Band Box Theatre

The Bandbox Theatre was a small theatre located at 20 E. Armat Street, just off of Germantown Avenue, near Germantown & Chelten. It was built in 1930 and bucked the trend for the large, opulent theatres. This was probably because it was built during the depression years. The seat capacity is not clear to me. I’ve found where it was said to have 499 seats when it opened, while in a theatre directory, it is shown to have 220 seats. Maybe seats were removed over the years. Unlike most of Germantown’s theatres, this was not before my time. But, it was one I was never in, a regret of mine. I had the opportunity, but didn’t take it. My fondness for old theatres came about later, after the Bandbox closed. From recollections of others, the general consensus was that it was a neat little theatre. From recollections of another, it had a art-deco styled interior and had a separate basement lounge. During my time, the Bandbox was showing artsy, independent films. It closed in the mid 1970s and has been used as warehouse storage ever since. The Bandbox outlasted all of Germantown’s theatres, with the exception of the Walton Theatre. The Bandbox also outlasted all of the Mt. Airy theatres and closed roughly the same time as the Hill Theatre, which was owned by the same people.

I have a 6/2/1943 movie listing this as a William Goldman Theatre: Band Box, playing “Happy Go Lucky”. The sister theatres that also were listed as “William Goldman Theatres” were: Terminal Theatre, 56th Street Theatre.