Devon Theater for the Performing Arts

6333 Frankford Avenue,
Philadelphia, PA 19135

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Showing 26 - 50 of 107 comments

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on June 24, 2008 at 2:01 pm

It’s hard to read, but the photo on Google maps shows the marquee saying something about a performing arts center coming soon. I guess that’s been on there a while.

jackferry
jackferry on June 24, 2008 at 9:48 am

What I do to ruffle your feathers?
Or are you just one of those ornery old cusses that likes to attack people that won’t go along with everything they say?
Nevermind. I think I answered my own question.

To everyone else: sorry for wasting valuable bandwidth on stuff that has nothing to do with Cinema Treasures. (So if I don’t respond to whatever follows this posting, you’ll know why.)

TheaterBuff1
TheaterBuff1 on June 24, 2008 at 1:59 am

As if maybe you have to consult with someone else first perhaps? If I’m not mistaken I think you just said as much in an unintentional way.

jackferry
jackferry on June 23, 2008 at 7:24 am

Hmmm. Not quite sure what to say to that.

TheaterBuff1
TheaterBuff1 on June 22, 2008 at 11:54 pm

However, since he no longer lives here, you might want to ask Jack Ferry, since he seems to be privy to what any of us living here are not permitted to know.

TheaterBuff1
TheaterBuff1 on June 22, 2008 at 11:40 pm

Nope. Welcome to Philly…

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on June 22, 2008 at 5:34 pm

I came across the site posted on 6/7/05 and was wondering if there has been any progress towards turning this into an arts center. Any news?

jackferry
jackferry on February 16, 2008 at 6:55 pm

The problem isn’t necessarily your political views, the problem is your choice of forum. www.phillyblog.com or a similar site would present a more appropriate soapbox.

TheaterBuff1
TheaterBuff1 on February 14, 2008 at 4:17 am

Just to come straight to the point, that’s ridiculous, you guys. We have a serious problem here in Northeast Philadelphia that has got to be gotten to the other side, of while your outlook is, “No, just let the creeps walk free.” The other day I had a visitor to here, and you know, it was outright embarrassing to point out to that visitor this old theater building and that in passing, saying how great these theaters we had around here used to be, but now look at it.

So listen up. When things go wrong, when we get morons in power instead of intelligent people, resulting in the vanishing of our theaters in this instance, that’s the time to speak up, not shut up, so in that regard you guys aren’t helping things any.

I would like to know what really happened here theater-wise. And how am I supposed to find that out if I just go quiet? You criticize me for making “personal attacks,” but just to set the record straight, when a bunch of morons take over a community in which I have very deep roots, and put crap in place of what had been classy before, well it doesn’t get any more personal than that. John Perzel, who has a great deal of influence here in Northeast Philadelphia right now, is a moron. So, too, is single-bullet-theory Arlen Spector. That’s why we’re getting crap here instead of great things happening. Ask Reese Hatley, the one currently in charge of restoring the Devon, or at least he’s trying to, he’ll tell you. Anyone around here who’s honest will tell you what I’m telling you. You guys are lashing out at me blind to the fact that I’m one of the good guys. I say if you’re going to lash out, do so where it’s warranted. And John Perzel definitely needs some serious lashing out against right now. So if you’re going to be harshly critical, direct your harsh criticisms at him, not me.

TheaterBuff1
TheaterBuff1 on February 13, 2008 at 2:14 am

Yes it is, John, but doesn’t the nature of that photo strike you as a bit peculiar? To the average person, I being one at the time when that photo was taken, no one was aware that Northeast Philadelphia’s long-existing single-screen theaters were an endangered species in any way. And it does not seem that that photo was shot for any artistic reasons. There’s nothing artistic about it — except that in hindsight it now serves as view back into the past. But who among average Northeast Philadelphia citizens had that hindsight at that time? I sure didn’t.

As a photographer myself, I take pictures of things I believe to be things of permanence, but only for artistic reasons. But this photo looks like a “hit” photo. For what transpired after that photo was taken? One minute the theater was successful, the next, all this craziness. And is there a link between this photo that was taken when it was successful and all that craziness that followed?

