Leo Theater
North 18th Street at Ridge Avenue,
Philadelphia,
PA
19130
North 18th Street at Ridge Avenue,
Philadelphia,
PA
19130
1 person
favorited this theater
The Leo Theater opened in 1908. It was a small silent-era theater that closed in 1927.
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Lost Memory
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
There used to be a different LEO theater in NE Philly in the 70’s. I saw Star Wars there as a kid. There wa s Burger King next door and we got commemorative/colletible soda glasses there that geatured Star Wars characters. Anyone else remmeber this?
Budcoboy71, The Leo Theatre you are referring to was The AMC Leo Twin theatre, on Bustelton Ave, near Byberry Rd. in NE. Philadelphia. This theatre, along with The Bucks Mall Colonial Twin theatre, The Premiere Twin Theatre and The Woodhaven Mall 4 Theatre, were the first 4 theatres AMC acquired in the Philadelphia area. Today, the Woodhaven Mall 4 lives on as The AMC Woodhaven 10 Theatre, and The AMC Premiere Twin was replaced by The AMC Neshaminy 24 Theatre.
The Leo in the Northeast was built in 1964 by Ramon Posel, who died Thursday. Inquirer obit here for the next few days (registration may be required).
The Leo which closed in 1927 was the first theater owned by Leo Posel (although he did not build it nor was he the first owner). His son Ramon Posel built the “new” Leo in the Northeast in 1964 and named it in honor of his father and that first family theater. In addition to the NE Leo, Ramon Posel also built the Bucks Mall Colonial and the Premiere Twin that Budcoboy71 mentions as among the first theaters acquired (from Posel) in the Philadelphia area. At the time of his death on June 23, 2005, Ramon Posel owned four theaters: The Ritz 5, the Ritz East, the Ritz at the Bourse (all in Philadelphia) and the Rizt 16 (in Voorhees, NJ. He built all of these except the Ritz East.
Here is a link to the Ramon Posel built Premiere Theatre, later closed by AMC Theatres
How could you not love the Northeast Philly Leo theater, which, of course, was adjacent to the Leo Mall?
Boy I remember seeing my favorite double-feature there in the early 70’s: Charlotte’s Web, followed by Willy Wonka!
That place rocked!
I’m devastated to see that my childhood memory’s #1 favoritest theater, the Leo Mall Twin, does not have its own page here at CT.
I mean… E.T. played there for like 11 months! ;)
I grew up right behind Leo Mall (Hendrix St.), which means that on an average Saturday, I could hit Burger King, Video Village, Dip’s Ice Cream, Leo Theaters, and video games at the bagel shop. Ah, youth…