Stepping into Historic Rochester

Stepping into Historic Rochester. Entertainment. , As in any busy commercial town, people began to turn to entertainment to fill their non-working hours, and Rochester provided its citizens with many opportunities through the years. Patrons could visit the Grand Opera House for vaudeville acts, minstrel shows and plays. It even had wrestling and boxing matches for people who enjoyed those sports. With the introduction of the silent movies, other theaters began to appear, and within a short time, Rochester's theaters made the adjustment to talking features, much to the delight of their customers. Theaters were not the only entertainment as citizens had more and more leisure time. The Beaver Valley Traction Company opened an amusement park in Rochester Township for its riders. Carnivals and circuses came to town thanks to the railroad. Sternwheel showboats docked along the riverbanks, and it wasn't long before Rochester had become one of the entertainment centers of Beaver County., Majestic Theater 1907 , The Majestic Theater was built in 1907 by a company headed by W.F. Workman. The Majestic was elaborate in its décor and boasted a large stage for the frequent vaudeville acts. A pipe organ was installed and in addition to the featured picture, each show included a brief comedy and a "short subject". The first "talkie" sound motion pictures were shown at this theater. In 1910, the former world heavy-weight boxing champion John L. Sullivan held exhibition matches at the Majestic. In 1929 the Majestic was the second Beaver County theater to implement a sound systern. The Majestic began to decline in the 1940s and closed in 1949. The building was destroyed by fire in the early 1980s., Grand Opera House 1885 , Completed in 1885, the Opera House was a three story building that stood on the corner of Adams Street and Brighton Avenue and was one of Rochester's glories. The theater was on the second floor and seated nearly 1,000 patrons. It had all of the modern amenities for its time such as electric lights, hot water heat, spacious dressing rooms, comfortable parlors, a large stage and elegant furnishings. Prime acts were booked from vaudeville and minstrel shows to boxing and wrestling matches. Appearing regularly at the Opera House were well-known theater road companies from New York along with musicals and plays featuring local talent that thrilled standing-room-only crowds. Another large draw were the moving pictures that were shown using the best French films of the time. Ironically, full-length operas were not a part of the popular fare despite the theater's Grand Opera House name. Around 1908, the Grand Opera House became the victim of its own success as other theaters began to appear in Rochester and throughout the county. Business began to decline and the Grand Opera House eventually closed and the building was re-purposed into the Rochester Post Office between 1914 and 1932. A fire caused severe damage in 1979, and the building was demolished in 1982., Oriental Theater 1931 , At one time the Oriental Theater was one of the finest "theme" theaters in the country. The largest and most beautiful movie house in Beaver County, it could accommodate 1,500 people. The theater was constructed by Emil and Meyer Winograd at a cost of $400,000 during the height of the Great Depression. The theater opened its doors on September 4, 1931, with Charles Farrell and Janet Gaynor starring in "Merely Mary Ann." In the years that followed, the theater showed first-run movies to packed houses in air-conditioned comfort. Uniformed ushers assisted patrons, and on Saturday nights the waiting lines extended from the box office down Hinds Street to Brighton Avenue. E. Franklin Bentel played the great theater organ while the audience changed. The Brenkert Effect Machine projected patterns on the screen and proscenium: clouds moved, and stars twinkled on a dark blue simulated sky above. The final curtain fell at the Oriental on April 23, 1972. The building was demolished in August 2001., Colonial Theater 1897 , The Colonial Theater on the west side of lower New York Avenue was operated by Louis J. Nadler. Advertising stated that up-to-date motion pictures were shown daily on the wonderful "Mirror Screen." The Colonial Theater had a pianist who played mood music in keeping with the action on the screen. The viewing admission was five cents., Home Theater 1897 , The Home Theater was located across the street from the Colonial Theater, on the lower east side of New York Avenue. One of the first extended length films, "Passion Play," running 20 minutes, was featured at the opening of Mr. S.A. Nesbitt's theater. Other films shown were limited to one three reeler per show, and the charge was five cents, hence the name "nickelodeon.", The patrons named the theater the "Home" and movies were shown continuously from 1:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. daily. The Home Theater also had a pianist who played mood music in keeping with the action on the screen. Regularly shown were silent movies and comedies. The Home Theater closed between 1929 and 1930 because equipment for talking pictures could not be installed., Family Theater 1949 , The Family Theater held its Grand Opening on September 2, 1949, on Hinds Street, across from the Oriental Theater. The opening feature was "Johnny Allegro" starring George Raft. This small movie house was operated by Emil and Meyer Winograd, owners of the Oriental Theater, and showed motion pictures that were not considered to be "first-run." The Family Theater closed prior to 1982., Junction Park 1900 , The most popular landmark in Rochester Township was a trolley park named Junction Park. The Beaver Valley Trolley Company built Junction Park as an amusement center about 1900. Located along what is now Route 65, the park had a racetrack with a grandstand, a midway with rides and amusement, a merry-go-round, and roller coaster. A pavilion called Colored Gardens was where dances and large affairs were held. The Beaver County Fair was held at the Park with exhibits in the pavilion and surrounding areas. Rochester and New Brighton Football games were played at the Park before the 1920s. Circus and Wild West shows were staged at Junction Park, as were family picnics and grandstand events featuring sulkies and horse races on the half mile track. The park was the site of appearances by the Ringling Brothers Circus as well as others, along with theater and vaudeville shows, boxing matches and baseball games., Due to the popularity of the automobile and subsequent death of the trolley, the Park closed in 1930. The area now covered by Route 65, and a number of businesses in Rochester Township is still called "Junction Stretch.", Other Entertainment , Circuses, shows and carnivals also arrived in Rochester each summer. Summer attractions included "Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show," Chautauqua lectures and musical/dramatic presentations staged nightly for a week in a large tent which was set-up in one of the Rochester Parks. River Showboats also came to town and presented old time melodramas while docked at the wharf. People came from all over Beaver Valley to cheer the heroes and hiss the villains in these exaggerated plays.