Senate Theater

norelco…I do believe the roof collasped and then was torn down.

“Norelco,” I’ll have to e-mail you with some questions about the Paxtang, my own childhood venue. I have a question about the Grand, however. My dad lived on 13th Street in the 1920s (and on Liberty Street in the 1930s, “penway14”)and attended the Grand. He once told me that the Grand was a “reverse” theatre, that when you entered the auditorium the seats were facing you and that you walked up to find a seat, with the screen to your side and back. I’d never heard of such a thing at the time and thought that I either misunderstood him or he was thinking of somewhere else. I’m sure he didn’t make it up and even at 90 his mind was sharp as a tack. So was the Grand a reverse theatre? Were there any among the many places you worked?

Very interesting. Thanks.

I seem to remember the Penway, the Roxy, the Grand, and the Valle were all in the same block ad in the newspapers. I assume they were all owned by the same guy.
I have a newspaper page from 1955 and only the Penway and the Grand are listed in the “Screen Times” section.
I always wondered what was upstairs at the Penway. I wish I had other photos of it. I only have a snapshot my dad took.

The State was probably the largest theater in Harrisburg. The only one that could really screen CinemaScope on a large scale. “The Robe” was a big event and attraction there.
Do you remember the Roxy? Was it on 13th St.? It was across from Christ Lutheran Church. The Grand was around the corner and down Derry St. It was nice in the early ‘50s.
There was another sort of grungy theater down from the Roxy, towards 13th & Market, the Capitol?
If I remember correctly there was a fairly nice shopping district at 13th & Market: A Lee’s 5&10, a real market, and various other good stores.
I’m a little vague on the numbered streets, it’s been awhile.
The Hershey Community was beautiful and I assume it still is, a real palace.
After my family moved out of the city I lived down the road from the Harrisburg Drive-In.

Being the son and nephew of theatre owners I remember the xxx debate very well.. People would ask why we did'nt run family movies, I would tell them they would be the only ones to show up..Plus the percentage film companies charged on top of a huge deposit, we just could'nt make it.. Whereas you paid $200.00 a week to rent an xxx and all the money after the $200.00 was profit..I did'nt like running them, but they did put alot of food on the table and paid the bills..

My Pal John, You make me laugh buddy..Funny thing is I don’t remember much anymore,, But when your in a booth day in and day out you tend to remember what you were running.. I can even tell you what every theatre in Pittsburgh, had in it’s booths…Don’t ask the name of who I was with last night….

The Senate showed first-run and re-issued Disney’s. One of the first films I remember being traumatized by was a re-issue of BAMBI. I also saw re-issues of SNOW WHITE and the SuperScope stereophonic revival of FANTASIA. The Senate had converted to CinemaScope around 1953 and they had a good stereo system. I seem to remember the church bells in Night on Bald Mountain coming from the back of the theater. (Great, but they also had to crop the image to make it wide-screen!)
The Harrisburg first runs (premieres) of ALICE IN WONDERLAND and PETER PAN were also at the Senate. (With all the Disneys I always felt it was so ironic it ended up as a porn house).
I have many very fond memories of this theater. It also showed Universal International first-runs, including the 50s 3-D sci-fi films which I loved. Also Hitchcock’s PSYCHO which had people lined up down to Caplan’s (sp.?) on the corner of Market St.

Penway, you said you lived on liberty street near the Penway. I know a guy who grew up in that neighbor. What years did you live there?

I do remember the Hill. My parents loved movies and we attended most of the theaters in the Harrisburg area. I remember the Hill as new and very nice. It was set back a little from Market St. and you could park on a lot to the left of the entrance.
We also went to the then-new Uptown and the Paxtang, an older neighborhood theater.
I managed to get to one screening at the West Shore and it seemed in very good shape. I’m very glad it’s still functioning.
I have to do some scanning and will get the photos on my blog shortly.

I’ve seen John’s posts too, but you did the Senate entry, right? (Yes, I see John did do the long response with the pool hall info though).
Apparently they are not accepting photos on this site as yet? I doubt I can find any photos of the lesser-known Harrisburg (and Lancaster area) theaters but who knows. But I do have photos of most of the downtown Harrisburg houses, including some of the Colonial right after the wall collapsed. These are the theaters I grew up in.
I will try to put some of these on my blog and add a link (as I did for the Senate electric eye door photo).
I wonder if you or John would remember a neighborhood theater in New Cumberland? I seem to remember it was reopened and showing films again just before I left Pennsylvania. (This about 15 years ago).

I grew up on Liberty St. a block down from the Penway. (On the block opposite Lincoln Elementary where I went to school). I have one photo of the Penway, a snapshot that my dad took when my mother and I were standing in line. I was about six or seven years old at the time. It’s not really sharp but it is the only Penway photo I’ve ever seen.
I also have a more professional photo of the Rio.
I’d like to add the Penway and other Harrisburg neighborhood theaters to this site. I’m assuming they are not listed as yet. At least I’ve not been able to find them.
I’ve read a lot of your posts and was hoping you might respond to one of mine. The Senate was one of my favorite theaters and I was really interested in your comments, particularly about the pool hall. (I had no idea). It’s so difficult (and rare) to find reliable information about these theaters and I appreciate your postings very much.
This is a great site! I discovered it over the holidays but it took awhile for me to get registered.