I didn't write the article below but wanted it seen.
1. It mentions my fortress of solitude
2. The theater mentioned was torn down the year before I was kidnapped. That was the field where we were picked up.
3. I saw Bambi there.
MY VIEW
A bit of history is lost when landmarks fall
Updated: 03/05/08 6:35 AM
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- Richard J. Kwitek, who lives in Elmira, has many fond memories of going to the show at the Rivoli Theater.
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It was a cold but sunny February day in 1984. As I sat eating my lunch in the Burger King at the corner of Woltz and Broadway, I looked out at the iron ball being readied to take the first swing into the front of the old Rivoli Theater across the street. My thoughts turned to my youth and the magic of that theater.
My earliest recollections involved countless visits to the show with my mother and one or two of her sisters — either the gum-snapping Aunt Stella or Aunt Mary, who baby sat my brother and me. It was exciting to pass through the mirrored French doors into the mysterious dark world of the theater, with its distinctive smell of freshly popped corn.
At certain times of the year it was even more remarkable. You might leave a heavy Buffalo snowfall with brisk winds and icy sidewalks to enter a tropical jungle adventure featuring Tarzan. Or in the summer, you might leave a sizzling sunny afternoon and step into the refreshing dark air conditioned world of the theater.
The Rivoli was there as far back as I can remember. In fact, my mother told me of how she would go there when she was a young girl to watch vaudeville acts on the stage. Once she had the courage to get up on the stage and sing a song in order to win a china place setting for her mother.
All of these memories — and now the Rivoli was being torn down. What a sad event.
The feelings I felt that day were not unique. I’m sure there were those who felt similar pangs when the beautiful Roosevelt Theater on Broadway and the Lafayette Theater downtown were torn down to create parking lots. And when the famous “one stop wonder,” Sattler’s department store, was eliminated. Over the years many “landmarks” all over Buffalo have been torn down. I’m sure there are justifications for each of these initiatives, but one can’t help but wonder how it is that buildings such as these seem to be cherished and preserved in Europe, while in our country the usual procedure is to tear down the old.
Several cities I’ve visited in Europe have a McDonald’s restaurant or KFC outlet built into old structures, thus preserving the flavor of the area. It is not only the historical value that is lost when a building is demolished. The environmental impact of disposing of the discarded building materials also needs to be considered.
The solution to the problem is certainly not simple, but examples are available of successful reclamation efforts. Baltimore’s recovery of its inner harbor area is one example of proactive efforts that have been phenomenally successful at not only preserving a historical area but also turning it into a viable resource.
Likewise, Cleveland has turned an abandoned railroad terminal into an office building and shopping mall. In Cincinnati, a large railroad terminal has been converted into a popular museum.
Buffalo has many assets in terms of its lakefront location and rich history. Indeed, some of the more recent redevelopment efforts in the downtown area seem to be sensitive to preservation considerations. I can only hope that this sensitivity becomes ingrained as redevelopment continues.
Hats off to the Central Terminal Preservation Corp., which as been doing a yeoman job at recovering and preserving one of the most revered landmarks in Buffalo’s East Side — the old New York Central Terminal.
