Keswick Theater

as an addendum to Craig Ferguson’s appearance on July 10th…

The note above about the pronunciation, both Ferguson’s opening act (Randy Kagan) and also Craig himself called it KES-WICK.

They both said how much they loved the Keswick. Ferguson so much so, he named his butler Keswick.

Keswick is a great place to see a show. I was in attendance on July 10th for TVs Craig Ferguson from the Late Late Show. I was seated to the left three rows from the stage.

It’s quite a facility. I was imaging whilst waiting for the show what it woulda been like to see a movie there. It was awesome that it was able to be saved. I’m glad its being supported and things are booked through next year and beyond.

On August 4 1990, I was the driver of the tour bus that brought Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd to the Keswick during what may have been their last east coast tour by motorcoach. The band at that time was conducted by Frank Tiberi, and tickets went for $17.00 and $14.00.

I not only got to hear this great band play every night for about 3 weeks, but I also got to play frisbee with them in the parking lots as well!! Quite a gig!

Also have an excellent photo of the poster in the front theater showcase, as well as a front theater view with the band’s name on it – leave a reply should you like me to e-mail them to you.

This is a 2009 shot of the marquee.

This is the nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places.

This is a recent close-up view of the Keswick Theater.

The original organ in the theatre was an Aeolian Organ – 3 manual 11 ranks – Opus 1689 . It was installed in 1928. The current organ is
a Moller Organ, Opus 5230 , installed as 3 manuals 19 ranks in the Sedgwick Theatre, Mt. Airy ,Pa. in 1928.

There is a new book, just published by Arcadia in the ‘Images of America’ series “The Keswick Theatre” by Judith Katherine Herbst.

It tells the history of the theatre from opening to present day with over 160 historic photographs.

Couple nice photos of the Keswick Theatre.
http://www.agilitynut.com/05/1keswick.jpg
http://www.agilitynut.com/05/1keswick2.jpg

what a treasure. beautiful, intimate setting to see a wide array of entertainment. every bit as good as philly’s tower theater, w/o the traffic hassle. get there 90 minutes before show time, have a nice meal and beverage of choice at one of the very close by eateries, and pretty much just drive away after the show is over. because of the limited seating (approx 1500) traffic concerns are nil. wish I would have ‘discovered’ this gem earlier. have seen such names as: george carlin, traffic, buddy guy, jonny lang and others. look forward next month to seeing the madman himself-ian anderson with jethro tull. accessibility is pretty good, ‘bout 10 minutes from the penn turnpike. do not miss out on an opportunity to check this place out if given one

Correction: that’s Warner, not Warren in Atlantic City. And at that time the Lancaster Opera House was the King.

The Keswick Theater and the little row of shops adjoining it are designed in the Tudor Revival style. (I don’t have a photo to submit, but the official website at www.keswicktheater.com has a few pictures.)

I grew up in the Glenside area of Pennsylvania and watched many movies at the Keswick in the late 1960s, including my first James Bond picture (“You Only Live Twice”.)

Incidentally, we called it “kes – wick”. It wasn’t until years later that I visited the lake district in England and found that the “proper” pronunciation is “kes – ick.”