Arcadia Theatre

They really did a hatchet job when they cut this wonderful theatre into four screens. Typical of what happened to many theatres int eh 1970's. One of the auditoriums doesn't even have fixed seats so they can move the seats for stage presentations and some sort of dinner theatre and I am not even sure why they bother with movies in that auditorium.

Well at least they preseved the exterior and the marguee.

This is a photo of the Arcadia theater in Wellsboro.

I must disagree with the negative comment regarding "hatchet job." The restoration of the space and the mix of larger and smaller screens was handled very well. Prior to the remodeling the theatre was a dying, dilapidated cavern. In a time of multiple releases and varying tastes it made no sense for the only theatre in the county to remain as a single screen theatre. The largest screen is vastly better and larger than the mall chop shops. The second largest screen/stage with moveable chairs is attractive, comfortable and flexible (yes, horrors it also allows for live theatre - a nice plus for a rural community). The smallest theatre is not very big at all but the limited seating prevents the screen from seeming too small. The interior of the Arcadia is tasteful and rich looking. I'd rather go here than any theatre within 100 miles. The prices are also better than the mall experience.

The 1941 edition of Film Daily Yearbook gives the Arcadia Theatre a seating capacity of 880 (852 in the 1950 edition of F.D.Y.).

A Beman theater organ was installed in the Arcadia Theater in 1921.

Here is another photo of the Arcadia Theater.

This is a June 2008 photo.

Another 2008 photo can be seen here.

Here is the Arcadia at night.

Close-up view of the Arcadia Theater.

Arcadia Theater photo

Here is part of an article in the Wellsboro Gazette dated 3/26/97:

Hollywood stars — both past and present — came to Wellsboro for the gala reopening of the Arcadia Theatre on Friday night, March 21. As darkness settled on the town of 4,000, a good percentage of that number gathered on the boulevards and outside the Main Street theater to witness the festivities. Brothers John and Jim Dunham arrived at the ribbon, a combination of white ribbon and black film, for the ribbon-cutting ceremony along with state Rep. Matthew E. Baker and Wellsboro Mayor R. Robert DeCamp.

"People wonder why did this happen," said DeCamp. "It happened because of people like John and Jim Dunham." The pair had the courage of their convictions to forge ahead with plans to rehabilitate the 75-year-old theater, said DeCamp. They also had the faith that if they completed this project, the people of Tioga County would utilize the first-run movie house. Baker clipped the ribbon, and the star-studded procession began. Classic cars and limousines pulled up to the curb to discharge their tuxedo-clad and sequin-decorated occupants.

The former theater has undergone a transformation since it was closed last October for a conversion to a four-screen complex. The walls are now covered with a dark green faux marble wallpaper decorated with scrollwork border along the top. Floors are covered with a rich green and red patterned covering. The walls have returned to some of their former glory with the decorative scrollwork rectangle in off-white contrasting against a dark green background with highlights of ruby red and gold.

Another night photo is here.

The Arcadia is listed in 1998 with four screens and 435 seats.

This is a recent photo of the Arcadia.