Community Theatre (Kingston, New York)
Encyclopedia
The Ulster Performing Arts Center (UPAC), originally the Broadway Theater and Community Theatre, is located on Broadway in Kingston
, New York, United States. A Classical Revival building built in 1926, it is the only unaltered pre-World War II theater left in the city, and one of only three from that era in the Hudson Valley
. It is also the largest proscenium
theater between Manhattan
and Albany
.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1979, two years after it was closed due to declining business. It remained vacant until an extensive renovation effort late in the 20th century allowed it to reopen in 2002. Today it is operated by the Bardavon Theater
in nearby Poughkeepsie
. While it served primarily as a movie palace
in its earlier incarnation, today it primarily hosts musical performances. The Hudson Valley Philharmonic calls it home due to its superior acoustics
, and many popular recording artists have made UPAC a stop on their concert tours.
on the south side of Broadway in the center of the city, midway between its uptown
and downtown
sections. Broadway is mainly commercial; the neighborhoods behind the theater are residential.
is two stories high by 11 bays
wide. The rear, theater portion rises three to four stories, dominating the block
. The entire building is made of brick, with a granite
-capped parapet
with Aztec
designs along the front roofline.
Plain granite pilaster
s mark the corners. The portico
features four Corinthian
columns and a classical entablature
. Other decoration
includes projecting stone belt-courses
, granite rectangles between the windows, vertical stretchers above windows and granite aprons below.
below the stage. The main seats and balcony provide 1,500 seats. The stage itself is 76 feet (23.2 m) wide and 33 feet (10.1 m) deep.
The proscenium
arch, rising to 40 feet (12.2 m) above the stage floor, is decorated with alternating octagons, foliated
candelabra
s and other foliate motifs. On either side it has fluted
Corinthian pilasters and engaged columns with Adamesque carvings in the surrounding walls. It is topped by a highly detailed entablature, its cornice
decorated with lions' heads, anthemion leaves, dentils and egg-and-dart
molding
. The frieze
features steer skulls, candelabras, shields and swag
.
Similar decoration continues on the shallow ceiling dome. It is coffer
ed, with plain and decorated grillwork
and solid recessed panels with dentils, anthemion leaves and other foliate molding. Rosette
s mark the interstices. Around the central recess is a wide band with urns, rosettes and cartouche
s bordered by rinceau and foliate triangles. The rim has lions' heads and anthemion. The plaster walls are less decorated, using only simple rectangles.
The inner lobby has decoration incorporating both the same themes as the auditorium and the Aztec motifs outside. The second-floor lounge continues this mix, with a fireplace surrounded by carved stone. Other areas, such as the outer lobby, restrooms, and dressing rooms, are plain.
with $5,300 ($ in contemporary dollars). The next year they acquired the land and began selling bonds
to raise more money. They hired prominent New York City architect Douglas P. Hall. That October, construction began with Sinner and Cook, also of New York, as general contractor
.
Construction continued through the winter. The largest derrick
in the state at that time was used to put the steel framing
in place for the auditorium and proscenium arch. Upon its grand opening in June 1927 as the Broadway Theatre the Daily Freeman
called it "one of the finest theatres in the Hudson River Valley". The program shown to the capacity crowd of 1,703 included five vaudeville acts and Howard Hawks
' comedy The Cradle Snatchers. The ushers wore Spanish costumes to complement the decor. A schedule of three daily performances began the next day.
By 1947 it had changed owners three times. The Walter Reade
organization bought it that year and renamed it the Community Theatre. Six years later, in 1953, the front portico was added. Inside, the original floor seats were replaced and a party box added, reducing the capacity to 1,560.
The theater continued to be a major part of the city's cultural life. Bette Davis
and Lillian Gish
were among the actors who performed on stage. Musical greats included Isaac Stern
and Victor Borges
, who praised the theater's acoustics
.
Kingston's downtown began to decline with growing suburb
anization in the 1970s. In 1977 the Reade organization closed the theater, citing competition for moviegoers from suburban shopping mall
s with multiple screens. To avert the building's possible demolition, a nonprofit organization
, the Ulster Performing Arts Center, was formed and bought the theater.
In 1995, the nonprofit raised the money for a $1.7 million renovation, completed in time for the building's 75th anniversary in 2002. The Bardavon began managing UPAC in 2006 and the two organizations merged the following year.
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
, New York, United States. A Classical Revival building built in 1926, it is the only unaltered pre-World War II theater left in the city, and one of only three from that era in the Hudson Valley
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...
