Shea's Performing Arts Center (Buffalo, New York)

The Flagship theatre of the Shea's Theatre Chain, Shea's Buffalo Theatre was designed by famed architects Rapp and Rapp of Chicago and is modeled in a combination of Spanish and French Baroque and Rococo styles. Resembling 16th and 17th century opera houses of Europe, Shea’s interior was luxuriously designed and appointed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and features enormous Czechoslovakian crystal chandeliers and fittings from Marshall Field in Chicago. Construction costs for Shea's had reached $1,900,000 by the time the theatre first opened its doors in 1926.

Originally accommodating almost 4,000 people, Shea's was designed as a multi-use theatre capable of traditional stage and silent film shows, and as a result quickly became a prominent venue in American theatre. Passing through several owners after Michael Shea retired in 1930, Shea's came under the ownership of Loew's Theatres in 1948 and continued to operate as a stage and film theatre until the theatre and the surrounding area began a period of downturn and neglect in the 1960's. With its then-owner failing to pay taxes to the City of Buffalo and the theatre at risk of being foreclosed upon and stripped of its interior by Loew's, a group of concerned local citizens sued for and won control of the theatre, starting a period of overhaul and modernization.

Re-opening to a sold-out house in the late 1970's, Shea's soon became a regular stop on nationwide Broadway tours in addition to other events, and underwent a large expansion of its stage facilities to accommodate more complex touring productions. Today, Shea's remains a popular cultural icon and destination for Buffalo and Western New York.

www.sheas.org/
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Coordinates:  42°53'30"N 78°52'23"W
This article was last modified 1 year ago