{"nrhp_refnum":"85002860","name":"Little Theatre","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"240 East Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Rochester","county":"Monroe County","state":"NY","lat":43.15597705700003,"lon":-77.59743699399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-10-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Art Deco movie theatre with ground-floor storefronts and second-floor offices at 240 East Avenue in Rochester, Monroe County, New York. It was built in 1928 and designed by Edgar Phillips.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a rare, well-preserved example of Art Deco design in the Inner Loop Multiple Resource Area. It is also the only surviving historic moving picture house in Rochester's central business district. It keeps nearly all of its period features, including the black terra-cotta facade and original neon sign.","narrative":"Located at 240 East Avenue in Rochester, the Little Theatre is a two-story Art Deco movie house completed in 1928 from designs by Edgar Phillips. Its street front is faced in black glazed terra-cotta, topped by a shallow stepped parapet and a band of lighter salt-glazed tile with zig zag and stylized floral patterns. A vertical neon sign spelling \"Little\" rises up the facade. Built for Francis K. Remington and the Motion Picture Guild as a silent picture house, it was altered in 1931 for sound films under Ben and Florence Belison. It later housed the Civic Cinema Association, whose members previewed artistic, foreign and unusual films, and before World War II it specialized in German language films. It is valued as the only surviving historic movie theatre in the central business district and as one of two intact small-scale Art Deco buildings in the Inner Loop area. It has recently reopened as a film house.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect: Edgar Phillips; builder unknown","architectural_style":"Art Deco / Streamline Moderne","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition is rated fair. The theatre has recently reopened and continues to show film classics, art and foreign films. Alterations include a marquee added in 1931 and aluminum doors added in 1975.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:45.191462-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/85002860.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002860/0eb7a9f764-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002860/0eb7a9f764-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 1.0","author":"J. Van Meter at English Wikipedia","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rochester_-_Little_Theatre.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">J. Van Meter at English Wikipedia</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 1.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rochester_-_Little_Theatre.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75313630","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Theatre_(Rochester,_New_York)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6652200"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/monroe-county/little-theatre-85002860/"}