Walt Whitman Theatre

4601 Westfield Avenue,
Pennsauken, NJ 08110

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mmcclellan
mmcclellan on August 29, 2011 at 12:16 am

This was my neighborhood theatre growing up in Pennsauken in the 50’s and 60’s. In that era it featured split weeks (Wednesday through Saturday) and then a new film or films, often double features, Sunday through Tuesday. I often went twice a week with the change of fare and saw hundreds of movies, which became the foundation of my film education and lifelong appreciation of film.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on August 25, 2009 at 5:06 pm

Here is the 1965 photo posted on 1/18/05:
http://tinyurl.com/l587x2

XactoHazzard
XactoHazzard on May 17, 2005 at 11:03 am

I lived down the street from it… very sad, I grew up in Pennsauke and I know for sure that Pennsauken is not a fan of Historical sites. It’s sad b/c there is alot of history there and they neglect it.

Travis

Ken Roe
Ken Roe on May 4, 2005 at 11:49 am

A minor electrical fire closed down the Walt Whitman Theatre in late 1978 and the operator at that time didnt re-new his lease which was due to expire in January 1979.

Ken Roe
Ken Roe on March 24, 2005 at 8:34 am

The Walt Whitman Theatre was demolished in 1981. It originally opened in June 1927 and featured marble floors and walnut paneled walls and ceilings. It is always listed as being a theatre in Camden, although its actual location is just across the border in Pennsauken.

It was the first theatre in the Camden area to screen talkies and was a first-run house, being used as a production site for live radio programmes which featured the organ. It retained its stage shows until the 1940’s

RickB
RickB on January 19, 2005 at 7:29 am

46th Street & Westfield Avenue would be a more exact address; don’t know the precise number.

Part of the local Savar chain until the mid-‘70s when an independent operator took over and tried mixing live shows with the movies; I remember that Moe Howard of the Three Stooges made an appearance here not long before he died. They also booked Frank Sinatra Jr.; I heard they hardly sold any tickets for that one.

Supposedly the building had structural problems, which provided an excuse for the demolition. Pennsauken wanted to build a new town hall on the site but ultimately decided they couldn’t afford it. There’s a Walgreens there now.