Smith Opera House, also known as the Geneva Theater, the Smith, and Smith's Opera House, is a historic

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

building located at

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Ontario County, New York Ontario County is a county in the U.S. State of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 112,458. The county seat is Canandaigua. Ontario County is part of the Rochester, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 2006, ''Progressive ...

. It was constructed in 1894 and is a -story, detached brick-and-stone building. It was built by one of Geneva's most respected citizens, William Smith. It was renovated in 1931 as a movie theater by architect Victor Rigaumount in a unique combination of Art Deco and Baroque motifs. ''See also:'' At one time, it was part of the Schine Theater Chain and was substantially redecorated and redesigned under their ownership. In the late 1960s the theater changed to the ownership of Panther Enterprises and was renamed simply The Geneva Theater. The Geneva Theatre was renamed Smith Opera House in 1983. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1979. It is located in the Geneva Commercial Historic District.

References

External links

Cinema Treasures , Smith Opera HouseThe Smith Opera House website
Houses completed in 1894 Art Deco architecture in New York (state) Buildings and structures in Ontario County, New York Tourist attractions in Ontario County, New York Geneva, New York National Register of Historic Places in Ontario County, New York Historic district contributing properties in New York (state) Opera houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) {{OntarioCountyNY-NRHP-stub