Webster Street Gallery
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| View looking south on Webster Street, circa 1928, from the south east corner of Goundry Street. On the left is the original Rivera Theatre marquee. The Rivera opened on December 30, 1926. |
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| The Rivera Theatre opened on December 30, 1926, at 67 Webster Street, and was billed as the "Showplace of the Tonawandas." Built by the Yellen family, advance opening night admission was $1. Patterned after the opulent Italian Renaissance style, Lempart and Son, Architects, created the design. The Wurlitzer organ, the "Mighty Wurlitzer," a demonstrator model, was shipped from the Wulitzer Company on November 26, 1926, and is still in use! The console of the organ was painted to harmonize with the theatre's interior by a Wurlitzer band organ artist. |
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| Michael Shea's company took over management of the theatre in 1930 and changed the name to the Riviera. The original theatre was decorated with stained glass windows, elaborate tile floors, paintings, and murals. Seating 1,200 people, it was a motion picture house from the day it opened, showing silent movies accompanied by Wurlitzer organ music. Monthly organ concerts kept the theatre going after television replaced movies and the theatre fell into neglect. |
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| The Niagara Frontier Organ Society acquired the historic theatre on November 26, 1989, and has worked with the community since to restore the Riviera to its original grandeur. The Riviera Theatre is listed on the registries of the State and National Historical Landmarks. |
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| The Smith Building at the north east corner of Webster Street at Tremont Street. First Methodist Church at right, at the corner of Main Street and Tremont Street. This photo was taken sometime after the Rivera Theatre opened but prior to its being taken over by Shea's and the name being changed to the Riviera. Business and professional offices were housed in the Smith Building, and the top floors had luxury apartments available for lease. It is said that this was the first building in the cities of North Tonawanda and Tonawanda to have an elevator. Burtch's Drug Store was on the first floor. |