Prince Music Theater
1412 Chestnut Street,
Philadelphia,
PA
19102
1412 Chestnut Street,
Philadelphia,
PA
19102
7 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 47 comments found
VEry glad the theater will remain in oepration. Would love to see them also show movies.
The building has been sold to a group that has leased it back to the theater company. What exactly will be presented here in the future seems to be a bit up in the air. Philly.com has the story.
We have this block at work called web sence and it blocks the stupidest things.
It opened for me, and sometimes, yes.
I did go there but work blocked it as a dangerous site. SIGH. Are they stillshowing movies Howard?
Open as you will see by clicking on the theater’s website found under Related Websites.
Is this theater still in oepration? I knew they filed for bankruptcy in 2010.
although I never assigned as a mgr or asst, mgr, athe the midtown most of the goldman asst. mgrs. worked the school shows when “Scrooge” starring Albert Finney was playing there for the Christmas holidays. ‘70 or '71 I am not quite sure of the dates any more. our major jobs were to push 800 children out the back exit doors while another group of mgrs pushed 800 more in the front doors.
In between being Jacob Reed’s Men’s Store and Karlton Theatre, there was a Kugler’s Restaurant in the building, until at the latest late 1920, when the building was converted to the Karlton Theatre.
The financial woes continue as a film screening is almost canceled after the Prince’s electricity is shut off over unpaid bills; PECO eventually turns the juice back on. Story here.
To help pay the bills, the theater has announced a summer movie series: View link
Love the Photo of “CATCH 22” wish it was a bit closer.
I think it is great news that center city will have a theater showing movies again.
Here’s is a ad from June 1979, with “ROCKY II” playing at the Budco Midtown Theatre. The Midtown Theatre was not twinned yet as of June 1979.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrambojr/4602314914/
Great Photo of “Catch 22”. I worked as a usher there back in late 1968 to Fall of 1970. Anybody out there know what happpened to the managers – Norman Gordon and Bob Beck. Charlie Woods was there as a fill in for the managers on their days off.
Andy P
Here is a 1970 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/yjgyroh
Here is an interior photo from the Irvin Glazer theater collection:
http://tinyurl.com/ol2sss
From what I gather, Budco twinned the Midtown sometime after June 15, 1979, which was the day ROCKY II opened there. The Philadelphia Inquirer had the theatre listed that day as “Budco Midtown”
TO: John Benson and Barry Goodkin: I worked as a usher at the Midtown in the late 60’s. Saw Oliver for ten months. When I started I was only 14 years old (had to be 16 to work), and when Mr. Gordon found out, he decided to keep me instead of firing me. I appreciated his kindness and knowledge of the movie business. The best theatre manager that I had the pleasure to work with. I spent my high school years 1968-1972, working at the Midtown (filled in at the Goldman and Randolph when they were short of ushers), also at the Milgram and Stage Door Cinema.
Andy P
Here’s some early 1950s history of films shown at the Midtown, from Box Office:
10 June 1950 Box Office “So Young, So Bad” given premiere on June 7th
10 May 1952 Box Office: Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie will greet people May 14 in the Midtown lobby when their film “No Room for the Groom” opens
8 Aug 1953 Box Office: Michener’s Return to Paradise" had eastern premiere at Midtown on 5 Aug
If you search exactly “BoxOffice March 3, 1951” page 108 has description with photos of renovated Midtown exterior & interior including auditorium facing screen.
Box Office 24 Nov 1951 BoxOffice page 123 has an ad, which at lower right has photos Midtown foyer’s leather doors & Ladies Powder room
It was the Sansom St. Cinema which either began its life as a porno house or morphed into one towards the end, and I think was in the same block as but across the street from the Roxy. It may have also been under Sackett’s supervision that one of the most amazing double-feature bills of all time was shown: “The Wizard of Oz” and Tod Browning’s “Freaks” in one sitting. Among his other ventures, Sackett was also the chief proponent of a short-focal length lens attachment he marketed in the 1970-1980’s as “SuperVision,” which, according to him and his press releases was installed in at least two theatres in Las Vegas, and was even used at an Oscar ceremony for projecting the film clips utilized during the awards.
Do you mean Sansom Street? I don’t remember any Sampson in Center City.
Warner’s operated the Bromley at 5810 Old York Road. It is listed with 953. Barney Sackett had a radio program called “Two On The Dial.” He took over the Earle Theatre after Warner’s closed it and did “Death of a Salesman” on stage. He went on to operate an art house around 19th & Sampson.
I was able to find the Wayne Avenue Playhouse on this site by calling up all the theatres in Philadelphia, which seems to be a more reliable way to find theatres, unless the name has changed. Pretty shocking list; almost every one is closed. They were nearly all open when I left in 1963. I used to know Barney Sackett slightly, who ran the Wayne Avenue, and went there many times.
There was a little theatre near the Wayne Avenue Playhouse, I think it was on the other side of the railroad—looking at the map I would say somewhere like Wingohocking Street not far from where it meets Germantown Avenue. It was closed, but ca. 1962 a guy named Max Raab opened it as an art theatre as a tax shelter, and renamed it the Aardvark Theatre, a play on all the Aart theatres that clogged the neighborhood listings. A purist, he only ran single features until economic necessity forced him to go to the standard doubles. His big score was getting VIRIDIANA first run for Phila. It wasn’t open for very long. If listed on this site it wouldn’t be under Aardvark.
There was also a large theatre on the west side of Chelten Avenue between Wayne and Germantown, I think a chain theatre, but I don’t remember the name.
I can’t remember for sure, but I think the Esquire was the theatre that Gordon managed before moving to the Midtown. It’s the right area and a Goldman theatre.