Parkway Theatre
5 West North Avenue,
Baltimore,
MD
21201
5 West North Avenue,
Baltimore,
MD
21201
4 people
favorited this theater
The Parkway Theatre currently stands vacant on West North Avenue in Baltimore City, just west of Charles Street.
The theatre was built around 1915 and was redecorated in 1926 by architect John Eberson. It operated well into the early-1980’s.
The area has fallen on hard times and the Parkway Theatre, which recently was a Korean Businesses Owners Assn. Headquarters, currently is vacant.
Plans in 2001 to save the Parkway Theatre were also unsuccessful.
The Charles Theatre, Baltimore’s ‘Art theatre’ is just around the corner on Charles Street.
Contributed by
Thomas
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Recent comments (view all 26 comments)
1985 photo of the Parkway Theatre.
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It reminds me of the Raymond in Pasadena.
The city of Baltimore is once again hoping to renovate the Parkway Theatre as a performance venue to help revitalize the downtown section north of Pennsylvania Station. In combination with two other buildings in the immediate area the total cost of the project is estimated at $1 billion dollars.
The city is discouraging proposals that rely on public funding.
The below article about the project appeared in The Baltimore sun Website on May 7 2009
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Lest anyone get the unrealistic impression from Mr. Gray’s above comment, the referenced Sun story indicates the “$1 billion” estimate is for the entire “Charles North Vision Plan” project, not just for the Parkway and its two adjacent buildings, not that I would have a problem with that kind of expenditure for them.
http://www.parkwaytheatre.com
Wixie Children’s Musical Theatre staged live performances at the 5 West on weekday mornings in the 1960s (I saw their “Wizard of Oz” as a kid); the company later moved to the Painters Mill Music Fair in Owings Mills.
As reported in Boxoffice of October 20, 1956, when the Parkway Theatre was renovated and reopened as the 5 West Theatre the original seating capacity of 1,100 was reduced to a mere 440. The interior was gutted and rebuilt. A new concrete floor was poured for the orchestra section, and the balcony was re-stepped. The new seating rows were 48 inches back to back on the main floor and 64 inches back to back in the balcony. Additionally, the former standee area was enlarged and walled off from the auditorium to provide space for a new lounge.
The first film shown at the 5 West was the Alec Guinness comedy “The Lady Killers.” The theater was operated by the 5 West Amusement Company, Milton Schwaber, President. Three photos of the renovated theater appeared in Boxoffice Magazine, October 20, 1956.
The 5 West apparently began having difficulty operating as an art house as early as 1974, when the September issue of Boxoffice said that Schwaber Theatres had closed the house until further notice. I don’t know how long this closure lasted, but I haven’t found the house mentioned in Boxoffice again until July 26, 1976, when there was an item saying that Schwaber World Fare Cinemas had reopened the 5 West “…as a showcase for black exploitation films.”
As long ago as 1983, public involvement to revive the Parkway Theatre was being proposed. That year the December issue of Boxoffice reported that Baltimore city officials had applied for a $265,000 Federal grant which “…would be combined with $800,000 in private funds to build an entertainment center inside the Parkway Theatre….” Obviously nothing came of this proposal.
A.K.A Loews Parkway.
PorcelainDoll, I’m curious as to how you managed to gain access to the Parkway to obtain the photos you recently posted. (Also the Mayfair.)
Its the internet. You can find anything.
This message is for Joe Vogel & Chuck 1231: Guys, both of you have made some interesting comments here and I am presently working on an article about the Parkway for publication. I would like to use, with your permission, some of the detail you presented, but I would also need to know some of your source material. Since Cinema Treasures seems to have no way for members to contact other members (at least no way I have been able to discover) I would appreciate your contacting me at or through the email link on the website http://www.parkwaytheatre.com. Thanks so much! -RedDawg