Sidney Cinema
61 Main Street,
Sidney,
NY
13838
61 Main Street,
Sidney,
NY
13838
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Smalley's Theaters Inc.
Previous Names: Smalley's Theatre, Sidney Theatre
Nearby Theaters
Smalley’s Theatre opened on September 21, 1922 with Norma Talmadge in “Smilin' Through”. It was still open in 1958 when it was renamed Sydney Theatre. it underwent extensive remodeling in late-1969, including removal of the old marquee. In mid to late-1977 it was renamed Sydney Cinema.
Contributed by
Ken McIntyre
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
Here is a 1980 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/yeoeblp
The old marquee can been in this issue of the Oneonta Star, on 1/31/70:
http://tinyurl.com/yhfmf35
The cover of the Images of America book Sidney, by Erin Andrews and the Sidney Historical Association, has a photo of this theater on its cover with the name Smalley’s on the marquee (Google Books Preview.) There’s also a photo of the auditorium in the book, the caption for which says the house opened in 1922 with 880 seats, was sold in 1957, and operated as a theater until 1997.
this web page extracts a bit about the theater from a 2002 publication. It gives the exact opening date of Smalley’s Theatre as September 21, 1922, and adds that, as of 2002, the building was being partly demolished, but doesn’t specify which part. The Images of America book says that the building is now occupied by the Emerald City Salon and Joe and Vinny’s Pizzeria.
Google Maps' pin icon is in the wrong place again. The theater building is on the east side of Main Street between Liberty and Avery Streets, almost directly opposite the end of Division Street. In satellite view it looks like the whole, theater-sized building is still there, though it’s possible that a stage house has been removed.
The first movie theater I ever went to, in 1971.
The actual opening date is September 21, 1922 with Norma Talmadge in “Smilin' Through” along with an unnamed comedy and newsreel. The Smalley’s Theatre was named after the owner, William C. Smalley (1890-1952), who lived in various areas across New York including Cooperstown and Oneonta.
On the afternoon of March 20, 1957, the theater was damaged by a rear-end fire, forcing a short closure for reinstallations of a new screen and some other equipment. The Smalley Theatre was then renamed the Sidney Theatre the following year in 1958.
The Sidney Theatre was renamed the Sidney Cinema in mid-to-late 1977 right after its management takeover by Nelson Smith that July. Janet Gleason took it over in February 1981.
During the Sidney Cinema’s final days in operation during the late-1990s, it did have a brief closure in 1997 before reopening. Unfortunately it reopening didn’t last long, and the Sidney Cinema closed the following year in 1998.