It’s clearly not an owner taken photo. Rather, it was shot from a car that stopped briefly, took the photo, and then headed on. As if to say whoever took it was assigned to take it. Assigned by Pennsylvania State Representative John Perzel perhaps? Based on what followed next, that’s what I’m guessing…

JohnMessick
JohnMessick on February 12, 2008 at 6:50 am

Cool vintage picture of the Devon.

TheaterBuff1
TheaterBuff1 on February 12, 2008 at 1:45 am

Point of curiosity: Did the taker of this photo — showing the Devon during its successful swing as a great neighborhood movie theater — know what was awaiting ahead? What motivated them to take this photo, I wonder?

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on February 11, 2008 at 10:59 pm

Vintage exterior photo that I see recently was placed online:
View link

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on September 4, 2007 at 12:47 pm

Exterior shown last night on Fox TV Channel 29 news as part of story on closure of AMC Orleans 8:

View link

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on August 20, 2007 at 3:56 pm

Exterior photo from this month,
View link

TheaterBuff1
TheaterBuff1 on July 29, 2007 at 10:55 pm

Thanks for telling us, since I and many other Northeast Philadelphia residents didn’t receive that edition of the Northeast Times. That’s how it often is with that particular newspaper. Sometimes it gets delivered, sometimes not. Go figure. Maybe it’s local politics or something, I don’t know, but the only way I found out about this newest leg in the Devon saga was by visiting the Northeast Times website where they only provide the text of their articles and not the accompanying photos that often go with them. So regarding the photo that goes with this article, perhaps you can scan and post it so all can see it? Thanks

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on July 29, 2007 at 8:02 am

A photo showing a nice looking new marquee appeared with the print article in the NE Times.

TheaterBuff1
TheaterBuff1 on July 29, 2007 at 4:32 am

This article appeared in the Northeast Times for July 26, 2007, telling the latest on the Devon restoration:

http://www.northeasttimes.com/2007/0726/devon.html

TheaterBuff1
TheaterBuff1 on April 3, 2007 at 12:19 am

Though I haven’t heard anything specific — and given the current state of politics, organized religion, the press and the local blogs around here I’m not likely to — now that Pennsylvania State Representative John Perzel is no longer House Speaker it’s probably safe to say the Devon Theatre restoration project as a live arts entertainment venue is now officially dead in the water.

For I can pretty much guarantee the new House Speaker, Dennis O'Brian — who’s also from Northeast Philadelphia — has no interest in this project going forward. You can write or call his office, or that of Perzel, or Philadelphia City Councilwoman Joan Krajewski, or the Mayfair CDC organization, or whoever else, but I can pretty much guarantee you won’t get any replies. Nor will anyone who tries to step in and take over where Perzel left off get very far.

As for sound explanations for all this? Your guess is as good as mine. But usually when things get all hushed up this way the explanations behind it are more likely of a sinister rather than positive nature. Hey, why do you think Phoenix just surpassed Philadelphia in population size, making Philadelphia now America’s 6th largest city? People don’t stay around places that turn this way if they can help it.

JohnMessick
JohnMessick on April 1, 2007 at 3:53 pm

Anymore up to date news on the Devon?

TheaterBuff1
TheaterBuff1 on January 18, 2007 at 12:18 am

Oops! Great, great, great granddaughter of Joanna Pacitti I meant to say. Reading about the Devon Theatre and all we’re supposed to be excited about makes me sleepy, very very sleepy. So just pardon the barely awake typo. I’m certain I got the year right, though.

TheaterBuff1
TheaterBuff1 on January 18, 2007 at 12:07 am

Also, Philadelphia City Councilwoman Joan Krajewski, who I believe is also credited with the Devon’s ongoing restoration (though I’m not 100% sure about that), just officially announced that she’s going to run for yet another term rather than retire as she originally planned.

As for Perzel’s still being a “leading member of the state house,” at this point that is totally questionable. The title he now holds is “speaker emeritus.” But is that actually an official title? Or simply a fabricated-on-the-spot one laced with a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor, a consolation prize as it were?

In any event, rumor has it that the great granddaughter of Joanna Pacitti (who hasn’t even been born yet) will officiate the grand ribbon cutting when the Devon finally reopens to the public, sometime just after the year 2500 I believe…

JohnMessick
JohnMessick on January 17, 2007 at 9:44 am

So, what is the up to date news on the Devon, how are things progressing?

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on January 16, 2007 at 10:44 pm

He continues as a leading member of the state house.