Ray Evans Seneca Theater facts for kids

The Ray Evans Seneca Theater is a cool place for shows and movies in Salamanca (city), New York. It's right in the middle of the city, at the corner of Broad Street (New York State Route 417) and Main Street. The theater is named after Ray Evans, a famous songwriter who grew up in Salamanca.

History of the Seneca Theater

Building the Theater

The theater was first called the Seneca Theatre. It was built by the Schine Chain to replace an older movie house nearby. John and Drew Eberson designed the building. Construction began in 1941, just before World War II started. Because of the war, there weren't enough building materials. So, the theater wasn't finished until 1945, after the war ended.

Why it's Called Seneca

The theater is named after the Seneca Nation of Indians. This Native American nation owns the land where the theater stands. In fact, the entire city of Salamanca (city), New York is located on the Seneca Indian reservation. Everyone in the town pays a yearly rent to the Seneca Nation for using the land.

Changes Over Time

The theater's lobby used to have many sculptures in special spots on the walls. The Schine Chain ran the theater until 1965. It kept showing movies until June 1972. That's when the auditorium was flooded with eight feet of water! This happened because of Hurricane Agnes, and it was made worse by the Kinzua Dam nearby. The theater originally had 1272 seats.

The Seneca Theater was empty for many years. Then, in the early 1980s, Cattaraugus County took over the building. Over the next few years, the theater was slowly fixed up. It became the Cattaraugus County Living Arts Association (CCLAA), also known as the Cattaraugus County Center For the Performing Arts.

Reopening the Theater

The theater closed again in 2011. This was because its electrical system was old and broken, and there wasn't enough money to fix it. Stage shows were moved to the Salamanca High School auditorium and the Seneca Allegany Events Center for a while. The CCLAA group stayed active. They kept the theater's marquee (the big sign out front) working as a billboard. They hoped to use money from renting the marquee and other CCLAA properties to fix the theater.

The theater reopened in November 2013. They announced that movies could be shown again using a temporary screen. The first movie shown in the reopened Seneca Theater was The Lemon Drop Kid. Ray Evans and Jay Livingston wrote the music for this film. When Harry Met Sally... was shown in February 2014. Most of the movies shown at the theater now are ones that have recently come out on DVD. Live theater shows also started again in 2014.

Current Status of the Theater

Most of the shows at the theater are amateur community theatre productions. These are put on by the CCLAA group itself. They usually have two big shows each year, one in winter and one in summer. An annual Christmas variety show is also a regular event at the theater.

Until 2019, the Ray Evans Seneca Theater was the only standalone place for performances in Cattaraugus County. This changed when Olean, New York's Temple B'Nai Israel was turned into a theater in late 2019.