An ornate East Side theater that had a date with the wrecking ball is on the verge of being saved. The Beaux Arts glazed terra cotta Sattler Theater at 512-16 Broadway near Jefferson Avenue is being purchased by Western New York Minority Media Professionals Inc. The non-profit group will spend upwards of $1 million to renovate the now vacant property for use as its headquarters and a performing arts center.
From the Buffalo as an Architectural Museum website:
Another eye-catcher on the East Side is the striking terra-cotta frontage at 516 Broadway, near Jefferson. The architect, once again, was Henry L. Spann, probably in collaboration with his much-younger brother William T. Spann. John G. Sattler commissioned it. Yes, the same Sattler who was a local real-estate tycoon and the same Sattler who owned the late department store.
This 928-seat, $35,000 "fireproof" structure was built in 1914, on the site of the old wood-frame Casino Theatre. As far as I know, there was no stage, only a movie screen. In 1919 or 1920 the theatre changed hands, and it was renamed the Broadway. In 1922 the new management installed a Marr & Colton 2-manual organ. Later still the Basil brothers took over and renamed it Basil's Broadway. In recent years it was used as a church (Joy Temple). Buffalo's Forgotten Theaters: A few notes by Ranjit Sandhu, July 2002.
The good folks at Broadway Fillmore Alive! have the details on the organization:
In 1995, the founders and incorporators Michael Quinniey, Tyrone Christopher and Tony Jones established Western New York Minority Media Professionals, a non-profit, tax exempt media organization with the mission of founding of a professional media organization committed to promoting social and educational opportunities within the Western New York community.
The goals of the corporation are to educate our community on how to improve themselves through the media, and how they can benefit from its resources and tools. We provide internships, student scholarships, mentoring workshops, training and information to all individuals, firms, associations, corporations and others to promote the purposes of the corporation.
According to Broadway Fillmore Alive’s Mike Miller, East Side dynamo Michele Johnson has been “working for months trying to get it off the demo list.”
“We had two other potential buyers, so any way you slice it, we weren't going to let it be torn down,” says Miller.
According to Western New York Minority Media Professionals Inc's Mike Quinniey, the sale is expected to close next week.
Photos by David Torke at Fix Buffalo.