Stanley Theater

A 1928 Baroque movie palace on Genesee Street, now operating as a performing arts venue for concerts, Broadway touring shows, and films. The interior is the main attraction — a riot of gilded plasterwork, painted ceilings, faux-stone columns, and ornate box seats that make the lobby and auditorium feel like entering a very large jewel box.

Check the schedule before visiting; events are the best way to see the interior. If nothing is on, the building is still visible from the street and worth noting. The Stanley seats 2,900 and still pulls in national acts.

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A story
When the Stanley opened in 1928, it was one of the grandest movie palaces in New York State — a Baroque fantasy of gilded plasterwork, painted ceilings, and a pipe organ. It survived the demolition wave that swept most of its contemporaries by becoming a performing arts venue. The restoration completed in the 1970s brought back much of the original interior.