Stanley Theatre

The Stanley Theatre's address was 1902-10 Market Street.

http://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/image_gallery.cfm?RecordId=06DE35D4-6C72-45F4-9E9E100CD84207C1
A link to some great pictures of the Stanley Theatre

Next to the Boyd/Sameric Theatre, The Stanley Theatre was probably the theatre I traveled from Lancaster to patronize the most. My first visit was in 1963 to see Liz and Richard in "Cleopatra." When those giant silver curtains opened to reveal the stage and huge screen, anyone had to be amazed. Of course, anyone who saw "My Fair Lady" there can never forget the experience. "The Great Race," "Camelot", "Finian's Rainbow", "Hawaii" are just a few of the 70mm presentations at this true movie palace. I can still picture the mahogany paneling in the upstairs lobby. Oh what moviegoing was like back in those days! People actually went to see the movie and not chit chat, talk on their cell phones, or whatever. Bring back the Stanleys, Boyds, States, Capitols, etc. The shoebox multiplexes of today just don't compare!

Dennis Z: You are correct. I worked at various Movie Houses in the late 60's. The theatre owners and managers took pride in their movie palaces, and how they showed the movies. Bring back the Boyd, Stanley and Fox, these were Movie Theatres.

In the great theatre renovation craze of 1959, SWarner spent a bundle on remodeling the Stanley. I dont have the dimensions of the stage curtain but it stretched in front of the proscenium the entire width of the auditorium, a considerable distance, the screen being set back towards the rear of the stage house. Opening attraction in November of 1959 was "Pillow Talk." Among its 70mm runs were "My Fair Lady," "Cleopatra," and "Fall of the Roman Empire," during which engagement the 70mm print was swapped out for a 35mm run when business no longer supported a reserved seat policy, and switched to "grind."

I still miss this theatre. I was not in it prior to its renovation in 1959. My first visit, as I mentioned earlier was to see Liz and Dick in "Cleopatra." I do not know whether it was seeing it twice in this theatre, but "My Fair Lady" is my all time favorite film. The first time I sat on the orchestra floor. And, for my second viewing, sat in the "loge." THOSE WERE THE DAYS! One Stanley Theatre is worth 20 "megaplexes!"

You guys were lucky I never got to this theater.

The only old theatre palace that i was ever in was the Boyd (aka United Artists Sameric 4) One of the Stanley, Boyd, Milgram, State equals 3 Neshaminy 24's and Cherry Hill 24's

I show that the Stanley closed in 1973 and was demolished the same year.

The Stanley was demolished by 1973, but was closed in early 1973. The New World Theatre was built on the Stanley's proptery at the same time it was being demolished.

There was an office building erected on the site of the Stanley Theatre. I think the original World Theatre and the new World Theatre were already history. The Original World Theatre fronted on Market Street. The replacement World Theatre was on 17th or 18th Street off of Market if I remember correctly. I do not think the "New World" theatre was in operation very long.

Al Capone was arrested in front of this theater on a "prearranged" weapons charge. See the last paragraph of this article:
http://www.acweekly.com/archives/2005/06.09.05/waltz.php

The RKO Stanley Warner's Stanley theatre was closed in early 1970. the last movie to play at the Stanley was "Viva Max". After it closed, RKO Stanley Warner had only 2 theatres left in Center City Philadelphia, The RKO Stanley Warner's Palace Theatre, and The RKO stanley Warner's Boyd Theatre.

The RKO Stanley Warner's Palace Theatre was closed in 1971. The RKO Stanley Warner's Boyd Theatre was sold to Sam & Merton Shapiro's Sameric Theatres Corporation on November 1, 1971, and reopened on December 14, 1971 as "Sameric Theatre".

One of the great "downtown" first-run houses of Philadelphia. I remember seeing lots and lots of movies here, especially "Some Like it Hot" and "Flower Drum Song." I believe I also saw a re-run of the original "King Kong" here sometime in the late 50s.

Since I added some ticket information to the Boyd site, I thought while I had my book of ticket stubs in front of me I would add some for movies I had seen at this wonderful movie palace.
"My Fair Lady" = Orchestra - Sun 2PM 2/14/65 - Row P Center - $2.30
"My Fair Lady" - Loge - Mon 2PM 4/19/65 - Row A Right Center - $2.30
"Hawaii" - Loge - Sun 2PM 2/26/67 - Row B Left Center - $2.30
"Camelot" - Loge - Fri. 8:30PM 12/29/67 - Row B Left Center - $3.00
"Finian's Rainbow" - Loge - Fri. 8:30PM 1/3/69 - Row A Center - $3.50
I can still picture sitting in this theatre and watching those huge grey curtains open to reveal the stage and another set of curtains in front of that large screen. I just wished the desire to maintain these wonderful movie palaces had started before this one bit the dust. Of course, the Fox outlasted this one and there was not much more than a whimper when that one came down in pieces. IMHO this theatre was at least on a par with the Boyd, if not even more palatial than the Boyd.

