The North Park Theatre is a historic single screen

movie theatre A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

's North Park Neighborhood.Sommer, Mar
"Lighting up Hertel Strip"

The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It recently sold its headquarters to Uniland Development Corp. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by W ...

, April 2, 2006Esmonde, Don
"At the North Park, a Vestige of Elegance in a Sterile World"

, January 10, 1993 It has functioned as a cinema since it opened on November 21, 1920. Originally called Shea's North Park, the theatre, along with

Shea's Performing Arts Center Shea's Performing Arts Center (originally Shea's Buffalo) is a theater for touring Broadway musicals and special events in Buffalo, New York. Originally called Shea's Buffalo, it was opened in 1926 to show silent movies. It took one year to bu ...

, serves as a remnant of the now defunct Shea's theatre chain, once owned by early twentieth century businessman Michael Shea. Its design by Henry Spann was influenced by the neoclassical movement.DiDomizio, Josep
"The North Park: Uncovering Neoclassicism in a Buffalo Theatre"
''Buffalo Rising'', February 23, 2008 The auditorium features a proscenium above the screen and a 5-paneled recessed dome arched into the ceiling, both decorated with murals by Raphael Beck. List of works by Raphael Beck at Meibhom Fine Arts

Meibhom Fine Arts
' The North Park operated under

Dipson Theatres Dipson Theaters is a movie theater chain based in Western New York. History Dipson Theatres, Inc. began in 1939 in Batavia, NY. In 1939 Nikitas Dipson also moved into the Buffalo, NY region, acquiring three theaters Michael Shea operated but ...

until May 2013, when it was purchased by a new ownership group.Simon, Jef
"North Park Theatre Won't Be Going Dark"

, May 23, 2013 The theater closed for an eight-month restoration that included returning ornamental features such as the plaster dome and proscenium in the auditorium to their former glory. The theater reopened on March 7, 2014, and screens a mixture of children's, independent, specialty, and occasionally first-run films. In November 2014, a restored stained-glass window above the marquee that had long been hidden behind a concrete panel, was unveiled. In June 1998, the North Park held the world premiere of ''

Buffalo '66 ''Buffalo '66'' is a 1998 American crime comedy-drama film written and directed by Vincent Gallo, starring Gallo, Christina Ricci, Ben Gazzara and Anjelica Huston. The plot revolves around Billy Brown (Gallo), a man who kidnaps a young tap dancer ...

''. This marked the first major film to premiere in Buffalo since ''

The Natural ''The Natural'' is a 1952 novel about baseball by Bernard Malamud, and is his debut novel. The story follows Roy Hobbs, a baseball prodigy whose career is sidetracked after being shot by a woman whose motivation remains mysterious. The story mos ...

'' opened in 1984. In attendance were

Vincent Gallo Vincent Gallo (born 1961) is an American actor and director. He has had supporting roles in films such as ''Arizona Dream'' (1993), ''The House of the Spirits'' (1993), ''Palookaville'' (1995), and '' The Funeral'' (1996). His lead roles include ...

Christina Ricci Christina Ricci ( ; born February 12, 1980) is an American actress. Known for playing unusual characters with a dark edge, Ricci predominantly works in independent productions, but has also appeared in numerous box office hits. She has receiv ...

, and

Asia Argento Asia Argento (; born Aria Maria Vittoria Rossa Argento; 20 September 1975) is an Italian actress and filmmaker. The daughter of filmmaker Dario Argento, she has had roles in several of her father's features and achieved mainstream success with a ...

.Kuczynski, Ale
"Vincent Gallo's American Buffalo"

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

, June 28, 1998Simon, Jef
"A Local Premiere for 'Buffalo 66'"

, June 9, 1998 In July 2018,

The First Purge ''The First Purge'' is a 2018 American dystopian action horror film directed by Gerard McMurray and starring Y'lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, Joivan Wade, and Steve Harris. Written and co-executive produced by James DeMonaco, it is the first film o ...

, which filmed in 2017 in Buffalo, NY, premiered starring “The City of Buffalo”.

References

External links

North Park Theatre Official WebsiteHistory of the North Park TheatreThe North Park Theatre at cinematreasures.org
{{Culture of Buffalo, New York Theatres completed in 1920 Buildings and structures in Buffalo, New York Culture of Buffalo, New York Theatres in New York (state) 1920 establishments in New York (state) Movie palaces

See also

References

External links