{"nrhp_refnum":"76001255","name":"Stanley Theater","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"259 Genesee St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Utica","county":"Oneida County","state":"NY","lat":43.09892402100007,"lon":-75.23543703699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-08-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1928 movie palace and attached shop block at 259 Genesee Street in downtown Utica, Oneida County, New York, designed by Thomas W. Lamb.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the most elaborate theater ever built in the Mohawk Valley region, with 3,500 seats and advanced heating, cooling and ventilating systems. It is presented as the work of Thomas W. Lamb, a leading movie theater designer, and as a symbol of Utica's standing as a central New York urban center. It is also described as a surviving example of the 1920s motion picture palace, a building type that was vanishing.","narrative":"Built in 1928 at a cost of $1,500,000, this movie palace on Genesee Street in downtown Utica seated 3,500 people. Thomas W. Lamb, described as the dean of movie theater designers, was the architect. The street front combines a tall entrance portal and marquee with a row of shops and offices, all set against a large brick theater block behind. The portal's eclectic Renaissance-Baroque detailing includes twisted columns, a blind oculus and arches filled with polychrome tile showing vases of flowers. Inside, the lobby mixes classical, Renaissance and Baroque forms. The structure was fireproof and carried steel trusses, and its mechanical systems were advanced for the time, including an elevator for the orchestra pit. The nomination describes it as the most elaborate theater ever erected in the Mohawk Valley and a marker of Utica's importance as a regional center. It also notes that such 1920s picture palaces were disappearing, and that a community arts council had bought the building to present performances and films.","period_of_significance":"1928","architect_builder":"Thomas W. Lamb","architectural_style":"Early 20th century theater design with neo-Baroque elements; eclectic, French-inspired Renaissance-Baroque details","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied and in good condition; the Community Arts Council had purchased it intending to use it for performances and films.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:39.676835-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/76001255.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001255/d492c1a2f7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76001255/d492c1a2f7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Doug Kerr from Albany, New York, United States","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stanley_Theater_Utica_NY_Jun_07.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Doug Kerr from Albany, New York, United States</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stanley_Theater_Utica_NY_Jun_07.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100002668","name":"Downtown Genessee Street Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/downtown-genessee-street-historic-district-100002668/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320251","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Theater_(Utica,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2331820"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/oneida-county/stanley-theater-76001255/"}