Nixon Theater

The three stores that are in the photo posted on 12/17/08 Olympia Sports is at 20 S. 52nd St., Star Wigs 22 S. 52nd and the Menswear is at 24 S. 52nd, so the theatre wouldn’t have been in that building.

Here is a 1914 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/pckxy6

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.

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 movies shown in the second photo were released in 1971.

Interesting trivia in the Nixon Theatre’s history. When the movie Mikey And Nicky was filmed in Philadelphia in the early 70’s a scene was shot with the theatre’s marquee in the background. I’m not sure if it was dirctor Elaine May’s decision, although it wouldn’t surprise me, but the theatre’s name was changed to the Noxin. Apparently, the dislike for President Richard Nixon went pretty deep. I supose, the thinking went, the film makers didn’t want movie goers to suddenly stop being entertained at the sight of the Nixon name.

The Nixon Theatre opened on November 21, 1910, the interior was done mostly in marble and crystal. When the Nixon was built it replaced a tent that featured vaudeville acts for a ten cent charge. It also featured a box office for balcony patrons on a side street. Another unusual feature of the Nixon is that it had its own power plant.