Iris Theatre
3146 Kensington Avenue,
Philadelphia,
PA
19134
3146 Kensington Avenue,
Philadelphia,
PA
19134
3 people
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Worked there as an usher in 1955. It was towards the middle of the block, near the Woolworth’s, and had a balcony. I would lean towards 600 seats, since it had far lessseats that the Midway around the corner. Owner had a jaguar auto.
Another hi-res PAB photo converted to lo-res.
Here is an expanded view of the photo posted on 1/28/05:
http://tinyurl.com/mpfr4w
I went to The Iris, many times. I would have said that it held more than 600 people. It wasn’t as large as The Kent or The Midway, but still, it has a balcony. Among others, I saw “The Cardinal” and “Gorgo” at The Iris.
I remember as a child seeing this movie theater and although I never saw any movies there I do remember it’s existence. From the picture posted in the prior post , it looks as though the theater was built even before the Frankford El was built. I do remember it being about one third down the block from Allegheny and was literally spitting distance from the Midway on Allegheny Ave. And i did know from friends that it had a balcony in it. It became a department store before I ever had a chance to attend.
I remember the Iris. I had a few friends who worked there. It was not on the corner. It was small but I don’t think it was so small that it had only 600 seats like the Cameo on Frankford Avenue. The Iris had a sign in its box office window that servicemen in uniform were admitted for free. This was the policy until the theater closed.
Art S.
A Philadelphia Inquirer article in the ‘90s indicated that the auditorium may have still been largely intact at that time. Employees of the retail tenant said they had moved a drop ceiling panel in a back room, climbed up a ladder and took a peek; they said they were able to see seats and even exit signs that were still lit.
There was only one Iris Theatre and that theatre was located at 3146 Kensington Ave. It most likely was downsized over the years.
In the PAB picture that lostmemory links to the theatre is not on the corner but if you look closely the theatre in on down in the middle of the block. You can barely see the Iris vertical, but if you look closely you can see it.
I can only find one Iris theater listed for Kensington Ave. If you map 3146 Kensington Ave, that address is approx. one block from Allegheny Ave. Was the Iris theater that you remember the second building from the corner? Its possible that the original Iris theater was renovated or rebuilt at some point and reduced in size from 1400 to 600 seats. Instead of the theater extending to the corner, the smaller theater might be the second building from the corner or even the third building depending on the width of the lots. The rest of the property may have been converted to stores or apartments.
the picture shows the Iris Theater as a corner property.the iris theater i remember was not on a corner.is it possible that the theater relocated?
I also show it as being opened in 1910 and closed in 1968, the architect was M.J. Walsh with the address that lostmemory gave.
I have a listing for an Iris theater in Philadelphia but it was a larger theater. It was built in 1910 and closed around 1968. Seating was 1400. The address was:
3146 Kensington Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19134
You can go to this website and see if it is the same Iris theater. I believe that it is.
View link