The Hill, along with the Uptown in Harrisburg, were two of the newest theaters in the Harrisburg area circa the 1950s. Probably the last new neighborhood theaters before shopping malls changed everything.
My parents took me to theaters all over the Harrisburg/West Shore area and I remember the Hill as a very nice one. It was a single building set back from the street and there was a parking lot to the left of it. There was a roomy lobby/entrance (as I recall) and a downstairs lounge reached by a stairway at the back of the auditorium. I remember everything about the theater as being new, modern (as opposed to theaters like the Colonial), and attractive.
Later I got to know theaters in York, Lancaster, and Philadelphia.
Would love to see those scrapbooks too, but I’m no longer in the area.
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.
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).
GREAT photo of “Student Prince” at the Viking. Wish I could have seen it (in CinemaScope!) on that screen.
As I’ve noted elsewhere I saw a re-issue of “Raintree County” at the Viking when I was at West Chester U. I remember it had a great wide screen and sound system.
Speaking of sound, I was also interested in the opening comment about the premiere Fantasound screening of “Fantasia” there.
What a history. It make the 1980 photo that much sadder…..
Interesting. I first saw RAINTREE at Loew’s Regent in Harrisburg in 1957 while I was still in high school. I loved the film, well, really loved John Green’s score at any rate, and would have seen it again in Philly while I was in college, probably the early ‘60s.
Thanks. I did see a photo of the Boyd and there seemed to be a theater called the Aldine down the street from it. That’s where I remember the Viking was.
I also remember sneaking in from West Chester U one evening to see a re-issue of RAINTREE COUNTY at the Viking. It seemed like a new theater then and had a good wide screen. Apparently it was a competent renovation.
There was also a sort of grubby, 42nd St.-type theater on Market St. that showed second run double bills? I forget the name of that. I think I saw THE PUMPKIN EATER and other foreign films there.
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.
I loved this theater. It was almost exactly like some of the neighborhood theaters I used to attend when I was a kid in Harrisburg. I lived through the razing of the vintage theaters on the second block of N. Queen St. in Lancaster but it still broke my heart when the Main went.
I do remember that towards the end the roof was leaking and certain sections of seats were roped off lest the ceiling fell on someone!
I remember seeing Disney’s “Song of the South” at the Main, during what was probably its last re-issue prior to its being withdrawn from circulation.
The guys who ran the Marietta Theatre some years ago also ran a recording studio. I recorded a score for a short film by New York animator Michael Sporn in the Marietta. My original music won an award for “Best Animated Score” in the ASIFA-East FIlm Festival in New York that year. (I’ll have to check on the date, circa 1965-70).
Does anyone know the current status of this theater?
I remember when the Uptown opened it was an impressive state-of-the-art theater for Harrisburg. There was an “isolation booth” for crying babies at the back of the theater.
In the ‘50s I also seem to remember them showing foreign and off-beat films.
There were other uptown theaters in Harrisburg that I recall. The Broad (near the Broad St. market and shopping district and not quite reputable), the Rialto, and the National. None of these are mentioned here in Cinema Treasures.
I had a buddy on West End Avenue at 97th and it was great to be able to walk down to see a film (or films) at the old Thalia and to eat Chinese on Broadway before or afterwards. It was a sweet theater and a great period. (The Beatles had just released Magical Mystery Tour).
There is an Edward Hopper painting of an usherette leaning against the wall of a dimly lit theater that always reminds me of the Thalia.
A few years ago you could still make out the name of Esther Williams in those black plastic letters on the marquee of the Rialto. I have a photo somewhere.
I really got to know the Boyd when I was college at West Chester, but when I was younger my parents had taken me into Philly to see “Seven Wonders of the World” in Cinerama. I remember looking over the edge of the balcony because the sound was so realistic I thought there was an orchestra down there. I also remember seeing MGM’s “Ben-Hur” and “Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm” (in 3-panel Cinerama).
When I was in college I saw Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” there. It was in some odd European wide-screen process but still very impressive on the Boyd’s still wide screen.
veyoung mentions a planned reopening. Is the Boyd building still even there?
