Decatur Theatre

Joe Vogel on September 17, 2017 at 2:34 am

The Decatur Theatre is most likely this project noted in the November 20, 1915, issue of The American Contractor:

“Theater, Store & Office Bldg. (seating cap. 2,000): $175,000. 2 sty. 200x100. W. S. Webster av., from 195th to 196th sts. Archt. Geo. F. Pelham, Inc., 30 E. 42d st. Lessee Fleischman Goldreyer Co., care bldr. Bldr. Max J. Kramer, 135 Nassau st., is taking sub-bids. Brk., terra cotta, struct. steel, slag rfg.”

As the block of Webster from 195th to 197th Streets is now occupied by a large public school, I would imagine that the section of 196th Street which the item implies once bisected it was vacated to accommodate that school. The architectural style of the school building indicates construction most likely took place in the late 1940s or early 1950s, which would explain the Decatur’s disappearance from the FDY by 1950.

The gala opening of the U.S. Theatre was covered in the January 6, 1917, issue of Motion Picture News. The writer of the article, probably a Manhattanite, was a bit confused about the theater’s exact location, though, saying repeatedly that it was between 194th and 195th Streets. A scan of the article can be seen here, courtesy of the Internet Archive.

Architect George Frederick Pelham operated his own firm, Geo. F. Pelham, Inc., from 1890 to 1931. Prior to that he had worked as a draftsman in the office of his father, architect George Brown Pelham. G.F.’s own son, George Frederick Pelham, Jr., joined his firm in 1910. Pelham was a master of the revival styles popular during the period from 1890 until the onset of the depression of the 1930s, and the city, especially the upper west side of Manhattan, is still graced with dozens of his works. It’s unfortunate that the Decatur Theatre is not among the survivors.