Nixon Theatre
28 S. 52nd Street,
Philadelphia,
PA
19139
28 S. 52nd Street,
Philadelphia,
PA
19139
4 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Paramount Pictures Inc.
Architects: John D. Allen, Louis Magaziner
Styles: Italian Renaissance
Nearby Theaters
The Nixon Theatre was opened November 21, 1910 as a vaudeville theatre. Topping the bill on opening night was Fred Karno’s London Company presenting “A Night in a London Music Hall” which featured a then unknown Charlie Chaplin. The architect is listed as John D. Allen. The proscenium was 42ft wide and the stage 41ft deep. In 1919 it was equipped with a Moeller 3 manual 9 ranks organ. Movies became part of the program and stage shows were dropped in 1929.
The Nixon Theatre was redecorated and altered in the 1940’s to the plans of architect Louis Magaziner. At that time it was operated by Paramount Pictures Inc. through their subsidiary Quaker Theaters Corp. It was closed on May 29, 1977 with Jeff Bridges in “King Kong”, Ron O'Neal in “Superfly T.N.T.” & Sing Chen in “Tiger Force”(Da du xiao). The Nixon Theatre was demolished in early-1985.
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Recent comments (view all 12 comments)
Hello, I am Genaya Reid the grand daughter of Frank & Ida May Brown the last owners of the Nixon movies theater. I wanted to thank the members who posted pictures and information about the movie theater.
God Bless
This is a photo of the building at the address today. It’s indistinct in the photo, but it says “Nixon Building” at the top. Is it possible that the theater building is still standing? If so, a lot of the architectural details seen in the older photos have been removed.
http://tinyurl.com/3ntmwz
The Payless shoe store to the left of the Nixon Building is listed at 32 S. 52nd Street. I do agree that this building doesn’t resemble the theater building, though. The Nixon family was prominent in theater circles in the early part of the twentieth century, so this may be a coincidence.
Here is a 1914 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/pckxy6
My parents went on their first date at the Nixon in 1959; they saw “Blackboard Jungle” with Glen Ford, Anne Francis and a young Sidney Poitier. Must’ve been a good date they had 3 kids and remained married for over 30 years until my father passed; thanks for posting these pictures!
Presidental Election day november 1968.
Mid-day viewing of the Night of the living dead.
Great Theater! remembered.
28-30 South 52nd Street is now KICKS USA. Yes, the Nixon Theater was demolished!
This seems to be where Charlie Chaplin was performing, with the Fred Karno Music Hall, when he got his famous telegram requesting that he come to New York to meet with the lawyers who presented him with the offer to work in Hollywood. Interesting. I remember the theater from my childhood, when I lived in my first house, on 48th and Walnut.
November 20th, 1910 grand opening ad in photo section. It opened on the 21st.
The Nixon Theatre resigned at end of lease on May 29, 1977 with “King Kong,” “Superfly T.N.T.” and “Tiger Force.”