Lights, camera, action: First movie house opens: Mohawk Valley History

Frank Tomaino
·4 min read

1927, 96 years ago

Lights, camera, action

South Utica is bubbling with excitement as the grand opening of its new movie house on Genesee Street attracts 1,500 first-nighters. The Uptown Theater -- built of Indiana limestone in modern gothic style -- has a busy opening night program that begins at 8 p.m. and ends at midnight.

The lift bridge over the old Erie Canal at Hotel Street in downtown Utica was a complicated piece of machinery. It was a conglomeration of wheels, weights, pulleys and cables capable of raising the bridge’s moveable span to allow boats to pass through. From 1819 to the 1920s, the canal flowed through Utica along the path now occupied by Oriskany Street (the East-West arterial).

Harry McCormick is at the organ as the theater's first silent movie is shown -- "The Stolen Bride" with Billy Dove and Lloyd Hughes. Entertainers on stage include a 20-piece orchestra conducted by Edgar J. Alderwick, local soprano Helen Kelly, and local musicians Dr. Frank Cavallo, George Harris, John Owen, Henry Gosling, Mira Dibble, Mae McCormick and Theda Gschwind.

The theater was built by local companies: James Jones, of 709 Charlotte St., is general contractor; plumbing by J.B. Witte & Sons, 526 Varick St.; marble work by George T. Rowlands, 115 South St.; electrical work by Langdon & Hughes, Elizabeth Street, and heating system installed by W. O. Reals, 216 Pearl St. (The Uptown Theater still stands -- and entertains -- today.)

1923, 100 years ago

Canal a success

The Barge Canal has had its most successful season since it first opened five years ago. It was built to replace the abandoned old Erie Canal which passed through downtown Utica (along what is today Oriskany Street).

The Barge passes through North Utica and unlike the old Erie, which consisted of artificial channels, the new canal route now follows natural water courses, making use of rivers, creeks and lakes. It is 12 feet deep with a channel ranging from 75 to 500 feet wide.

There are 57 locks, all constructed of concrete and operating by electric power. The lock at Little Falls has a lift of just over 40 feet and lifts traffic higher than any single lock on the Panama Canal. Traffic this year on the Barge amounted to about two million tons and consisted of a variety of freight and merchandise.

1948, 75 years ago

Top cagers

One of the best teams in the Utica Municipal Basketball League is the Belvedere Dairy squad, coached by Eliott Hunt. Players include George Hyder, Ralph Fimmano, Paul Raymond, Bill Schultz, Francis (Butch) Giacovelli, Don McCoy and Art Rocco. Joe Colacicco is manager and Tony Fimmano is assistant coach.

1973, 50 years ago

Groundbreaking

Associated International Truck Sales of Utica breaks ground for a $300,000 building on Broad Street. Casper Vassalo is president.

Dr. Robert D. Hall is elected president of the medical staff at Faxton Hospital.

And Nelson B. Soggs is the new president of the Home Builders Association of the Mohawk Valley.

1988, 35 years ago

Earthquake

An earthquake originating more than 500 miles to the north rumbles across the Mohawk Valley, touching off thousands of telephone calls to police, but causing little damage. The quake hit at 6:40 p.m. and its epicenter was 90 miles north of Quebec. It rattled eastern Canada and northeastern United States. It had a magnitude of 6.0 on the Richter Scale.

"You could feel it," says Marie Roberts, of Lynch Avenue in Utica. "Everything was shaking."

The Zonta Club of Utica elects Suzanne Lavin as its president. Other officers include: Lois Portman, first vice president; Janet Burt, second vice president; Dolores Waszkiewicz, treasurer; Ruth Bartholomew, recording secretary, and Dorothea Dux, corresponding secretary.

Meanwhile, Francine Zammiello is elected president of the Business & Professional Women's Club of Utica. Other officers include: Rosemary Benzo, first vice president; Ruth Lynch, second vice president; Angela Pappas, recording secretary; Maryanne Milograno, corresponding secretary, and Julie Clough, treasurer.

2013, 10 years ago

Genesis event

The Genesis Group honors area educators at its eighth annual Celebration of Education event. The "outstanding program" is the Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES Information Technology Academy Program. It is honored "for its ability to help prepare students for college and other careers." "Outstanding educators" are Jason Mitchell, principal of Poland Middle School and High School, and Janet Jury, New Visions instructor at Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES Career and Technical Education Center.

Also honored as "outstanding educators" are Delvina "Dee" Talarico, of Frankfort-Schuyler School, and Kathleen Carney, of Herkimer schools

Trivia quiz

I'll name the campaign slogan for a candidate for the presidency, you name the candidate who used it in his campaign to win the White House. (1) "A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage." (2) "Don't swap horses in the middle of the stream." (3) "Happy days are here again." (4) "I like Ike." (5) Tippecanoe and Tyler Too." (Answers will appear here next week.)

Answer to last week's question: When President Abraham Lincoln was a young man, he served in the army during the Black Hawk War. In 1832, Black Hawk, leader of the Sauk Indians in Illinois, refused to move his followers to a reservation west of the Mississippi River. When the governor of Illinois called for volunteers to join the army to force Black Hawk to move, Lincoln enlisted and was given the rank of captain. He was a scout and so no fighting.

This Week in History is researched and written by Frank Tomaino. E-mail him at ftomaino221@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Barge Canal, theatres, earthquakes: This week in Mohawk Valley history