. It is also the largest proscenium
Proscenium
A proscenium theatre is a theatre space whose primary feature is a large frame or arch , which is located at or near the front of the stage...
theater between Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1979, two years after it was closed due to declining business. It remained vacant until an extensive renovation effort late in the 20th century allowed it to reopen in 2002. Today it is operated by the Bardavon Theater
Bardavon 1869 Opera House
The Bardavon 1869 Opera House , in the downtown district of Poughkeepsie, New York, USA, is the oldest continuously-operating theater in New York State. Built in 1869, it served as a venue for various performing arts, community meetings, and celebrations until 1923; it largely resumed this...
in nearby Poughkeepsie
Poughkeepsie (city), New York
Poughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...
. While it served primarily as a movie palace
Movie palace
A movie palace is a term used to refer to the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opened every year between 1925 and 1930.There are three building types in particular which can be subsumed...
in its earlier incarnation, today it primarily hosts musical performances. The Hudson Valley Philharmonic calls it home due to its superior acoustics
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
, and many popular recording artists have made UPAC a stop on their concert tours.
Building
The theater is on a half-acre (2,000 m²) lotLot (real estate)
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner. A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property in other countries...
on the south side of Broadway in the center of the city, midway between its uptown
Kingston Stockade District
The Kingston Stockade District is an eight-block area in the western section of Kingston, New York, United States, commonly referred to as Uptown Kingston...
and downtown
Rondout-West Strand Historic District
SEE ALSO Rondout, New YorkThe Rondout–West Strand Historic District is a historic district located on the shore of Rondout Creek along the southern boundary of the city of Kingston, New York, USA...
sections. Broadway is mainly commercial; the neighborhoods behind the theater are residential.
Exterior
At the street, its northeast (main) facadeFacade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
is two stories high by 11 bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
wide. The rear, theater portion rises three to four stories, dominating the block
City block
A city block, urban block or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest area that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a city, they form the basic unit of a city's urban fabric...
. The entire building is made of brick, with a granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
-capped parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
with Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
designs along the front roofline.
Plain granite pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s mark the corners. The portico
Portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
features four Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
columns and a classical entablature
Entablature
An entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave , the frieze ,...
. Other decoration
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
includes projecting stone belt-courses
Course (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
, granite rectangles between the windows, vertical stretchers above windows and granite aprons below.
Interior
The interior is built around the auditorium. It is semicircular, with an orchestra pitOrchestra pit
An orchestra pit is the area in a theater in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music or in cases when incidental music is required...
below the stage. The main seats and balcony provide 1,500 seats. The stage itself is 76 feet (23.2 m) wide and 33 feet (10.1 m) deep.
The proscenium
Proscenium
A proscenium theatre is a theatre space whose primary feature is a large frame or arch , which is located at or near the front of the stage...
arch, rising to 40 feet (12.2 m) above the stage floor, is decorated with alternating octagons, foliated
Foliation
In mathematics, a foliation is a geometric device used to study manifolds, consisting of an integrable subbundle of the tangent bundle. A foliation looks locally like a decomposition of the manifold as a union of parallel submanifolds of smaller dimension....
candelabra
Candelabra
"Candelabra" is the traditional term for a set of multiple decorative candlesticks, each of which often holds a candle on each of multiple arms or branches connected to a column or pedestal...
s and other foliate motifs. On either side it has fluted
Fluting (architecture)
Fluting in architecture refers to the shallow grooves running vertically along a surface.It typically refers to the grooves running on a column shaft or a pilaster, but need not necessarily be restricted to those two applications...
Corinthian pilasters and engaged columns with Adamesque carvings in the surrounding walls. It is topped by a highly detailed entablature, its cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
decorated with lions' heads, anthemion leaves, dentils and egg-and-dart
Egg-and-dart
Egg-and-dart or Egg-and-tongue is an ornamental device often carved in wood, stone, or plaster quarter-round ovolo mouldings, consisting of an egg-shaped object alternating with an element shaped like an arrow, anchor or dart. Egg-and-dart enrichment of the ovolo molding of the Ionic capital is...
molding
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
. The frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
features steer skulls, candelabras, shields and swag
Festoon
Festoon , a wreath or garland, and so in architecture a conventional arrangement of flowers, foliage or fruit bound together and suspended by ribbons, either from a decorated knot, or held in the mouths of lions, or suspended across the back of bulls heads as...
.
