Rochester Auditorium Center

Photo by Robert Polyn Image from Great Seats Gothic auditorium space within the Masonic Temple 2007

Location

875 East Main Street, Rochester NY 14605

across from the Armory and a short walk from the Public Market and Village Gate

Phone

585 325 7760

Accessible

Yes, via a side entrance, not the front

Website

Venue listing at Eventful

Rochester Broadway Theater League

The Rochester Auditorium Center in Neighborhood of the Arts is a historic building comprised of the Auditorium Theatre and the attached Masonic Temple Complex. The Auditorium Theatre is beautifully preserved and hosts a variety of Broadway plays, concerts, etc. The Masonic Temple is in use as office space for local businesses, and also has a variety of meeting rooms, auditoriums, and other types of space available for rent to the public. See photo (right) for a view of the large, very gothic-looking auditorium that is housed within the Temple complex. Makes you wonder about what secret Masonic rituals might have taken place here...

The entire complex is a Rochester gem, a well-preserved part of our past with lots of architectural detail that needs to be preserved. Luckily the space is proving useful and hopefully it will be maintained for many years to come. if you go to a show at the main Auditorium Theatre remember to look for the squirrels in the ceiling (hint, look closely at the plaster details).

In February 2023 the Rochester Broadway Theater League, which has owned the Auditorium Theatre since 2004 (and complained for years that the venue was inadequate for the largest traveling productions), announced it would buy the remainder of the complex and embark on major renovations.¹

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