WEST PHILADELPHIA<\/strong><\/p>\n 52nd Street in 1914, looking south from Market. Nixon Theatre Nixon Theatre, 28 South 52nd Street, seen here in 1914.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Many of the neighborhood theatres were located in commercial corridors.\u00a0 West Philadelphia\u2019s main street for well over a century has been 52nd<\/sup> Street.\u00a0 For much of its history, the Nixon Theatre<\/strong> lit up its night.\u00a0 Originally a vaudeville theater operating under a tent, the grand Nixon was built in 1910 near the head of the vibrant commercial strip. \u00a0\u00a0The 1,870 seat theater was designed by architect John D. Allen, who had recently designed the much more elaborate Orpheum Theatre on West Chelten Ave.\u00a0 Converted to film presentation in 1929, the Nixon operated until 1984.[ii] The brick and stone classical fa\u00e7ade featured a two-story arched entrance, topped with a gentle bow window, and a prominent baroque split pediment.[iii] The site is now occupied by a nondescript building housing Payless ShoeSource<\/em> and Rainbow Kids.<\/em><\/p>\n Eureka Theatre, 3941 Market Street, seen here in 1915.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Another eye-catching classically designed theatre in West Philadelphia was the Eureka Theatre<\/strong>.\u00a0 While the building had a much smaller capacity of 450 seats, the large terra cotta fa\u00e7ade was designed to be seen from a fast moving train on the elevated Market Street line just feet away.\u00a0 Designed by Stearns and Castor, now best known for their Colonial Revival homes, the Eureka opened in 1913 and operated through the 1950s when it was converted into a furniture store.[iv] It was demolished in the 1970s to make way for the high-rise which is now the University Square retirement home.<\/p>\n Commodore Theatre, SE corner of 43rd and Walnut, seen here Many of the neighborhood theater buildings have survived but today serve other purposes.\u00a0 The 1,105 seat Commodore Theatre<\/strong> in Walnut Hill opened in 1928.[v] Designed by the Ballinger Co., the Moorish styled building was converted in to the Masjid Al-Jamia mosque in 1973.\u00a0 While the interior\u2019s Moorish ornamentation was thematically appropriate for a mosque, much of it seems to have been removed.[vi] The theater was designed for film, but transitioned to legitimate theatre (with a thrust stage) in the 1960s for a few years before becoming the Miracle Revival Tabernacle church, prior to its use as a mosque.\u00a0 The large rooftop sign structure, now empty, was installed in the 1930s.<\/p>\n SOUTH PHILADELPHIA<\/strong><\/p>\n Neighborhood theaters provided an air-conditioned respite from the grind of modern life.\u00a0 This is perhaps best represented by the fictional 1930s South Philadelphia Paloma Theater in the 1995 film, Two Bits.\u00a0 Twelve-year-old Gennaro spends the nearly whole film searching for two bits (a quarter) to see a film in his Mifflin Square neighborhood\u2019s brand-new theatre.<\/p>\n Stratford Theatre, South 7th Street and Dickinson, seen here Prior to the Paloma, Gennaro might have walked fifteen minutes north to Dickinson Street to see a film at the 600 seat Stratford Theatre<\/strong>.\u00a0 Opened as Herman\u2019s in 1913, the theater became the Stratford in 1920 and showed movies into the 1960s when the building was acquired by the City and demolished for the parking lot that now occupies the site.[vii]<\/p>\n Broadway Theatre, South Broad and Snyder, seen here in 1931.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n One of South Philadelphia\u2019s largest and most popular theatres was the 2,183 seat Broadway Theatre<\/strong>.\u00a0 The building was built in 1913 as a vaudeville theatre to the designs of Albert Westover, a theatre architect whose office was in Keith\u2019s Theatre Building at 11th<\/sup> and Chestnut.\u00a0 The theater was renovated in 1918 by Hoffman-Henon, the architects of the Boyd Theatre.\u00a0 The refined white brick and terra cotta Broadway was demolished in the 1970s for a drive-through restaurant.\u00a0 The site is now a parking lot for a Walgreen\u2019s<\/em>. [viii]<\/p>\n NORTH PHILADELPHIA<\/strong><\/p>\n Great Northern Theatre, North Broad, Erie, and Germantown The 1,058 seat Great Northern Theatre was built on a triangular lot where Germantown Avenue crosses North Broad Street.