F. F. Proctor's Theatre and Arcade

Frederick Freemann Proctor and his wife, Mary Ann, a Vaudeville performer, wanted to offer family-friendly entertainment, a more wholesome alternative to the burlesque shows of the early twentieth century. Though Proctor would own numerous theaters in the northeastern United States and even in Canada, the State Street building in Schenectady is unique because it's one of the only ones that he built and owned. Proctor purchased the building, which once housed a Five Cent and a Strand theater, renovated it, added a major addition to the back, the Arcade Shopping Mall. He opened the theater in 1926. Since the late 1970s, the building has been known simply as Proctors, with no apostrophe. The theater is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

F.F. Proctor began his entertainment career in the 1860s, when he performed in the circus as a teenager. When he married Mary Ann Daily, a Vaudeville performer, the couple began appearing in acts together. They soon got the idea to offer family-friendly performances as an alternative the more risque burlesque shows of the area. In the late 1800s, Proctor began leasing the old Gayety Theater in Albany and eventually owned theaters and entertainment venues throughout the northeast United States and as far north as Montreal.

Proctor purchased the building at 432 State Street in Schenectady which housed a confectionary shop, a Five Cent store, and a Strand theater. He put the building through a complete renovation and added an innovative new feature to the back--the Arcade Shopping Mall. It was a novel idea at the time and one that would presage twentieth century chopping malls. The newly renovated theater opened in 1926 as F. F. Proctor's Theatre and Arcade. Beyond its amenities, the theater offered another innovation--Proctor pioneered an idea known as "continuous vaudeville," in which customers paid for entry at any point during the day and stayed for as long as they wanted. He advertised this feature with the slogan, "After breakfast go to Proctor's, after Proctor's go to bed."

In 1929, Proctor sold the opulent theater to Radio Keith Orpheum, Inc. (RKO) for $16 million, a remarkable sum for that time. The coming years were big ones for the theater, when it routinely saw thousands attending screenings of classics such as Gone With the Wind and the Wizard of Oz. The theater also hosted musical performances by some of the biggest names of the day, including Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington. By the mid-twentieth century, however, Proctor's experienced the same kind of decline that many downtown theaters felt. The proliferation of televisions, the growth of shopping malls, and the growth suburban areas all took a toll on the grand old theater. By the 1970s, it was functioning primarily as a movie house, but was in an increasing state of disrepair.

Thanks to the efforts of preservationists, the theater was spared demolition and underwent a thorough restoration in the late 1970s. Many people contributed to the project, with a number of celebrities donating funds and many ordinary citizens chipping in to clean the theater's seats, which were deemed too expensive to replace. In 1980, Proctor's was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Proctor's was also renovated in 2003 and again in 2015. The theater is one of the most beloved buildings in downtown Schenectady

and hosts a wide variety of performances, including touring Broadway shows.

Our History , Proctors. Accessed August 5th 2021. https://www.proctors.org/our-history/.

Grondahl, Paul. At 90, Proctors a Cultural Gem with a Storied Past , Times Union. December 8th 2016. Accessed August 5th 2021. https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/At-90-Proctors-a-cultural-gem-with-storied-past-10783167.php.

Krefft, Bryan . Proctor's Theatre, Cinema Treasures. Accessed August 5th 2021. http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/3113.