Despite a petition signed by 2,000 people to keep the movie house in Westvale Plaza, the Kallet Genesee Theater was demolished in June of 1997 to make way for an auto parts store.
The auto parts store went out of business in less than a year and the building remains vacant today.
The theater opened on February 14th, 1951, and enjoyed many years of success under manager George Read. Some of the films that were shown there include “Doctor Zhivago,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” “The Love Bug” and “The Aristocats.”
Sean Kirst, a former writer at the Post Standard, wrote an article in 2014 in response to this article by OHA staff.