Orpheum Theater

The first Orpheum Theater in Buffalo was in the 600 block of Genesee Street. It closed around 1915. This theater opened around 1912. Originally known as the Amuse-U Theater, the name was changed, and the theater possibly rebuilt in the late Teens or early 1920s.

The Orpheum was a long narrow concrete block two story structure. A confectionary was also housed in this
building. When the deluxe Genesee and Bailey Theaters opened just down the street, in the late 1920s, the Orpheum closed.

It reopened in the mid-1930s as a third-run house, not trying to compete with newer theaters. (Those theaters charged 20
cents during the 30s, while the Orpheum charged a dime). During World War II, 2:00 AM night owl shows were run for the
defense workers. After the war, it became the New Orpheum, but only managed to survive until 1952. The building was
torn down a few years later.

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