Union Station, the Stanley Theater, and the Capital Theater

After reading Proctor and Matuszeski’s descriptions of the small cities that rose as great centers of industry in centuries past (cities like Paterson, Hoboken, and Trenton in my home state) and Rae’s similar descriptions, I found myself thinking of places closer to Hamilton. Utica, in particular, comes to mind. Utica was a booming city, a metropolis of the north, when mills and factories still dominated the American economy. Although the creative destruction Rae describes certainly took its toll on Utica, many elements of Utica’s golden age remain.
Utica’s Union Station is absolutely incredible inside. Seriously. Incredible. Unfortunately, none of the pictures I could find online do the Station justice, but here are two links (http://www.newyorkrailroads.com/uticaunionstation/ and http://www.trainweb.org/rshs/GRS%20-%20Utica.htm). Union Station is a true gem – a relic from an age of grandiose train stations complete with ornate woodwork, marble, paintings, restaurants, and food stands (Union Station has all five). It’s worth the twenty-minute trek just to check out the station, even if you don’t have a train to catch.
I’ve only driven by Utica’s Stanley Theater, but the exterior is promising enough (again, reminiscent of Utica’s golden age) that I thought I’d check the theater out online. After seeing it online, now I definitely have to make the time to physically walk through it. Here is some information, including a picture, on the Stanley (http://www.cityofutica.com/Entertainment/Attractions/Stanley+Theater.htm).
I have, however, been to Rome’s Capital Theater, which is quite impressive, to say the least. The online pictures of the Stanley remind me of the Capital Theater. The Capital Theater opened in 1928 (see http://www.romecapitol.com/index.html) and, as I recall from a tour of the Theater I took last spring, played silent films accompanied by music played on an in-house organ when it first opened. Here’s a picture of the Theater’s beautiful interior: http://www.romecapitol.com/capinterior.jpg (yes, the interior is every bit as incredible as it looks in the picture).