The Little Theatre, commonly known as The Little, is a

movie theatre A movie theater (American English) or cinema (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business ...

located on East Avenue in downtown

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, and a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

multiplex specializing in

art film An art film, arthouse film, or specialty film is an independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made prima ...

, including independent and foreign productions outside the United States. Founded in 1929, The Little is one of the oldest theaters for art-house cinema in the United States. Since 2011, the Little Theatre has been an affiliate of the

WXXI Public Broadcasting Council The WXXI Public Broadcasting Council is a community non-profit organization of some 36,000 subscribing members in the Rochester, New York metropolitan area that owns that city's major public television and community radio stations, a newspaper, a ...

, a non-profit community organization which owns and operates the region's principal public radio and television stations. The Little has served as a performance venue during the

Rochester International Jazz Festival Established in 2002, the Rochester International Jazz Festival takes place in June of each year in Rochester, New York. It is owned and produced by RIJF, LLC, whose principals are John Nugent, Co-Producer and Artistic Director, and Marc Iacona, ...

held annually in June. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the building was closed and the theater switched to an online format, streaming independent films from its website. Since 2021, the Little Theatre has been home to the

High Falls Film Festival The High Falls Film Festival, founded in 2001, is a film festival that focuses on celebrating women in film. The festival is inspired by Rochester, New York's legacy in nitrate film and the women’s rights movement. High Falls Film Festival pres ...

, a monthly series focused on celebrating women in film. In 2022, the theater received the Excellence in Historic Preservation award from the Preservation League of New York State for restoration work of its interior, which aimed to match the original 1929 appearance of the theater as closely as possible while improving its accessibility.

Gallery

File:LittleTheatreRochesterNewYorkOblique.JPG, Exterior in 2014 File:Rochester - Little Theatre.jpg, Exterior in 2005 File:Rochester Little Theatre - Exterior.jpg, Exterior in 2007

References

External links

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Entry at ''Cinema Treasures''History of the Little TheatreYahoo's Independent Theater Directory
has a listing of similar venues around the USA. {{City of Rochester, NY Art Deco architecture in Rochester, New York Art Deco cinemas and movie theaters Entertainment venues in Rochester, New York Cinemas and movie theaters in New York (state) Culture of Rochester, New York Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) National Register of Historic Places in Rochester, New York