Harwan Theatre

The Century in Audubon was torn down to become a Eckard, not a Walgreens…. but it doesn’t matter – the nicer pieces of the face of the Harwan were salvaged ( who owns them now I don’t know ) and soon the place will be history.

According to an article in today’s (8/15/06) Courier Post, the Harwan Theater WILL razed to make way for a new Walgreen’s! With a large CVS store under constructed across the street and another Walgreen’s less than one mile down the Blackhorse Pike what we really do not need is another drug store! What a shame!

The Walgreen’s in Audubon caused the demolition of another old theater, The Century Theater along with a theatricatical supplies store, which occupied the vacant theater building. The Audubon Walgreen’s closed approximately one year after its construction in 2003. Could it be the neighborhood did not want to support such a store?

Your voice can be heard…The Mount Ephraim zoning board and planning board is scheduled to conduct its regular meeting at 7:30 pm on Monday, August 21st at the Borough Hall, 121 S. Black Horse Pike. Please attend and let the board hear your feeling about the impending loss of another old theater. Remind them of the Walgreen’s Audubon store!

I’m wondering the same thing. still looked closed when I drove by. hopefully opening soon!

The organ was most likely removed from the theater during it’s 1970’s facelift…

FeverDog:

I found this information on the running of Rocky Horror in 1993-1994:

Harwan – Mt. Ephraim, NJ
Saturday, midnight, $5.00
Comments: One of the oldest casts in the country (15 years old), and
the only cast in South Jersey and surrounding Philadelphia area. The
Transducer Players are pictured on pages 120-121 of Sal’s 15th
anniversary book, as well as pictured on the back cover with the
eastside cinema cast. (That was just after they lost the 8th street
playhouse in the village.) Shows EVERY saturday night at midnight,
admition is still only $5.00. The theater itself is a single screen,
600 seat vaudville theater complete with stage. An average show is
150-250 people. Virgin of the week every week. Theme nights and
prizes all the time. Origonal pre-shows. Professional cast. Highest

recomendations. Phone: 609-931-8869

For more info on the Transducer Players, or to subscribe to our weekly
newsletter, (Non-profit. Just pay the postage. A stamp a week.) mail
to:
The Transducer Players
110 Warren Avenue
Voorhees, NJ 08043-1235

PS – No, I’m not a fan of this movie, I’m just trying to help others with this post.

Before about 1968 the Harwan was known as the Mount Ephriam Theatre.

Hey Dave, just wondering if the Harwan would be ready for a one-night rental in mid-July, and if not, if there was any way that folks can volunteer to help renovate in time

Thanks,
‘matt!

ps – this is the same “‘matt” that sent you an email about a week ago, heh

Will do—and just did.

I agree that classics on the big screen would be wonderful, but between rental rates and low-turn out they prove no profit. Since the Harwan is not a non-profit organization yet I doubt a film series will be realistically possible. I believe the new incarnation will be for small shows and celebrity performers, as that was the plan about a year ago. Shameless plug: I’ll be screening some classics outdoors on an 8 foot screen this summer as part of “The Lawn-Chair Drive In” in Northern Liberties park, Philadelphia, they’ll be screened off of 16mm film prints complete with cartoons etc… No admission costs!

Would love to see the theater from the inside and take some pics.
Went to alot of movies at the harwan in the 70’s.
I hope they fix it up.

I think this is marvelous news. My wife and I moved to New Jersey 6 years ago, and we constantly joke about the utter lack of architectural taste in a state which it appears people are always traveling out of. ;) White Horse Pike and Black Horse Pike come in for our most scathing attacks.

But when I found the Harwan one day about a year ago, we pulled over and just stared. It’s a magnificent example of creative art deco, and (in our opinion) should be on the National Registry of Historic Buildings, if it isn’t already. We’ve occasionally passed by since then, and until we found this website, were simply waiting for it to be torn down. I’m glad the opposite is happening, and that it will be revived—though running a classic movie theater in the middle of nowhere, is going to be a difficult job, at best. I hope you secure state grant monies for this project. Keep as well away from films that can be found elsewhere; show films that are likely to draw large audiences while remaining true to the notion of what a “classic” is. Hopefully, you have a large-sized screen, not one of the mutant dwarf screens that proliferate in today’s movie theaters. That size may well prove one of your biggest draws, since you can tell people repeatedly that they’ll be looking at the picture the way it was meant to be shown.

I know a (little) bit whereof I speak, because I led a program of classic films up in Fargo many years ago, and more recently was a member of a board that chose classic films in Peoria. (Not exactly a beautiful town, either.) Good luck, regardless.

I wrote up this document on the Harwan theatre. I live in Mount Ephraim, and I used to LOVE going to the theatre every week to the see the latest movie that was out. They were supposed to remodel it, but it just closed. I don’t have any pictures, but if someone could help me out? How far away will the the grand re-opening be Dave Amodei??