Rivoli Theatre (South Fallsburg, New York)

The Rivoli Theatre is a theater building in South Fallsburg, New York, United States. It stands at the crossroads of New York State Route 42 and Laurel Avenue and was built in 1923. The building was renovated in the late 1930s and is still intact almost in this state.

The theater served to entertain both as cinema and drama performances and had its best time in the prime of Catskill Mountains as a tourist destination especially Jewish holidaymakers. In modern times, the theater will be used in the summer months by a local theater group that plays here. The building was registered in 2001 in the National Register of Historic Places.

Building

The theater consists of two different sections. The front part with the foyer and lobby includes six to three yokes. the rear part includes the auditorium and includes seven yokes. It is built of concrete and faced with tan brick, decorated by red runner series. The roof in the front part of the building lies hidden, the rear part is a pitched roof behind a parapet. Both roof areas are covered with roofing felt.

The canopy at the front forming a three-sided neon sign, which is fixed by chains; a vertical neon sign they added at the front. The lobby and the foyer still have their original size, but were re-equipped with other materials. The auditorium remained in its original Art Deco style. The straight ceiling and arched walls are covered with asbestos sheets in various patterns. A large chandelier sits in the center of each wall section.

The second floor is occupied by offices and apartments. The interior is largely intact.

History

With the turn of the 20th century began in South Fallsburg an influx of Jewish residents. Many of them held up during the summer months in the region and some chose to settle here permanently, in order to open itself accommodations or operate. At the beginning of 1920, a large majority of the inhabitants of the hamlet of Jewish faith, and the South Fallsburg Hebrew Association Synagogue took every week new members into the community on.

Israel Kaplan and his son Arch Rivoli opened in 1923 to provide summer guests entertainment. The two are considered the intellectual creator of the theater, the similarities to motels Rialto Theatre in nearby Monticello, however, suggest that Motel, who designed the later conversion, also the architect of the Rivoli was.

The Rivoli was successful both as a cinema as well as stage performances. The owners expanded the auditorium in 1937 to a capacity of 600 visitors and let it re- equip the Art Deco. It outlasted the heyday of the area as a holiday destination.

The former owner Alice Manzi, a descendant of the chaplain, the theater closed at the end of 1997 and rented it partly as a vegetable shop. The Sullivan County Dramatic Workshop, a local community theater group was looking for a new venue and bought it for the price of 55,000 U.S. dollars to convert it back into a theater. In the summer months movies and shows are listed, a local concert promoter also uses the building for events.