A North Tonawanda landmark is already enjoying the benefits of state revitalization dollars.
Local and state officials were out in force Tuesday at the Riviera Theatre to celebrate the 99-year-old venue’s rebirth. The theater overhaul’s first phase was completed last year, thanks in part to more than $1.5 million in state funding.
The Downtown Revitalization Initiative and Empire State Development are vital grant programs, but they should be force-multipliers instead of the sole source of funding, New York Secretary of State Walter Mosley said.
“Ultimately, we as a state don't have the audacity to believe that putting down a $10 million check is going to bring about projects like this," he said. "It's the people who know what's going to work. They know what's not going to work. They know what is needed and they know what's not needed for their downtowns.”
Among the new features are a restored theater-front reminiscent of its original look from the 1920s, a modernized interior and a wall of signed guitars. The location is running 120 shows annually, and the next phase is improving the green room to include four dressing rooms for performers and adding offices on the second floor, Riviera Theatre Board Chairman Lawrence Denef said.
The updated space, and downtown as a whole, emulates the mentality of keeping one foot in the past and one in the future, he said.
“North Tonawanda is becoming a destination, and with the help of New York State and other foundations," Denef said. "Everybody's dressing up their storefronts, improving their facilities, and making it a better place for people to come and visit.”
The theater is among multiple locations in North Tonawanda’s downtown area to be awarded money as part of a larger DRI grant for revitalization. Also receiving funds is the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum.
