Imperial Theatre
26-30 E. Main Street,
Uniontown,
PA
15401
26-30 E. Main Street,
Uniontown,
PA
15401
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Sometime after 1901, the Fraternal Order of Eagles constructed a finely detailed three-story lodge building in orange-red brick with tile accents. The 1907 map shows occupancy by the ‘Bijou’ offering ‘continuous vaudeville’, and sharing the ground floor with a pool hall.
Offices were on the second floor, and the lodge rooms on the third. The first floor arrangement created a long, narrow space with a tiny stage crammed in at the rear next to the rear staircase.
By 1914, either new owners or a new name led to the Imperial Theatre offering ‘moving pictures’ in the same space. It seems at this point that the rear staircase may have been done away with, but this still would have been a small and cramped theatre.
It’s unclear when the theatre folded, but competition from the much more spacious (and soon to be completed) New Penn Theatre down the block and later the State Theatre right across the street must have given this a short life. The building is in very good shape, and today houses a restaurant.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
It’s strange that the Sanborn surveyor wrote ‘Imp’ rather than Imperial. There was definitely room for the whole word. I’m disappointed that it wasn’t the Imp, which is much more fun.
“Imp” was reportedly the local nickname for the Imperial Theatre. 1918 auditorium photo added credit Fayette County Historical Society/Abel Colley Tavern & Museum.