I also remember the Viking, a little ways down Chestnet St. from the Boyd. I remember sneaking in from West Chester one evening to see a re-issue of “Raintree County” there.
There was also a small theater about a block over from Chestnut (as I recall). It used to show double features of second-run foreign (and probably other) films, sort of like some of the theaters on old 42nd St. in NYC. I don’t remember the name of it it but I went there a lot after college.
This is a great photo before the decline of the old Colonial. Very nice to see it that way again.
I have some photos taken after the Colonial collapsed. I also have a photo, circa 1910, of the original building, the Lochiel Hotel at 3rd & Market before the Colonial was added to it. The building was pretty much restored to its original state after the collapse.
I remember seeing “The Day the Earth Stood Still” at the Colonial.
BTW It was the Penway, a neighborhood theater on State St. (17th & State?) I grew up about a block away from it on Liberty St.
Downtown there was also Loew’s Regent, the MGM flagship theater, on Market St. across from the railroad station. And the Rio on Walnut St. across from Capitol Park. All the vintage Harrisburg theaters now long gone.
I’m now also living in California.
I went to college in West Chester and seem to remember the Warner having a kind of art deco Egyptian motif. It was very impressive, at any rate. Movies were getting more permissive and much steamier when I was in college and I saw A Summer Place and Splendor in the Grass at the Warner. Both were the talk of the campus for days afterwards.
Didn’t the Warner Theater on High St. have an Egyptian motif? I went to college in West Chester. I remember the Harrison being nondescript and on the way out even then, circa 1965. I remember seeing A SUMMER PLACE at the Warner.
Does anyone remember a theater in West Chester, PA., that had an Egyptian theme? (This in the same general area as the Grand here under discussion though in Chester County). I went there when I was in college and seem to recall it was rather grand. There were two theaters in West Chester, again as I recall, the second – the Harrison? – was fairly nondescript.
This somehow reminds me of seeing “Fantasia” at the 8th St. Playhouse in New York in the ‘60s. :)
I’m working on this. I just submitted an entry on the Rio.
The Hill, along with the Uptown in Harrisburg, were two of the newest theaters in the Harrisburg area circa the 1950s. Probably the last new neighborhood theaters before shopping malls changed everything.
My parents took me to theaters all over the Harrisburg/West Shore area and I remember the Hill as a very nice one. It was a single building set back from the street and there was a parking lot to the left of it. There was a roomy lobby/entrance (as I recall) and a downstairs lounge reached by a stairway at the back of the auditorium. I remember everything about the theater as being new, modern (as opposed to theaters like the Colonial), and attractive.
Later I got to know theaters in York, Lancaster, and Philadelphia.
Would love to see those scrapbooks too, but I’m no longer in the area.
Memories are a blessing and a curse. :)
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.
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).
GREAT photo of “Student Prince” at the Viking. Wish I could have seen it (in CinemaScope!) on that screen.
As I’ve noted elsewhere I saw a re-issue of “Raintree County” at the Viking when I was at West Chester U. I remember it had a great wide screen and sound system.
Speaking of sound, I was also interested in the opening comment about the premiere Fantasound screening of “Fantasia” there.
What a history. It make the 1980 photo that much sadder…..
Interesting. I first saw RAINTREE at Loew’s Regent in Harrisburg in 1957 while I was still in high school. I loved the film, well, really loved John Green’s score at any rate, and would have seen it again in Philly while I was in college, probably the early ‘60s.
Thanks. I did see a photo of the Boyd and there seemed to be a theater called the Aldine down the street from it. That’s where I remember the Viking was.
I also remember sneaking in from West Chester U one evening to see a re-issue of RAINTREE COUNTY at the Viking. It seemed like a new theater then and had a good wide screen. Apparently it was a competent renovation.
There was also a sort of grubby, 42nd St.-type theater on Market St. that showed second run double bills? I forget the name of that. I think I saw THE PUMPKIN EATER and other foreign films there.
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.
Also: does anyone remember the Viking up the street from the Boyd?
Was there a Sam Goody’s record store across from or near the Goldman?
PS: The photos posted by LostMemory are great. Thanks.
