Riverside Theater
824 Tonawanda Street,
Buffalo,
NY
14207
824 Tonawanda Street,
Buffalo,
NY
14207
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Schine Circuit Inc.
Architects: Edwin P. Bacon, William C. Lurkey
Firms: Bacon & Lurkey
Previous Names: Schine's Riverside theater
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This former neighborhood theater was opened December 25, 1926 with Betty Compson in “The Belle of Broadway”. It had 1,500 seats. It was operated by the Schine Theatres circuit. When it closed May 1961 the seats were removed. On January 17, 1962 it became the Ski-Dek Center. People skied down the slanted floor. The theater was demolished and a library was built on this site in the 1980’s.
Contributed by
Loub
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
The Riverside opened December 25,1926 with 1,500 seats. I believe that the architects were Bacon & Lurkey.
The Riverside and the Kensington Theaters both opened on Christmas Day 1926. There had also
been a Riverside Theater at 855 Tonawanda St in the 1910s. This theater (#824) was part of the
Schine Chain, which had about 60 theaters running in the Eastern US when it ran the Riverside.
Schines also ran the Granada Theater in Buffalo. A number of other businesses were in the
same building with the theater. The foyer and lobby ran between these businesses, with the
auditorium behind them. The theater also had a Wurlitzer Organ. The Riverside closed in
May 1961, and became an indoor skiing center for a few years. It became vacant after this
venture and was torn down years later.
Phone number 1960: RIverside 9477
Grand opening ad posted.