Tonight I checked into Marty Biniasz’s “Forgotten Buffalo” web site and was surprised to find a picture of the Rivoli Theatre…for those of us old enough to remember, the theatre was located at 1111 Broadway at the corner of Sweet Avenue.
The Rivoli was a classic as classic movie houses go…I saw countless films there as a child…for whatever reason, the memory of seeing “Smokey and the Bandit” there sticks out the most…I think it has something to do with eating at Balo’s on Bailey before the movie and falling in love with roast beef on weck that same evening courtesy of my dad.
Anyone else have Rivoli memories or Balo’s memories???
The only downside to this post is that the above picture is of the demo of the Rivoli… 🙁
To see the full size picture and couple more of the Rivoli, visit “Forgotten Buffalo“…Marty’s site has a treasure of old Polonia and Buffalo pics…
My first visit to ANY theater was to the Rivoli to see JAWS when it came out in the mid 70’s. I remember jumping in my seat and the other kids screaming….yes some memories remain vivid forever….
I DO remember the Rivoli! I was about 5 at the time, and my Dad, mom me and my three brothers packed in our pontiac station wagon the see Star Wars at the Buffalo drive in………..but it was SOLD OUT! So, we went to the Rivoli, all of us kids were in our pajamas and I took my pillow in with me! I remember seeing a Winnie the Pooh cartoon before the movie started. Good times in the old neighborhood.
I lived on Sweet growing up and The Rivoli was just one of our main attractions in the neighborhood I remember when Jaws came up there I was sooo mad my dad wouldn’t let us go me and a bunch of friends snuck in the back anyway …lol …we were the rebels of the neighborhood..
I recently acquired a set of dishes and someone told me that they were Rivola Wear given during the depression when people went to the theater. Does anyone know anything about that. The dishes are beautiful.
my mother gave me two small statues she got from the rivioli,every saturday was a history movie for five cents and you got a statue.
I saw Blue Oyster Cult there in 1973. If you go to the Forgotten Buffalo site you will see a little alley between the buildings on the right side. I climbed up on a window ledge and was peering in at the bands dressing room when they saw me and opened the window and let me in. It was during a typical snow storm. I was seventeen years old.
I am 60+ years old now and live in Glendale, CA., literally 1/2 mile from the border with Los Angeles. What I do remember as a youngster is going to the Rivoli for an afternoon of cartoons for a quarter. As kids we would get excited as they opened the balcony when the theater got crowded.
I originally attended Holy Apos Sts Peter & Paul on Clinton and Smith streets. How things have changed. God bless the people of Buffalo’s great Eastside.
I also have great memories of the rivoli show.evry Saturday afternoon they would show old time horror movies and other types also.and the good part of it was for 3 dollars I was able to buy a ticket popcon and pop.i miss the good old days.
Growing up on Broadway in the 60’s & 70’s, (1334 Broadway Club Romway), it was great having 2 movie theaters in the neighborhood. Rivoli of course & the Lincoln Theater on Broadway & Titus. Lot of westerns I recall @ the Rivoli went to see Psycho there….alone when I was 8, (what was I thinking?); I walked out terrified 1/2 way through; finally had the courage to see it through when I was 10, lying in bed with my brother on tv when he was on leave from the Army. Lincoln on Fridays had the 1960’s remakes of classic horror films Hammer Productions….Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee Great memories of the old neighborhood.!!