I loved this theater. It was almost exactly like some of the neighborhood theaters I used to attend when I was a kid in Harrisburg. I lived through the razing of the vintage theaters on the second block of N. Queen St. in Lancaster but it still broke my heart when the Main went.
I do remember that towards the end the roof was leaking and certain sections of seats were roped off lest the ceiling fell on someone!
I remember seeing Disney’s “Song of the South” at the Main, during what was probably its last re-issue prior to its being withdrawn from circulation.
The guys who ran the Marietta Theatre some years ago also ran a recording studio. I recorded a score for a short film by New York animator Michael Sporn in the Marietta. My original music won an award for “Best Animated Score” in the ASIFA-East FIlm Festival in New York that year. (I’ll have to check on the date, circa 1965-70).
Does anyone know the current status of this theater?
Was the Steelton theater the Elton? (Or something like that?)
I remember when the Uptown opened it was an impressive state-of-the-art theater for Harrisburg. There was an “isolation booth” for crying babies at the back of the theater.
In the ‘50s I also seem to remember them showing foreign and off-beat films.
There were other uptown theaters in Harrisburg that I recall. The Broad (near the Broad St. market and shopping district and not quite reputable), the Rialto, and the National. None of these are mentioned here in Cinema Treasures.
I had a buddy on West End Avenue at 97th and it was great to be able to walk down to see a film (or films) at the old Thalia and to eat Chinese on Broadway before or afterwards. It was a sweet theater and a great period. (The Beatles had just released Magical Mystery Tour).
There is an Edward Hopper painting of an usherette leaning against the wall of a dimly lit theater that always reminds me of the Thalia.
A few years ago you could still make out the name of Esther Williams in those black plastic letters on the marquee of the Rialto. I have a photo somewhere.
I really got to know the Boyd when I was college at West Chester, but when I was younger my parents had taken me into Philly to see “Seven Wonders of the World” in Cinerama. I remember looking over the edge of the balcony because the sound was so realistic I thought there was an orchestra down there. I also remember seeing MGM’s “Ben-Hur” and “Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm” (in 3-panel Cinerama).
When I was in college I saw Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” there. It was in some odd European wide-screen process but still very impressive on the Boyd’s still wide screen.
veyoung mentions a planned reopening. Is the Boyd building still even there?
I also remember the Viking, a little ways down Chestnet St. from the Boyd. I remember sneaking in from West Chester one evening to see a re-issue of “Raintree County” there.
There was also a small theater about a block over from Chestnut (as I recall). It used to show double features of second-run foreign (and probably other) films, sort of like some of the theaters on old 42nd St. in NYC. I don’t remember the name of it it but I went there a lot after college.
This is a great photo before the decline of the old Colonial. Very nice to see it that way again.
I have some photos taken after the Colonial collapsed. I also have a photo, circa 1910, of the original building, the Lochiel Hotel at 3rd & Market before the Colonial was added to it. The building was pretty much restored to its original state after the collapse.
I remember seeing “The Day the Earth Stood Still” at the Colonial.
BTW It was the Penway, a neighborhood theater on State St. (17th & State?) I grew up about a block away from it on Liberty St.
Downtown there was also Loew’s Regent, the MGM flagship theater, on Market St. across from the railroad station. And the Rio on Walnut St. across from Capitol Park. All the vintage Harrisburg theaters now long gone.
I’m now also living in California.
I went to college in West Chester and seem to remember the Warner having a kind of art deco Egyptian motif. It was very impressive, at any rate. Movies were getting more permissive and much steamier when I was in college and I saw A Summer Place and Splendor in the Grass at the Warner. Both were the talk of the campus for days afterwards.
Didn’t the Warner Theater on High St. have an Egyptian motif? I went to college in West Chester. I remember the Harrison being nondescript and on the way out even then, circa 1965. I remember seeing A SUMMER PLACE at the Warner.
Does anyone remember a theater in West Chester, PA., that had an Egyptian theme? (This in the same general area as the Grand here under discussion though in Chester County). I went there when I was in college and seem to recall it was rather grand. There were two theaters in West Chester, again as I recall, the second – the Harrison? – was fairly nondescript.