American Theatre

Introduction[edit]

The American Theatre at 289 River St. was a movie theater that opened up in Troy sometime in the early 1920’s. It was opened alongside another movie theater, the State Theater, on 4th street, which was eventually demolished to make way for a parking lot in the 1960s.

About the Architect[edit]

Both buildings were the work of Abraham K. Mosely, a local Troy architect. Born in Kingsley, England in 1866, Mosely immigrated to the United States as one of three architects commissioned to design the Emma Willard School buildings in 1910. After completing this project, Mosely settled in Troy and worked on various buildings in the capitol region. He designed the Rensselaer County Courthouse Annex, a number of churches, and various other buildings in the area. However, he gained the most recognition for being the architect of the Watervliet City Hall, which was recognized as one of the "most economical municipal buildings in the state"[8]. Mosely was an idea-man at heart. He proposed a full-fledged proposal to decrease erosion of Niagara Falls, including plans to reinforce the cliff with concrete and steel. Additionally, the proposal included a subway system under the upper Niagara River, linking the New York and Canadian sides. Costing about $90 million in 1935, the plan was rejected. In 1942, he designed a vest-pocket conversion table which simplified the conversions between the imperial and metric systems of measurement. He died on April 21, 1951 of natural causes at the age of 85 in a Russian-Turkish Bathhouse in downtown Albany.

History[edit]

The American Theatre was owned by many different chains and operated as a standard movie theater until the 1960’s. Towards the end of the 1960’s, pornographic movie theaters were making their way across the country. This surge, combined with the waning state of downtown Troy, made the American Theatre a prime spot for conversion. In the late '60s, ownership was given over to a local man named John Capano, who converted the theater into one that showed adult films. The theater has also gone by many names during its operation, including the Cinema Art Theater and Cinema Art Show World. The movie theater remained in operation until its doors were closed in March 2006, following a police raid.

Closing[edit]

In 2006, a police investigation on the theater began after a woman wrote an anonymous letter to the mayor, Harry Tutunjian. The woman was concerned that her boyfriend was prostituting himself inside the establishment. Adult movie theaters are already not the most upstanding business, but it seems even seedier activities were going on behind the doors of the theater.

The theater had installed booths where people could watch a movie in private, but some people were using these booths for a place to engage in sexual acts. Investigators went undercover in chat rooms people were using to make plans to meet up at the theater and engage in these acts. In addition to that, investigators went into the theater on several occasions. The inside was very unkempt, and found to be in violation of many building and health regulations. After a several month investigation, the Troy Police Department, in conjunction with the New York State Police, conducted a raid on the building, ceasing its operation.

Revival[edit]

The original building of the American Theatre is still up on River Street, in fact it may be opening its doors again very soon. Through the federal American Rescue Plan Act and New York State’s Downtown Revival Initiative Grant, the Proctor's Theatre Collective will be getting 1.5 million dollars to renovate the theater. Including all streams of funding, the theater will have 3.4 million dollars at its disposal to get people back in seats. It is projected that the theater will see 30,000 visitors annually after its revival. Plans are for the venue to not only show films after its reopening, but also have live music events alongside other artistic showings.