Shea's Buffalo Theater

Shea's Buffalo, photos by Joe Sparacio, Wikipedia, Mike Puma, Swiatek Studios

Location

City of Buffalo

Steel and concrete construction with terracotta trim on the Main Street facade
3,019 seat theater

Restored and operational

Michael Shea sells theater chain (at one time operating 13 theaters) to Paramount to help fund building of Shea's Buffalo for $2 million Buffalo Spree
Designed by Rapp & Rapp, the Chicago architectural firm considered among the handful of greatest movie-palace designers. The Buffalo News
1925 - Delays in construction prevented it from being completed before Christmas
January 16, 1926 - Shea's Buffalo Theatre was officially opened.
1950s/1960s - Decline of downtown Buffalo and the rise of suburban sprawl. Loews Corporation purchased Shea�s. Buffalo Spree
1973 - Loans from the bank of future theater president Anthony Conte help stave off demolition The Buffalo News
December 1974 - The City of Buffalo foreclosed on Shea�s for back taxes Buffalo Spree
1975 - The not-for-profit Friends of Buffalo Theater organized in 1975 to save Shea�s from the wrecking ball. Buffalo Spree
- "Shea�s was nearly torn down in the 1970s because of its owner�s business problems, but squatters occupied the theater and refused to leave" NY Times
- "The group worked to restore Shea�s, beginning with its Mighty Wurlitzer organ" Buffalo Spree
1980 - The Shea�s O�Connell Preservation Guild began management of the building Buffalo Spree

1998 - Theater shut down for a year for a $16 million stage expansion The Buffalo News
- "expansion of the original stage to fifty feet deep, increased wing space, three star suites, seven principal suites, and six chorus suites. A new loading dock was also built" Buffalo Spree
March 2001 - Anthony C. Conte, a former banker and entrepreneur, took the helm as president and chief executive officer, when the theater was $5.2 million in debt.
- 'He established a five-year plan to eliminate the debt and pay for the theater�s exterior restoration, which reached its goal in three years' The Buffalo News
2004 - Completion of exterior renovation
- "Replicas of the original 65-foot-tall, green-and-gold blade sign and �Wonder Theatre� sign were installed. A missing pediment recreated from photographs was also put atop the building�s cream terra-cotta facade." The Buffalo News
2013 - Replicas of the brass exterior doors were installed.
2014 - Restoration of neo-classic Spanish Baroque interior, designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, is nearing completion
- "New carpeting, lobby drapes, replastered walls and upgraded HVAC system have been followed by restoring the proscenium, high walls and 20 percent of the ceiling, with the remainder to be finished in the next two to three years." The Buffalo News
August 2014 - The last major renovations, including ceiling paint and lighting, is expected to be completed soon, in time for the 90th anniversary of the theater in January of 2016.

Located in the Theater Historic Preservation District
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975
Boasts one of four theater interiors by Louis Comfort Tiffany
2014 - "one of the top-grossing one-week, subscriber-based engagements for traveling Broadway shows in the country" The Buffalo News