Cameo Theatre
2940 Frankford Avenue,
Philadelphia,
PA
19134
2940 Frankford Avenue,
Philadelphia,
PA
19134
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The Cameo dated to 1909 and was located on Frankford Avenue near Birch Street. The theater was first remodeled in 1925, but was totally redesigned and enlarged in 1929 by architect David Supowitz.
The Cameo was later known as the Dazzleland Theatre. It closed in 1955. Any further information on this theater would be appreciated.
Contributed by
Bryan
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
This theater reopened for a short time after 1955. I don’t remember the dates but I saw the film “Hercules” with Steve Reeves there, and that film came out after 1955.
Art S.
Art S. do you have any other specific memories of the Cameo? Saturday afternoon matinees, dish nights, manager, candy-pop corn machines, ? Please check the comments on other Port Richmond theaters: Belgrade, Clearfield, Richmond, Allegheny, anything you can add will become a lasting legacy to a neighborhood of theaters like no other.
Sorry I cannot gove you any more on the Cameo. The Allegheny was before my time. My father told me about it. I know that it later became a supermarket, a Penn Fruit I believe, then a home remodelling store, someting like a Home Depot.
I remember the Clearfield, on Clearfield and Miller Sts. The first film I saw there was “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.” My uncle took me there when I was a little kid. The Clearfield was later closed and became a Polish Club.
I know a little more about the Midway near K&A.
It looks like some newer houses have been built on the even side of Frankford in the 2900 block. No trace of any theater.
Auditorium pictured in 1939 at bottom of this page: Boxoffice
This house appears to have been called the Dazzleland Theatre earlier in its history, rather than later. The October 22, 1922, issue of The Film Daily has an ad for Warner Brothers featuring inset photos of Philadelphia theaters running Warner pictures, and the theater pictured at lower left on this page has the name New Dazzleland above the entrance.
The Dazzleland Theatre is also mentioned in a 1916 issue of The Moving Picture World, as well as in the 1917 Cahn guide and the 1924 Film Daily Yearbook. Most likely it opened as the Dazzleland and was renamed the Cameo with the 1925 or the 1929 remodeling.