Curtains opened to reveal an empty stage? And, then screen was set further back?

I read about the Fox effort, so when I organized our group to save the Boyd, I was determined not to "rerun" that effort to Save the Fox!
Downtown Philadelphia wasn't going to save every movie palace for entertainment purposes, but in addition to the Boyd we possibly could've saved one more without loss of existing theaters. It would have been great to have retained one of the neoclassics such as the Stanley, Fox, or Earle. The Mastbaum was the best ever built, but so huge....

Yes! Look at Vince Youngs post from Jan. 21, 2005. In the remodeling of 1959 a curtain was installed in front of the prosenium and stretched the width of the theatre. During roadshow attractions this curtain was closed until the start of the overature, if my memory serves me correctly. Once the overature started, the house lights dimmed, and that giant curtain opened. There were stage foot lights lighting the curtain covering the screen to the rear of the stage house. I thought it was so appropriate that during the "My Fair Lady" engagement, those footlights were in the color pink. Since all the movie posters for the film were a pink background. Back then that was showmanship! Not the shove them in and move them out we have today! The Stanley was a larger theatre than the Boyd, but not as large as the Mastbaum.

Yes, Dennis, and when I think about it, the Stanley's curtain was - with the exception of the Music Hall - probably the largest curtain I have ever seen anywhere, Cinerama houses included! The house was a "widebody" to begin with, and I must reiterate, the traveller stretched out well beyond the proscencium and continued up the side walls. If you can get a copy of Ben Hall's "Best Remaining Seats," there's a from-the-balcony shot of the pre-renovation Stanley, and you can get a pretty good idea of the width of the theatre. Do you also recall two or three side panels in front of the actual screen curtain, too?

Yes, Vince, now that you mention it I do. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, my first visit to the Stanley was to see "Cleopatra". So I never saw the theatre before the "renovation." I just remember being more awed by the size,elegance, and magnificence of this theatre than even the Boyd. There was just so much more room in this theatre. You did not feel as cramped sitting in the loge section of the Stanley as you did in the Boyd. The balcony "lobby" was so much more palatial and roomy. I remember the ramps leading from the main inner lobby upstairs. I remember the vending machines built into the walls and the walls around them being what looked like mahogany paneling! Oh to be able to walk into the Stanley Again!

I never went there, but remember a friend telling me about Sweet Charity and that they had aqua curtains. I heard the curtains at the Fox went up not across

Yes, Mike, the Fox up until its last renovation, had a large rising "Austrian swag" curtain as well as the horizontally travelling screen curtain. As for the Stanley, as Dennis pointed out, there were any number of lights, and combinations of patterns, that could light the house curtain.

Here is a 1935 photo. An interesting theater, to say the least:
http://tinyurl.com/mv3lq

The outside pictures of the Stanley do not reflect the glamour and palatialness (not sure there is such a word) of the inside. It was a huge theatre that, I thought, made you feel like you were in a palace. Of course, 1935 was before my time. I first attended a film at the Stanley in 1964. By that time the front of the theatre had been totally remodeled. It would have made a tremendous performing arts center!

This patron went to a premiere and ended up with a broken leg:
http://tinyurl.com/yheo9j

This is the end, in 1976:
http://tinyurl.com/39yx83

Kenmc: That picture says it all. What a total waste! I cannot remember how long it was until something was built on that property. I cannot remember the Mastbaum. However, there was another theatre across Market Street near the Stanley that sat there unused for years. I think to this day it is still a parking lot. However, it has been many many years since I have ventured into Center City. The last time my wife and I were in C.C. we were both so disappointed in the Lord and Taylor store in the old Wanamakers store. Even the Gallery was disappointing. I am wondering whether Macy's has improved the "old Wanamakers?" However, anything other than the eight floor "John W's" is a let down. Anyway, could that other theatre across the street have been the Erlanger????

Yes, on the North side of Market Street was the Erlanger.

This afternoon, I photographed the Murano residential tower that is being built on what I think is the site of the Erlanger. The Erlanger closed in the 1970's and was demolished in that decade.

Photo by Dennis Zimmerman of Finian's Rainbow on the marquee, shown in 70 mm:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/howardbhaas/1202315767/
Thanks to Dennis for granting permission for the posting, and for his taking this and other theater photographs!

A Kimball theater organ KPO 6582 size 3/29 was installed in the Stanley Theater in 1921.

After recently viewing photographs on the internet of Philadelphia's Stanley Theater, I could not help but notice that it looks exactly like the Benedum Center (formerly the Stanley Theater) of Pittsburgh. When looking at the photos side by side, it's almost impossible to tell the difference between the two buildings. I read that they were both designed by Hoffman & Henon. Were these two theaters built exactly alike? Also, did the Stanley Company build others that resemble these two? If they were indeed built as "twins", it's such a tragic loss for Philadelphia to have lost this theater.

