Trocadero Theatre
1003 Arch Street,
Philadelphia,
PA
19107
1003 Arch Street,
Philadelphia,
PA
19107
10 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 35 of 35 comments
The Troc is the featured theatre in an article about American burlesque shows which appeared in American Heritage Magazine in the June/July 2002 issue. There is an old exterior photo of it and some history of the building and comments about the shows, including comments about one of the house comics, Billy “Cheese and Crackers” Hagen, who also appeared frequently at the Old Howard Theatre in Boston.
The “Burley” theatres in Boston during the 1930s, 40s, and 50s,all presented 2nd-run movies in between stage shows, so I assume that the Troc did also. I saw the outside of it, front and rear, a few times; and got inside it in the mid-1980s. What a gem of an old 19th Century theatre !
Back when I was growing up in NE Philly, going down to the Troc Theatre at least once when you turned 18 was regarded as a vital “rite of passage.” And for an older brother of mine that meant going there to see Chickie Delight “perform,” and for me, several years later (1972) it was Sheree DeFore (billed as “As Never Before!”) I went down there with a Roman Catholic friend of mine (who was doing the driving) and though we got to see Sheree DeFore do her full “act,” the moment it was over and the movies began he suddenly felt very sick and we had to head back to NE Philly once more — even though I myself wished we could’ve stayed to watch the movies a bit longer, plus see the “Gala Midnight Show” the theater’s announcer kept telling all the theater patrons to stick around for. So to this day I still wonder what the heck the “Gala Midnight Show” was. Anyway, such is my own memories of the Troc.Haven’t ever been back since.
My grandfather was a janitor at the TROC when it was a burlesque house (1940s). LOL!
The Troc is one of my favorite live venues in Phily, although I havent lived in PA for a number of years now. The last time I saw a show there, I spent most of the time hanging out at the 21& over bar upstairs. In the mensroom, along the wall in front of the urinals was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen (and a nod to the former glory days of the Troc). There’s a long wooden row — like a box that runs the length of the wall in front of the urinals. When you’re standing at the urinal doing your business, you’ll notice that there are stars painted along the box. Some stars have tiny peepholes in them. If you look inside the peephole, there are vintage black & white burlesque photos, illumnated by lights wihtin the box. The photos are cheeky, innocent, and in my opinion — a very artistic and creative way to pay homage to the rich history of this amazing edifice. The box/concept is difficult to describe on the web, but honestly, one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen while standing at a urinal, that’s for sure! ;)
thanks, rickB
Carlotta Tendant…Chili Soss…Mae Lox…I think the manager/resident comic, an elderly fellow named Max something, was the one who thought up the names.
Does anybody remember some of the hilarious names of the strippers? Like: “Trolley Carr,” or “Lynn Oleum…she’ll floor ya!” I think they would change the names on Mondays. Some of them were quite hysterical.
More photos here:
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By the ‘70s the Troc was showing adult movies along with its strippers, and after the burlesque operation shut down it was used to show Chinese films for a while. (Lest anyone complain that it is not quite a “cinema” treasure.)
Philadelphians of a certain age probably get a good giggle out of the idea of the ol' Troc as a historic site…but not many Victorian-era theaters like it are still around.