Similar decoration continues on the shallow ceiling dome. It is coffer
Coffer
A coffer in architecture, is a sunken panel in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault...
ed, with plain and decorated grillwork
Grillwork
Grillwork is decorative grating of metal, wood, stone, or other material used as a screen, divider, barrier, or as a purely decorative element. It may function as a window, either with or without glazing. Grillwork may also refer to grilles, decorative front ends of motor vehicles...
and solid recessed panels with dentils, anthemion leaves and other foliate molding. Rosette
Rosette (design)
A rosette is a round, stylized flower design, used extensively in sculptural objects from antiquity. Appearing in Mesopotamia and used to decorate the funeral stele in Ancient Greece...
s mark the interstices. Around the central recess is a wide band with urns, rosettes and cartouche
Cartouche
In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an ellipse with a horizontal line at one end, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name, coming into use during the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty under Pharaoh Sneferu, replacing the earlier serekh...
s bordered by rinceau and foliate triangles. The rim has lions' heads and anthemion. The plaster walls are less decorated, using only simple rectangles.
The inner lobby has decoration incorporating both the same themes as the auditorium and the Aztec motifs outside. The second-floor lounge continues this mix, with a fireplace surrounded by carved stone. Other areas, such as the outer lobby, restrooms, and dressing rooms, are plain.
History
The theater's history begins in 1925, when a Kingston couple and an Albany man incorporatedIncorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
with $5,300 ($ in contemporary dollars). The next year they acquired the land and began selling bonds
Corporate bond
A corporate bond is a bond issued by a corporation. It is a bond that a corporation issues to raise money in order to expand its business. The term is usually applied to longer-term debt instruments, generally with a maturity date falling at least a year after their issue date...
to raise more money. They hired prominent New York City architect Douglas P. Hall. That October, construction began with Sinner and Cook, also of New York, as general contractor
General contractor
A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...
.
Construction continued through the winter. The largest derrick
Derrick
A derrick is a lifting device composed of one tower, or guyed mast such as a pole which is hinged freely at the bottom. It is controlled by lines powered by some means such as man-hauling or motors, so that the pole can move in all four directions. A line runs up it and over its top with a hook on...
in the state at that time was used to put the steel framing
Steel frame
Steel frame usually refers to a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal -beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame...
in place for the auditorium and proscenium arch. Upon its grand opening in June 1927 as the Broadway Theatre the Daily Freeman
Daily Freeman
The Daily Freeman is a seven-day-a-week morning newspaper in Kingston, New York, the Ulster County seat. Serving all of Ulster County and parts of three other counties in the Mid-Hudson Valley, the broadsheet publication has a weekday circulation of approximately 22,000.In addition to its Uptown...
called it "one of the finest theatres in the Hudson River Valley". The program shown to the capacity crowd of 1,703 included five vaudeville acts and Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
' comedy The Cradle Snatchers. The ushers wore Spanish costumes to complement the decor. A schedule of three daily performances began the next day.
By 1947 it had changed owners three times. The Walter Reade
Walter Reade
Walter Reade Sr was the man behind a chain of theatres which grew from a single theatre in Asbury Park, New Jersey to a chain of forty theatres and drive-ins in New Jersey, New York and neighboring states that lasted into the mid seventies. Known as the “Showman of The Shore,” his name was...
organization bought it that year and renamed it the Community Theatre. Six years later, in 1953, the front portico was added. Inside, the original floor seats were replaced and a party box added, reducing the capacity to 1,560.
The theater continued to be a major part of the city's cultural life. Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
and Lillian Gish
Lillian Gish
Lillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987....
were among the actors who performed on stage. Musical greats included Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern was a Ukrainian-born violinist. He was renowned for his recordings and for discovering new musical talent.-Biography:Isaac Stern was born into a Jewish family in Kremenets, Ukraine. He was fourteen months old when his family moved to San Francisco...
and Victor Borges
Víctor Borges
Víctor Manuel Barbosa Borges is a Cape Verdean politician. He was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country in April 2004. After four years in that position, he was replaced and left out of the government that was named on June 27, 2008.-References:...
, who praised the theater's acoustics
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
.
Kingston's downtown began to decline with growing suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
anization in the 1970s. In 1977 the Reade organization closed the theater, citing competition for moviegoers from suburban shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
s with multiple screens. To avert the building's possible demolition, a nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
, the Ulster Performing Arts Center, was formed and bought the theater.
In 1995, the nonprofit raised the money for a $1.7 million renovation, completed in time for the building's 75th anniversary in 2002. The Bardavon began managing UPAC in 2006 and the two organizations merged the following year.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Ulster County, New York