RKO Pelham Theatre
2126 White Plains Road,
Bronx,
NY
10467
2126 White Plains Road,
Bronx,
NY
10467
3 people
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A large theater in the Pelham Parkway area, had three sections: smoking on the left side and children on the right side. Later, the theater became a bank and is now stores.
Contributed by
Chuck Gitlin
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
The 1954 Film Daily Year Book gives a seating capacity of 1,762. The address listed for the theatre— 21-26 White Plains Road might be incorrect (I don’t think hyphens are used in Bronx addresses). The theatre was not listed in the 1957 FDYB, suggesting it was a victim of TV competition.
Your right Warren, I don’t believe they use a hyphen either. 2126 White Plains Road shows a listing for the Chase Bank.
After RKO had it, Skouras took it over and closed it soon afterwards. If it was a bank and now stores is there anything left of the facade.
Historian Michael Miller’s list of Bronx theatres claims that the Pelham opened in 1928 and closed in 1965. If that’s true, it must have had a owner before RKO, which didn’t exist in 1928. Perhaps it was originally B.S. Moss, whose Bronx theatres eventually became part of RKO.
I guessed wrong about the Pelham’s origins. It was built and first operated by the Cocalis brothers, who leased it to RKO along with their Castle Hill and Marble Hill Theatres in 1940. The three theatres were closed for renovations during the summer of 1940, and re-opened under RKO management in September.
I have access to a picture of the exterior of The Pelham, taken most probably in the mid-1950s. However, the main subject of the picture is a fire truck passing by in front, but the marquee is easily seen with the movies, “Seven Cities of Gold” and “Devil’s Harbor” showing, which according to the IMDb, was released in 1955.
I will scan it up and send it when the submission issues are updated on this site…
Jim
The RKO Pelham is visible in this photo.
Photo here is definitely off… The original location of the theater is one block south of the pictured Google location, between Lydig Ave & Maran Place. lostmemory’s photo is the corner of Maran Place & White Plains Road. The block is now occupied by a clothing store, a pizzeria, a hair salon, a Chase bank & a CVS.
I added a photo of the RKO Pelham…I remember seeing Objective Burma with Errol Flynn here.