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Curtain Up,

Curtain Up,

Louis Comfort Tiffany's original sketches for a grand drape was never made until 2015 when they were sent to Austria to be custom-made for the Shea's Buffalo stage.

Photo Credit: October 6, 2015

Louis Comfort Tiffany's original sketches for a grand drape was never made until 2015 when they were sent to Austria to be custom-made for the Shea's Buffalo stage.

Photo Credit: October 6, 2015

Originally, the walls of Shea's Buffalo Theatre lobbies were covered in a velvety wallpaper. Restoration Consultant Doris Collins got permission from the National Register of Historic Places to instead recreate the effect over nearly 7,000-square-feet through hand-drawn stencils, all done by volunteers. "The fabric was quoted as costing $200,000; I haven't spent $2,000 yet to do the same coverage." Doris Collins said.

Photo Credit: November 11, 2005

Originally, the walls of Shea's Buffalo Theatre lobbies were covered in a velvety wallpaper. Restoration Consultant Doris Collins got permission from the National Register of Historic Places to instead recreate the effect over nearly 7,000-square-feet through hand-drawn stencils, all done by volunteers. "The fabric was quoted as costing $200,000; I haven't spent $2,000 yet to do the same coverage." Doris Collins said.

The interior of Shea's Buffalo Theatre is made of a fine plaster and silk threads called "scagliola" intentionally meant to imitate marble. An easy way to tell the difference is that marble is cold to the touch and scagliola makes a hollow sound when knocked on!

The interior of Shea's Buffalo Theatre is made of a fine plaster and silk threads called "scagliola" intentionally meant to imitate marble. An easy way to tell the difference is that marble is cold to the touch and scagliola makes a hollow sound when knocked on!

"Buffalo has a spirit of volunteerism you don't get in many, many cities. This will probably be my swan song, but I'll come back as a volunteer and haunt everybody."

- Doris Collins, Restoration Consultant
Shea's Buffalo Theatre has five unique carpet designs according to our 1926 photographs from opening day. But being from 1926, we weren't sure what colors they had used - until we found original carpet samples stowed away in a dusty closet! Our historically-accurate carpeting was custom-milled by a factory in Northern Ireland in 2009.

Shea's Buffalo Theatre has five unique carpet designs according to our 1926 photographs from opening day. But being from 1926, we weren't sure what colors they had used - until we found original carpet samples stowed away in a dusty closet! Our historically-accurate carpeting was custom-milled by a factory in Northern Ireland in 2009.

Photo Credit: September 14, 2009