one screen but a variety of cult favorites on several screens. First time I saw Dawn of the Dead was here and I was blown away. Loved the unique layout, popcorn was delicious and the films booked were always intriguing. This is one I sorely miss.
This was a big deal in the town when this opened in August of 81. I was there the first day and they had banners and balloons and pomp. I wound up seeing Endless Love that first day because like most 16 year olds of that era I thought Brooke Shields was a babe. Needless to say the movie horrified me.
This became my primary theater, taking over from the neighboring Boulevard General Cinema. I went a couple times in the early 2000s when AMC had taken over but by then I was pretty much going to the Regal and Market Arcade as I was a Buffalo City resident then.
I think this place was right around where the Outback Steakhouse is. The only film I can ever really recall seeing here was The gross out sci fi flick The Demon Seed in 1977 but I may have seen others. I know I walked a couple miles to see a revival of American Graffiti in 1978 with previously unseen scenes only to be turned away at the door for being 13 (!) I asked them if they knew the film was rated PG and they told me it was the policy of the theater to not let any unaccompanied minors in during evening showings. I then told them I had seen the movie over ten times and could recite the dialogue verbatim but that didn’t phase them. I then told them I saw the R rated Demon Seed with my 16 year old sister the year before and that’s when they said bye.
I’d have to look at some old back local papers to figure out when this place closed but I would venture to guess early 80’s….maybe as late as 85.
Though I grew up closer to the Amherst theater and went to many of the older Buffalo neighborhood theaters like the Bailey, Kensington and Grenada the Boulevard Mall was for all intents and purposes the theater of my youth even though it was a trek to walk there from my Eggertsville home. Only other complex that came close was the Holiday Showcase for amount of movies seen at a particular venue circa 1975-1981. I do recall when it was just two screens, then three, then four, then gone. I used to go to sneak previews there all the time. From Nickelodeon to Close Encounters. Saw Star Wars there about ten times and spent the entire summer of 77 watching Rollercoaster close to 30 times. I think the last film I saw there was Do the Right Thing in 1989. Nothing all that special about the place. As soon as the University General Cinemas opened up down the block on Maple in August of 81 and then the AMC Maple Ridge in late 1986 this place’s days were pretty much numbered. Still don’t know how they managed to stay open over a decade past that.
I make it a point to attend here when there is a mainstream movie I might be semi interested in. It’s art house Angelica days are long gone but I would much rather come here than the Regal. Popcorn is better and where else am I gonna have a whole theater for myself. I just hope it can hang in there.
Yeah another theater I grew up with. Sooo many movies. I remember as a kid watching Poseidon Adventure here on a special midnight New Years Eve showing. Then there’s the Dino D remake of King Kong with folks sitting on the aisles. Same a couple years befoe with Towering inferno. Then the theaters in the back that I saw Smokey and the Bandit, Slapshot, Airport 77, Handle with Care etc. I remember the 4 back theaters had this cool vending machine that would sell little cheap mini-toys that I would beg my folks to buy me for 75 cents.
And I also noticed the glaring absence, as somebody has mentioned before, of the Plaza North on Niagara Falls Blvd and the Valu on Clinton. As good as this site is it isn’t exactly all inclusive.
The Granada was in the University Heights district of Buffalo. I lived in the neighboring community of Eggertsville so I saw movies here and at The Amherst as a child. Granada would sometimes play classic old movie matinees in the 70s like King Kong that us kids would go to. Later I remember as a teenager walking down Main street to the Granada for my first ever viewing of Rocky Horror in 1981. I think they finally demolished it a couple years later.
Saw many movies as a teenager here circa 1980-81. Saw Eraserhead, I spit on Your grave, Last House on the Left and Escape From NY. Nondescript with an odd and eclectic booking selection: from foreign art house offerings to porn to horror to martial arts it was one of the few places I remember from that era that never asked for ID.
Took my 11 year old daughter for the final night. Saw one of the Die Hard films. Very bittersweet. Now it’s just the Transit Drive-In. I know Sunset in Middleport and the Silverlake are still around but they are a little far out for city residents.
The above caption for the picture is incorrect. The Showplace stopped showing movies in 1993-94
I remember this place because my friend Jimmy the Clam ran it in the early 90s. I remember he booked Boston cult rockstar Jonathon Richman in October of 91 in what was a great show. Richman spent most of his time during breaks in the concert watching the World Series between the Braves and Twins on a tiny plug in over the air TV in a room off the balcony. The theater later held odd stage productions with names like Psycho Beach Party before the place was knocked down. The curtains from the theater now hang at Mohawk Place in downtown Buffalo.
The Showplace was showing 2nd run films well into the nineties. I remember seeing Little Man Tate there in 92 and other films after that. I remember the odd Mens restroom where you had to go downstairs to this small room with 70s movie posters plastered on it like The Spy Who Loved Me. I think it finally became a concert venue in either 1995 or 1996. They removed the first ten rows of seats for standing room close to the stage and installed a bar against midway up from the stage on the left hand side. In addition to seeing a lot of movies here I also saw a lot of concerts including the Cramps.