I’ve been to a few concerts at this theater, and you can tell it started life as a movie theater, and I beleive they still sometimes (infrequently) show movies. The people who manage/own the Sellersville Theater 1894 also manage/own the Washington House Restaurant next door to it.
Here’s a short “tour” of the theater from the official website of the Sellersville Theater 1894:
I was lucky enough to have a friend’s wife (who at one time worked for this theater) give me a tour of it around 2003 when I beleive most renovations were done. The photo links while nice, do not do justice to the beauty of this theater when you are there in person!
I beleive the theater tried to contact as many of the original manufacturers of the equipment/fabrics/etc. as they could, and actually had a high level of success doing that. If I recall correctly, the rug in the lobby was reproduced from samples of the original rug by the company that originally manufactured it back in the 1930’s. The fabric covering the walls in the theater itself are made from crushed velvet dyed orange. The seats were very nice, and quite comfortable. The thing that stood out the most was the gold trim and the beautifully restored painted ceiling in the theater. Amazing. Even the lobby was gorgeously restored. Definitely a place to visit if you can, or go see a performance there.
I recall seeing some classic movies at the Merritt Theater, including Jaws, and the original Star Wars movie when it was one large theater. After they made it a two screen theater, it was not the same. It was definitely one of those neighborhood theaters.
I remember going to this drive in with my parents when I was a kid. I was probably only about 4 or 5 years old, maybe 6, so the year was probably 1971 or 1972.
My uncle’s construction company was in the same area as the drive-in. I remember the drive-in closed and my dad and I would drive past it to go to my uncle’s office. In my memory I can still see the tall gray metal wall with the letters PIX on it (it was probably the backside of the movie screen). I beleive when it was an operating theater, the PIX letters were made of red neon lights.
I’ve been to a few concerts at this theater, and you can tell it started life as a movie theater, and I beleive they still sometimes (infrequently) show movies. The people who manage/own the Sellersville Theater 1894 also manage/own the Washington House Restaurant next door to it.
Here’s a short “tour” of the theater from the official website of the Sellersville Theater 1894:
http://www.st94.com/about/takeatour/index.aspx
I was lucky enough to have a friend’s wife (who at one time worked for this theater) give me a tour of it around 2003 when I beleive most renovations were done. The photo links while nice, do not do justice to the beauty of this theater when you are there in person!
I beleive the theater tried to contact as many of the original manufacturers of the equipment/fabrics/etc. as they could, and actually had a high level of success doing that. If I recall correctly, the rug in the lobby was reproduced from samples of the original rug by the company that originally manufactured it back in the 1930’s. The fabric covering the walls in the theater itself are made from crushed velvet dyed orange. The seats were very nice, and quite comfortable. The thing that stood out the most was the gold trim and the beautifully restored painted ceiling in the theater. Amazing. Even the lobby was gorgeously restored. Definitely a place to visit if you can, or go see a performance there.
I recall seeing some classic movies at the Merritt Theater, including Jaws, and the original Star Wars movie when it was one large theater. After they made it a two screen theater, it was not the same. It was definitely one of those neighborhood theaters.
I remember going to this drive in with my parents when I was a kid. I was probably only about 4 or 5 years old, maybe 6, so the year was probably 1971 or 1972.
My uncle’s construction company was in the same area as the drive-in. I remember the drive-in closed and my dad and I would drive past it to go to my uncle’s office. In my memory I can still see the tall gray metal wall with the letters PIX on it (it was probably the backside of the movie screen). I beleive when it was an operating theater, the PIX letters were made of red neon lights.