This forlorn looking place is the current site of City Centre condominium. The image is from the early 1980's when this section of Main Street just north of Chippewa had hit bottom and was starting its rebound to what we know now. The condominium building (actually a mixed-use structure with offices on the lower levels / condos on the top) was fashioned out of what was then known as the Nemmer Building, pictured here. It was named after a furniture store that had been its most recent tenant.
The Nemmer Building started out life as the New Great Lakes Theater. Later it came under control of the Paramount movie studios and was renamed. For much of the 20th century it was at the nexus of Buffalo's entertainment district. It was not Buffalo's most grand movie palace but was still quite elaborate and seated about 3000 people. As recently as the early 60's this block was extremely vibrant. It was packed with theaters, restaurants and nightclubs. In very short order it crashed. By the 1970's this area now known as the Theater District was mostly vacant. Building owners stopped investing in their property and the grand old movie palaces either closed down or converted to low budget and X-rated fare.
Nearby Chippewa Street became Buffalo's red light district. Decent people in Buffalo spent little if any time in this area anymore. After the theater closed (I am not sure when) the auditorium portion at the rear was demolished and the front (Main Street) portion was converted to retail use. The old theater facade was unusual in that it was very restrained with a simple solid brick wall decorated with a diamond pattern of multi colored brick.
There were a few very modest classical details. Compare this picture to Sheas Buffalo Main Street facade. It was not a very attractive building especially with its huge vertical movie sign and marquee removed. The front facade looked very much like a common 1920's building type designed for "fire proof" storage. I am guessing that this is very likely what it was used for above the grand theater lobby.
Seen (top photo) in its final days, wearing its original cladding, it is a very sad sight. Making it even a more depressing sight is the fact that the photo was taken from a vacant lot across the street. That lot was made vacant to create an "attractive" shovel ready site for developers which would eventually be filled with a hotel. During this period the city put tremendous effort into revitalizing this (600) block of Main. Part of the plan was to develop the Paramount with a focus on housing. It was thought that housing at this location could kick start a 24/7 downtown environment.
After many fits and starts the building was finally completed. Several additional floors were constructed on top of the original concrete frame and the building was re-clad in shiny blue glass. A parking structure was also added at the back (more on that one in the future). The only hint of ‘what was’ are the arched entry ways at the first floor and two small classical column capitals about 2/3 up the facade. The result is not an award winner but is certainly an improvement.
Color exterior image thanks to Patsy at Cinema Treasures. Black and white images thanks to Buffalofreenet.org; "Now" image thanks to WCP