Morgan Theatre

2426 Pennsylvania Avenue,
Baltimore, MD 21217

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Additional Info

Architects: Paul Emmart

Functions: Banquet Hall, Community Center

Styles: Beaux-Arts

Previous Names: Schanze Theatre, Uptown Theatre, Cinema Theatre

Nearby Theaters

Morgan Theatre

The Schanze Theatre opened in 1912, it was across the street from the larger Metropolitan Theatre. Inititally it was a combined vaudeville and movie house and the building contained a dance hall on the second floor.

In 1938 it was renovated and reopened as the Morgan Theatre on November 5, 1938. In 1940 it was renamed Uptown Theatre, catering to the African-American population. This was short lived as in 1941 it was taken over by new owner who change the name to Cinema Theatre and screened Yiddish movies.

From July 1946 it had new owners and reverted back to the Morgan Theatre name, as an African-American theatre. Closed by a serious fire in November 1949, it was remodeled into an amuement arcade. It was later taken over by Wilson’s restaurant. The theatre is intact with its gothic muses on the front facade. Since 1972. it has been used commercially for a Black Social Club, known as the Arch Social Club for meetings and banquets.

Contributed by Chuck, Ken Roe

Recent comments (view all 3 comments)

paulnelson
paulnelson on June 29, 2013 at 9:07 pm

Classic and dramatic look. Stone figures are beautiful. Should be turned back into a theatre of some kind.

zenith82
zenith82 on March 4, 2014 at 4:00 pm

This building has recently been restored! The cheesy looking wooden facade has been removed, exposing original elements that I feared were long gone. The building still houses the Arch Social Club, but they did a good job of uncovering this building’s beauty.

AndreasP
AndreasP on November 4, 2017 at 3:10 pm

The facade after restoration can be seen here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Arch_Social_Clubhouse_(Baltimore)

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