\u00a0 This large theater had entrances on both streets with a lobby at the point facing northwest.\u00a0 A nickelodeon had been located here which was expanded in 1912.\u00a0 This photograph, looking northeast to the Broad Street elevation, shows the pronounced advertising of the silent film, the Sea Hawk.\u00a0 The theatre survived into the 1950s and was converted into a drug store in 1953. [ix] While the lobby portion was long ago demolished, the auditorium section of the building seems to have survived.<\/p>\n Jumbo Theatre, Front and Girard, seen here in 1916.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Also surviving as a shadow of its former self is the Jumbo Theatre.\u00a0 This 1,300 seat theatre was constructed in 1909 to the designs of Carl Berger and renovated in 1912 by Hoffman-Henon Co. [x] Seen here in 1916, the theater is covered with signs about its \u201c5 cent reels.\u201d Said to be one of the largest theaters in the city when it opened, it showed films into the 1960s. As evidenced by the huge elephant sign suspended over the front doors, the theater was named after the famous elephant that P.T. Barnum bought from the London Zoo in 1882. The elephant was given the name Jumbo by the zookeepers and through Barnum\u2019s publicity machine, Jumbo became synonymous with \u201chuge.\u201d [xi] (Remember that the next time you order a jumbo popcorn at the movies!) Recently operated as \u201cGlobal Thrift,\u201d the fa\u00e7ade had been insensitively covered.\u00a0 The building is currently being converted into a dollar store and the paneling has been removed, exposing the original ornamental brickwork.\u00a0 The proscenium arch inside had survived until this spring.<\/p>\n Ogontz Theatre, 6033 Ogontz Avenue, seen here in 1985.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Ogontz Theatre was one of Philadelphia\u2019s most beautiful neighborhood theatres.\u00a0 Located in the West Oak Lane neighborhood, the Ogontz was designed in the Spanish renaissance style by Magaziner, Eberhard, & Harris.\u00a0 This 1,777 seat theater opened in 1927, closed in the 1950s and was subjected to decades of neglect and vandalism prior to its 1988 demolition.[xii]<\/p>\n The Uptown Theatre, 2240 North Broad, Seen here in the 1970s.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The 2,146 seat Uptown was also designed by Magaziner, Eberhard, and Harris, and is considered one of their finest buildings.\u00a0 As described in the 1929 opening day program, the building is \u201can Exquisite expression of 20th<\/sup> Century art. Grace of line, delicacy of coloring, beauty of craftsmanship, and mystery of scintillating and reflecting surfaces.\u201d\u00a0 Like many theatres of this period (the Boyd included) it was laid out for film more than vaudeville, and featured a narrow stage.\u00a0 Despite this, the theatre became a major center of Philadelphia\u2019s African-American culture in the 1950s.\u00a0 It closed in 1978, briefly reopened in 1982, and is now the focus of an ambitious preservation effort by the Uptown Entertainment Development Corporation.[xiii]<\/p>\n Midway Theatre, Kensington & Allegheny, seen here in 1932.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Midway Theatre opened in 1932 in the Kensington neighborhood.[xiv] It\u00a0 \u201cwas the last truly grand building of the motion-picture palace era in Philadelphia.\u201d[xv] An art-deco show-stopper, the building could be seen down the avenue for blocks. The 2,727 seat theater was one of the largest theatres outside of Center City \u2013 and operated as a second-run theatre showing films that had already opened downtown.\u00a0 It survived into the 1970s and was demolished in 1979, following neighborhood opposition to plans to convert the building into a rock and roll venue.<\/p>\n Of the 468 movie theatres built in Philadelphia since the 1890s, 396 were located outside of Center City in the neighborhoods.\u00a0 As with the downtown theatres, the vast majority (more than 90%) of these buildings have been demolished, but they remain as vivid memories for many.