By the way, although at the end of its existance all the seating was on the ground floor, once upon a time there was a balcony where patrons could smoke. I can’t remember if there was one staircase or two (some of my memories of the Seneca were mixed up with the Buffalo, another glorious venue). I remember sitting in the balcony with my parents watching “Attack of the Crab Monsters†in a double feature with “This Island Earth”. It was dish night and the stairs to the balcony were lined with boxes of dishes.
The other great tragedy was the discovery that Cazenovia park, designed by the great Frederick Law Olmsted, had once not only contained a lake, but that there were islands in the lake. Go to http://www.geocities.com/brodericksm/caz_park.htm and scroll down to see a heartbreaking picture of the Casino at the height of its glory.
One of the two great tragedies of my youth was the closing of the Seneca theater (located, BTW, in South Buffalo, not West Seneca). It had a doomed ceiling that darkened when the movie was about to start. The front was faced with polished black slabs and kids would use them as mirrors. The bathrooms were in the basement and were finished in marble and brass. There was a balcony – the smoking loge – that was closed due to structural rot for as long as I remember. Saturdays they had double feature matinees for a quarter, usually of movies long past their release, but ones we kids probably had never seen. It was the first, and best, place I saw “The Wizard of Oz”.
Popcorn came in rectangular boxes which we would flatten and sail at the screen. There was a purple neon clock next to the screen and if the start of the show was late by a second, we’d begin to stomp our feet.
I literally still dream of that place a couple of times a year. I always wake up sad when I do.
By the way, although at the end of its existance all the seating was on the ground floor, once upon a time there was a balcony where patrons could smoke. I can’t remember if there was one staircase or two (some of my memories of the Seneca were mixed up with the Buffalo, another glorious venue). I remember sitting in the balcony with my parents watching “Attack of the Crab Monsters†in a double feature with “This Island Earth”. It was dish night and the stairs to the balcony were lined with boxes of dishes.
The other great tragedy was the discovery that Cazenovia park, designed by the great Frederick Law Olmsted, had once not only contained a lake, but that there were islands in the lake. Go to http://www.geocities.com/brodericksm/caz_park.htm and scroll down to see a heartbreaking picture of the Casino at the height of its glory.
One of the two great tragedies of my youth was the closing of the Seneca theater (located, BTW, in South Buffalo, not West Seneca). It had a doomed ceiling that darkened when the movie was about to start. The front was faced with polished black slabs and kids would use them as mirrors. The bathrooms were in the basement and were finished in marble and brass. There was a balcony – the smoking loge – that was closed due to structural rot for as long as I remember. Saturdays they had double feature matinees for a quarter, usually of movies long past their release, but ones we kids probably had never seen. It was the first, and best, place I saw “The Wizard of Oz”.
Popcorn came in rectangular boxes which we would flatten and sail at the screen. There was a purple neon clock next to the screen and if the start of the show was late by a second, we’d begin to stomp our feet.
I literally still dream of that place a couple of times a year. I always wake up sad when I do.