South Buffalo native Chauncey Olcott entertained audiences with his songs and musical productions, simultaneously changing the nation’s perception of the Irish.

Music still pours out of 145 Broadway, home to the historic Colored Musicians Club and its new jazz museum, which opened last fall.

As the curtain rose on Buffalo’s premier symphony orchestra, the city desperately needed a suitable concert hall. Enter Edward L. Kleinhans and Mary Seaton, stage left. 

In the 1920s, a fire ravaged Gowanda and left only a pile of rubble where its grand Opera House once stood. The community was devastated, but a local businessman was waiting in the wings to construct its next great movie playhouse.