\u00a0 These amazing photographs of both lost places serve as inspiration to those working to save theatres like the Boyd and the Uptown.<\/p>\n [i] As with the earlier blog post on movie theatres, most of the factual information in this piece has been culled from the work of Irvin Glazer (1922-1996) who documented the history of Philadelphia theaters in two books:\u00a0 Philadelphia Theaters: A Pictorial History<\/em> (Dover Publications, 1994) and Philadelphia Theatres, A-Z: A Comprehensive, Descriptive, Record of 813 Theatres Constructed Since 1724<\/em> (Greenwood Press, 1986).\u00a0 His collection of photographs, clippings, and research files is housed at The Athenaeum of Philadelphia.\u00a0 Most of the photographs have been scanned and are available online in a format that permits zooming.\u00a0 http:\/\/www.philadelphiabuildings.org\/pab\/app\/co_display.cfm\/483480?CFID=60415619&CFTOKEN=31750787<\/a><\/p>\n [ii] NIXON: Glazer 1986, p.176; Glazer 1994, p.11; and http:\/\/cinematreasures.org\/theaters\/10327<\/a>.<\/p>\n [iii] Images of the fa\u00e7ade can be found here:\u00a0 http:\/\/www.philadelphiabuildings.org\/pab\/app\/image_gallery.cfm\/7240<\/a>.<\/p>\n [iv] EUREKA: Glazer 1986, p.108; Glazer 1994, p.22; http:\/\/cinematreasures.org\/theaters\/33645<\/a>; and http:\/\/www.philadelphiabuildings.org\/pab\/app\/pj_display.cfm\/5588<\/a>.<\/p>\n [v] COMMODORE: Glazer 1986, p.90; Glazer 1994, p.55; http:\/\/cinematreasures.org\/theaters\/25802<\/a> ; and http:\/\/www.philadelphiabuildings.org\/pab\/app\/pj_display.cfm\/5729<\/a>.<\/p>\n [vi] As seen in the photographs in this Daily Pennsylvanian article: http:\/\/www.dailypennsylvanian.com\/node\/52658<\/a><\/p>\n [vii] STRATFORD: Glazer 1986, p.220-221; http:\/\/cinematreasures.org\/theaters\/10667<\/a>; and http:\/\/www.philadelphiabuildings.org\/pab\/app\/pj_display.cfm\/5340<\/a>.<\/p>\n [viii] BROADWAY: Glazer 1986, p.74; Glazer 1994, p.16-17; http:\/\/cinematreasures.org\/theaters\/4912<\/a>; and http:\/\/www.philadelphiabuildings.org\/pab\/app\/pj_display.cfm\/5826<\/a>.<\/p>\n [ix] GREAT NORTHERN: Glazer 1986, p.132; and http:\/\/www.philadelphiabuildings.org\/pab\/app\/pj_display.cfm\/7293<\/a>.<\/p>\n [x] JUMBO: Glazer 1987, p.141; http:\/\/cinematreasures.org\/theaters\/15280<\/a>; and http:\/\/www.philadelphiabuildings.org\/pab\/app\/pj_display.cfm\/6884<\/a><\/p>\n [xi] http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jumbo<\/a><\/p>\n [xii] OGONTZ: Glazer 1986, p.178; Glazer 1994, p.48; http:\/\/cinematreasures.org\/theaters\/9070<\/a>; and http:\/\/www.philadelphiabuildings.org\/pab\/app\/pj_display.cfm\/16638<\/a>.<\/p>\n [xiii] UPTOWN: Glazer 1986, pp.230-231; Glazer 1994, pp.60-65; http:\/\/cinematreasures.org\/theaters\/1807<\/a>; http:\/\/www.philadelphiabuildings.org\/pab\/app\/pj_display.cfm\/21193<\/a>; and http:\/\/www.philadelphiauptowntheatre.org\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n [xiv] MIDWAY: Glazer 1986, p.170; Glazer 1994, pp.79-80; http:\/\/cinematreasures.org\/theaters\/9172<\/a>; and http:\/\/www.philadelphiabuildings.org\/pab\/app\/pj_display.cfm\/21351<\/a>.<\/p>\n [xv] Glazer, 1994, p.79.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Shawn Evans, AIA, Atkin Olshin Schade Architects Center City Philadelphia was home to the region\u2019s most well known movie theatres.\u00a0 Clustered in districts on Market, Chestnut, South, and North 8th Streets, these entertainment venues lined up along the sidewalks with blinking lights and glistening facades to draw in thousands of visitors to downtown.\u00a0 An earlier […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","category-neighborhoods"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.phillyhistory.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![\"Purchase](\"https:\/\/phillyhistory.wpengine.com\/images\/purchase.gif\")
<\/a>![\"View](\"https:\/\/phillyhistory.wpengine.com\/images\/nearby.gif\")
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\nseen on right.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nin 1952.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\nin 1956.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\nAve, seen here in 1925.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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