Walt Whitman Theatre

4601 Westfield Avenue,
Pennsauken, NJ 08110

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Additional Info

Architects: William Harold Lee

Styles: Spanish Moorish

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Walt Whitman Theatre

The Walt Whitman Theatre was opened on June 1, 1927. It is often listed as being located in Camden, NJ. Grand old threatre with nice balcony. I saw a few films there in the late-1970’s like “Rocky” and “Saturday Night Fever” when it was operated by the Savar chain. It was last operated by an independent operator who closed it following a small electrical fire in late-1978. The lease, which was due to expire in January 1979, was not renewed. It was demolished in 1981 to create a parking lot and a Walgreens.

Contributed by RSecinaro

Recent comments (view all 7 comments)

RickB
RickB on January 19, 2005 at 7:29 am

46th Street & Westfield Avenue would be a more exact address; don’t know the precise number.

Part of the local Savar chain until the mid-‘70s when an independent operator took over and tried mixing live shows with the movies; I remember that Moe Howard of the Three Stooges made an appearance here not long before he died. They also booked Frank Sinatra Jr.; I heard they hardly sold any tickets for that one.

Supposedly the building had structural problems, which provided an excuse for the demolition. Pennsauken wanted to build a new town hall on the site but ultimately decided they couldn’t afford it. There’s a Walgreens there now.

Ken Roe
Ken Roe on March 24, 2005 at 8:34 am

The Walt Whitman Theatre was demolished in 1981. It originally opened in June 1927 and featured marble floors and walnut paneled walls and ceilings. It is always listed as being a theatre in Camden, although its actual location is just across the border in Pennsauken.

It was the first theatre in the Camden area to screen talkies and was a first-run house, being used as a production site for live radio programmes which featured the organ. It retained its stage shows until the 1940’s

Ken Roe
Ken Roe on May 4, 2005 at 11:49 am

A minor electrical fire closed down the Walt Whitman Theatre in late 1978 and the operator at that time didnt re-new his lease which was due to expire in January 1979.

XactoHazzard
XactoHazzard on May 17, 2005 at 11:03 am

I lived down the street from it… very sad, I grew up in Pennsauke and I know for sure that Pennsauken is not a fan of Historical sites. It’s sad b/c there is alot of history there and they neglect it.

Travis

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on August 25, 2009 at 5:06 pm

Here is the 1965 photo posted on 1/18/05:
http://tinyurl.com/l587x2

mmcclellan
mmcclellan on August 29, 2011 at 12:16 am

This was my neighborhood theatre growing up in Pennsauken in the 50’s and 60’s. In that era it featured split weeks (Wednesday through Saturday) and then a new film or films, often double features, Sunday through Tuesday. I often went twice a week with the change of fare and saw hundreds of movies, which became the foundation of my film education and lifelong appreciation of film.

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