Anthony Wayne Theatre
109 W. Lancaster Avenue,
Wayne,
PA
19087
109 W. Lancaster Avenue,
Wayne,
PA
19087
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link to website explaining its purpose- https://savetheanthonywayne.com/whyhelpus/
The Manager of this theater is incredible! Keep up the good work Newt !!!
My father, Willette Mixon, was the manager there with Goldman, Budco, and all us kids worked there at the time or another. I will have to dig up some old pictures and share them.
I already amended my Intro above.
This theater — and the Bala in Bala Cynwyd — are NOT part of the Bow Tie Cinemas chain. They are now part of “Reel Cinemas.” Anyone know when or why this happened? Does anyone know anything about Reel Cinemas?
My Introduction states who manufactured the terra cotta. Don’t know if manufacturer installed it. Here’s a clip from YouTube that shows some an ornate plaster detail in entry or lobby:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9p445v91Nk
Mr. Abramowitz: welcome to the site! I had heard about your work on many of our area’s theaters. Was the auditorium’s original decor gutted when creating the 5 auditoriums? Was it all lost or some hidden? I’ve not seen a photo of the auditorium before it was twinned. Did you do the twinning, too? Do you have photos or can describe the original auditorium?
does anyone know who the actual builders were that installed the terra cotta facade?
William Lee was the architect for the original Anthony Wayne Theatre as well as many other movie palaces of the early days of cinema. I was the architect for Budco Theatres when this theatre was twinned. This was not a glory project. When Clearview took over the operation, I was offered the opportunity to create multiple screens in this facility in order to make it a viable commercial enterprise. The solution resulted in a five screen facility, none of which are in the basement. With full approval from Clearview, the finest craftsmen available were hired to restore the original detail in the entrance and lobby although much of the detail from the original auditorium was lost. Mitchel Abramowitz, FARA
This is a truly wretched theater and a disgrace for the Clearview Cinemas chain.
There are five theaters: two are carved out of the former main audiotorium; the other three are in the basement.
We attened a matinee screening of “Tooth Fairy” in one of of the two upstairs boxes. Here’s a summary of the horror show:
The seats, while new, are too narrow and the rows are too close together.
Sound? What sound? An array of Klipsch surrounds were silent. From behind the screen, the 20th Century Fox logo sounded like it was coming from a pair of computer speakers. There was an audible buzz throughout the presentation and you could hear every pop, scratch and reel change. This must be the only house in the Philadelphia area that does not have Dolby.
Projection? Shameful. A bulb that probably has not been changed since this was a single-screen house. The picture itself was actually slightly sideways, an effect which was most noticeable during the matted widescreen trailers. The print was already badly scratched, three days into the run.
If Craig O'Connor is still an exec with Clearview, I would strongly recommended you make a visit to this theater (there is an amtrak stop one block away) and ask yourself one simple question: How would you feel if you spent $24 for three tickets and were treated to one of the most technically inept movie presentations I have seen in years? The truly sad thing: This theater, in the heart of a wealthy neighborhood on the main line, could be a charming, retro alternative to the sterile AMC/Regal boxes. Please, someone, step up and make this theater a destination once again.
Here is a June 2008 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/ln8tqz
More photos of exterior:
View link
View link
12-11-1998 Philadelphia Inquirer article by Mary Blakinger, Inquirer Suburban Staff, entitled “A movie house in Wayne ready to come back to life"
Wayne- The curtain is poised to rise at the Anthony Wayne Theater, bringing life back to an art-deco landmark here that went dark when AMC left more than a year ago.
Clearview Cinemas Group, the new tenant, has renovated the interior, uncovering and restoring much of the plaster ornamentation adorning the entryway and lobby walls.
Outside, building owner Steve Bajus has given the twin-towered terra-cotta facade a face-lift.
"Hopefully, sometime next week we’ll be open and running,” said John Halecky, a vice president with Clearview, based in Chatham, N.J.
The renovations must still pass a final round of inspections for safety and handicapped access, Halecky said, preventing him from specifying an opening day.
But contractor Peter Cimino, a vice president of Largo Construction in Bensalem, said his crew was intent on having work in the lobby and at least three, if not four, of the five movie auditoriums finished today.
“It’s going to be a fantastic asset to the community as we thought all along,” said Harry Hurst. He served as president of the Friends of the Anthony Wayne Theater, a community group organized in 1995 to save the theater when residents learned the building was for sale.
Clearview, which also operates the Bala Theater in Lower Merion, has divided the Anthony Wayne into five auditoriums with a total of 750 seats. It formerly had two screens.
The theater, designed by architect William H. Lee, was built in 1928 by Harry Fried. People called it Fried’s Folly because it was such a grand movie palace in what then was the edge of the suburbs, said his son, Irving “Bud” Fried of Lower Merion.
Fried, 7 years old when the Anthony Wayne opened, fondly remembers the goldfish pond set in a lobby alcove, which was decorated by a ceramic-tile mosaic.
Th
Although I haven’t been inside since it was a twin, I understand one auditorium is in former stagehouse. The auditoriums aren’t very big from what I hear. There are some interior architectural details one can see, which weren’t visible as a twin.
Clearview’s Anthony Wayne 5, then known as Budco Anthony Wayne Theatre, was twinned sometime between 1982 and 1983. does anyone know how Clearview placed 5 screens inside this theatre when there was two screens already.
The photo in the “modern” photo link above for the 1994 picture of the then “AMC Anthony Wayne Twin” can been seen in the book “Pennsylvania Traveler’s Guide: The Lincoln Highway”. The picture is on page 42.
I am not sure how accurate the print is, but there is certainly something there that is not in the photo I posted on the same day.
Did anything ever stand in that cove on the roof like a statue? It’s very interesting is it lit at night?
Anthony Wayne was a general during the American Revolution. One presumes that the community of Wayne was named for him.
The Anthony Wayne Theatre, I believe was a independent theatre from 1928 to 1940, then from 1940 to 1972, was a William Goldman Theatre, from 1972 to 1987, a Budco Theatre, and from 1987 to 1997, a AMC Theatre, before being acquired by Clearview Cinema
Who is/was Anthony Wayne?
It had been divided into 2 screens before the present configuration of 5 screens. William H. Lee was the original architect. Howard
Built in 1928 according to the town website.
Modern photo at this link:
http://www.brianbutko.com/LH/LHmedia/LH-AW.jpg
You can buy a classic print at this link:
http://www.georgerothacker.com/ga1.detail.6.html