History of the Oneonta Theatre

The theater, designed in 1897 by Rochester architect Leon H. Lempert, Sr. opened to the public in 1898 with a performance of the hit play “The Sporting Duchess”, starring one of the most famous actresses of her time, Madame Modjeska. With this event Oneontans were introduced to one of the most short-lived yet significant of all American popular culture movements, the vaudeville entertainment circuit of the early 1900s. Situated on a major rail line, Oneonta had one of the first theaters to be incorporated into one of the earliest vaudeville circuits.

Besides touring companies presenting the latest plays, bookers sent Oneonta such entertainers as John Philip Sousa’s Marching Band, conducted by Sousa himself. The comedian Will Rogers and the tap dancer Buddy Ebsen were among the many famous performers who performed at the theater in the first third of the 20^th century.

Only a few years after it opened, the theater was briefly closed for its first renovation, which entailed the tearing down of the stage house and the erection of a much larger and deeper stage with a 65-foot fly tower, as well as nine dressing rooms to accommodate multiple acts. The auditorium was painted in a new color scheme of rose and aqua, with classical murals and lots of gilding, as typified most grand theaters of its era.

From 1927 through the early 1960s the Oneonta Theatre functioned as a multipurpose theater showing first-run movies interspersed with live performances, talent shows, and civic events.

Oneonta High School was just around the corner on Academy Street. Every senior class for forty years graduated from its stage, a tradition that ended only with the building of the current high school in the late 1960s. The first library in Oneonta was also housed in the theater building before moving to its present location in the old Huntington Mansion across the street.

Then urban renewal came to Oneonta, knocking down whole blocks of downtown. Theater owner Harold DeGraw held the forces of urban renewal at bay by buying the building and aggressively updating the exterior and lobby to early 1970s standards. This renovation featured extensive faux wood paneling, dropped ceilings, geometric light fixtures and orange and green shag carpeting. These were the outward manifestations of a desperate campaign to save the theater, hiding its age by imitating the aesthetics of the featureless, boxy movie cineplex of a 1970s suburban mall. The colorful ceiling and walls were painted over in flat dark colors either to reduce glare from the projected images, or in the case of a scenic mural of Orpheus playing his lute for the nine dancing Muses in a state of undress, to satisfy mid-century standards of decency.

In 2018, FOTOT and the Greater Oneonta Historical Society (GOHS) commissioned an architectural study and business plan for the theater from top arts consultants Webb Management Services, and leading theatrical architectural firm Holzman Moss Bottino. These feasibility studies were funded in large part by a technical assistance grant from the City of Oneonta as part of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative. The full reports are linked on the Studies page of this website.

In 2020, FOTOT began fundraising in earnest, and formed the 47 Chestnut LLC to negotiate the sale of the theater. As of November 2022, the LLC made the purchase, and we are entering a new phase in the theater’s storied history. Work began immediately to repair the building’s roof before winter. The Chestnut Street façade and marquee were stabilized, and further work on both the exterior and interior is planned. The City of Oneonta applied for a New York Main Street grant to stabilize the building, and was awarded $500,000 for the theater. These funds will go toward a new roof and water damage remediation.

As we look ahead to the process of restoring our beloved theater, there is much to be done, and there will be lots of ways to help. We are committed to doing the hard work to bring our theater back as a performance venue, and we will look to our community of supporters to partner in its redevelopment.