A Brief Personal History of the Chautauqua Cinema
by Paul Schmidt, Owner Emeritus
appended by Bill Schmidt, Owner
The Chautauqua Cinema is located in historic Higgins Hall located on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution. It has been a moviehouse for fully three fourths of its life, but when given to Chautauqua in 1895 by Frank Wayland Higgins (then a NY State senator and soon-to-be governor) and his sister Clara K. Smith in honor of their father, Orrin Trall Higgins, it was used for a variety of educational and performance purposes.
Higgins Hall-1895
Original Interior
Sturdily built of pressed brick with terra cotta trimmings, the portion with the pitched roof was a hall seating about 400 for speeches, recitals, plays, and yes, some religious services, although the building was not built as, nor intended to be, a church (a myth oft-repeated by misinformed tour guides).
The flat-roofed portion contained several smaller meeting rooms and a kitchen. Most of the Institution's expanding programs for young women were headquartered in Higgins Hall, including the Girl's Club and an especially adventurous sounding (for the late 19th century) women's organization called The Outlook Club.
The building's most illustrious day came in 1905 when U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt delivered a major policy speech in Chautauqua's amphitheater, preceded by breakfast in Higgins Hall prepared by the Chautauqua domestic science class.

In this photo taken on the Higgins Hall steps, Roosevelt (center) is flanked by Chautauqua cofounder John Heyl Vincent (also in top hat, on his left) and Jacob Riis, renowned social reformer (hat in hand) on his right. Riis's presence undoubtedly had to do with the theme of the president's message that day, which advocated - remember, he was a Republican - government checks on the runaway power of the huge corporations.