Not sure as to twins, but I can tell you that Baltimore's Stanley was the most magnificient movie palace ever built in that city, and has also been lost.

Philadelphia's Stanley, also neoclassical, was one of Philly's greatest showplace movie palaces.

A few facts about the Stanley remodeling in 1959.
In December of 1958, Loew's Theatres took a gamble by announcing a front-to-back remodeling of its Times Square theatres, the State, into something modernistic that would become a "destination" moviehouse. It worked, and was a huge success. It was also said that Loew's also wanted a state-of-the-art premiere house for the upcoming MGM "Ben-Hur," and the Capitol was deemed too large for a roadshow. The renewed State reopened in March with "Some Like It Hot" and continued referring to itself as the New Loew's State until well after "Ben-Hur" had vacated the premises. Stanley-Warner theatres followed suit with the Stanley in Philadelphia. Its remodeled "New" Stanley reopened its doors on the evening of November 10, 1959 with celebrities such as Charlton Heston (who was about to appear two weeks later at the Boyd as Judah Ben-Hur). Opening attraction was the equally-as-modern Ross Hunter production of "Pillow Talk." The Stanley, too, was a success, after its $500,000 facelift. The seating capacity was reduced to 2200, not 1300, and featured a lobby with "walls of formica and tile and padded doors of bronze and glass. The mezzanine has been transformed into an intimate lounge...six crystal chandeliers have been installed in the ceiling...For the comfort of the patrons the seating capacity has been reduced to 2200, allowing wider space between the rows of longer chairs on the main floor and 'bodiform' chairs in the balcony...Following a color scheme of gold and blue, the theatre has been completely recarpeted and redecorated with rich draperies. The stage will boast a traveler curtain, similar to the one that was used at the Boyd for Cinerama productions. It will be illuminated by flood lighting from the balcony. Also newly installed is a sound and projection system performing the showing of every form of medium...except Cinerama. Another innovation is the automatically controlled year round airconditioning unit...The only object remaining from the 'old' Stanley is George Harding's mural, 'Le Carneval,' which will still be displayed in the lobby."

All of the above, further commentary, and an artist's sketch of the lobby is in the Philadelphia "Inquirer" issue of November 8, 1962.

The statement "every form of medium...except Cinerama," is not quite true inasmuch as the 'old' Stanley was one of only a very few theatres that had installed the original horizontal projection system, VistaVision, which predated IMAX by more than a decade. And about that traveler curtain, and its lighting, which stretched across the entire width of the auditorium, not just the width of the proscenium, DennisZ in May, 2006 described the "pink" effect used for the "My Fair Lady" engagement. At the time, it was rumored that this curtain was the largest used in a motion picture theatre, except for Radio City Music Hall and the Great Northern in Cleveland.

It was, I supposed, a bit typical of the Philadelphia we-don't-like-to-brag mentality of the time, that whereas Loews's continued to boast of its "New" State for years, the "New" in Stanley lasted less than two weeks in local publications. It just reverted to the "old" Stanley if you didn't know any better.

In the list of 70mm attractions, add "Fall of The Roman Empire," which switched to a 35mm print when the film went off roadshow to continuous performances. And there we no 70mm prints of "Hawaii" distributed anywhere in the U.S.

If you google search exactly
Boxoffice October 30, 1948
and type 28 in the page box
there's a photo of Stanley exterior showing "Red River" with a parade of Indians, cowboys, rodeo girls, steers

veyoung were the gentleman that was the projectionist a a couple theatres in Hawaii?

1968 photo of the Stanley Theatre.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=141&txtSearch=CATAdvancedSearch1%2c38%2c3%2c2268&catpageindex=9&ProductID=33174

Renewing my link.

Tidbits from the late 1930s: 13 Aug 1938 Box Office had an ad that "Alexander's Ragtime Band" set box office records in cities including Philadelphia's Stanley Theatre.
29 July 1939 Box Office reported that the “The Man in the Iron Mask” was being shown at the Stanley, and 2 Dec 1939 Box Office reported that “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” was shown.

Tidbits from the early 1950s: "The Third Man" was a popular 1950 movie at the Stanley. 11 Nov 1950 Box Office” reported that Suzanne Dalbert, a star of WW2 movie "Breakthrough" appeared at the film's premiere at Stanley on the 9th. 17 Nov 1951 Box Office reported that Stanley Theatre sold out a telecast fight. 12 April 1952 Box Office reported that Abbott & Costello appeared in the Stanley lobby to promote Easter seals to benefit crippled children. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" was a popular 1953 movie at the Stanley.

The Stanley can be seen in this 1952 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/qhtxcc