New Grand Theatre
20 N. Market Street,
Johnstown,
NY
12095
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Additional Info
Architects: Leon H. Lempert, Sr.
Firms: Leon H. Lempert & Son
Previous Names: Johnstown Opera House
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This was the largest theatre between Syracuse and Albany, New York at the turn of the century. Designed by architect Leon H. Lempart Sr., it had a large proscenium arch of 40 feet and a tremendous 40 by 64 foot stage. It was able to maintain over twenty sets of scenery. It opened as the Johnstown Opera House in October 1889. Mainly used for shows, it did occasionally show movies.
It was taken over on a twenty years lease by William Smalley in the early-1900’s and renamed New Grand Theatre. It was destroyed by fire in 1928.
The frontage survived and a new auditorium was built and it reopened as Smalley’s Johnstown Theatre (later renamed Towne Theatre) which has its own page on Cinema Treasures. Today, the front of the building survives, but the auditorium has been demolished.
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
As the New Grand showed “Cardigan” on 9/8/1922 as part of the 150th anniversary celebration for Tryon County.
It seems a shame that Johnstown, which calls itself “Historic Johnstown,” allowed such a treasure to be destroyed.
New Grand (formely Johnstown Opera House)theatre was on North Market street, but was not at 20 North Market street- that was the address 0f Smalley’s(Johnstown) theatre. (An older theatre, called the Grand was on the same location as Smalley’s until it was destroyed in a fire in 1828) Perhaps some member can find out the correct full address of the New Grand theatre.
A History of Fulton County published in 1892 says that the Johnstown Opera House was designed by architect Leon H. Lempert.
Variety of June 2, 1916, had this item:
I suspect that the house was renamed the New Grand following this 1916 remodeling. The addition of “New” to a theater’s name was fairly common after a major remodeling.The Grand Opera House in Johnstown is on a list of theaters designed by the Rochester firm Leon H. Lempert & Son that was published in the 1906-1907 edition of the Cahn guide. A History of Fulton County published in 1892 also attributes the design to Leon H. Lempert.
The theater already advertised itself as the Grand Opera House in the July 28, 1890, issue of The Daily Republican, the year after it opened. It’s likely that it was never called the Johnstown Opera House. This is the text of an advertisement that appeared in multiple issue of The New York Dramatic Mirror in the summer of 1889:
The frontage of the theater on market st still survives to this day, the theater building in the back has been torn down. I will post some pictures as soon as I can.