Blackwood Theatre
32 S. Black Horse Pike,
Blackwood,
NJ
08012
32 S. Black Horse Pike,
Blackwood,
NJ
08012
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Louis C. Joyce, Jr. built the brick-based Blackwood Theatre in 1921 as a photoplay house launching August 24, 1921. I.J. Legal took on the venue opening it four days a week in 1930 as the theater converted to sound to remain viable. Saul Cohen operated the venue from 1940 to 1955. In the 1970s, it closed and opened several times under a variety of operators. It was renamed the Movie Box on May 16, 1974 showing discount, second-run dollar movies until September of 1980.
On September 19, 1980, it became Movies! until its final showing of “Annie" on November 30, 1982 ending a 60 year photoplay / movie exhibition run. It was donated to the city. In October of 1983 it returned to its Blackwood Theatre moniker with live plays first by adults and then by children closing in 1984. The building needed $500,000 in interior improvements and the same amount for a new roof. Still owned by the city, it was demolished in April of 1990.
GPS location site, has a little write up on the Blackwood Theater Park, as well as photos.
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In 1979 the original marquee was removed and the theater was renamed the Movies. Originally owned by the Harwan family. Demolished in 1991.
Images of America: South Jersey Movie Houses, page 35
Don’t know Rick, I’ll have to try and look up one of my old Blackwood neighbor’s who grew up down there and see what they remember. like I said. It was closed in 87' when I moved there…
Wasn’t this the theater that somebody covered with aluminum or vinyl siding and renamed the “Movie Box” for a while? It went from second run to adult films, then a company called CenterStage came in, took off the siding and tried live theater for a year or two before running out of money.
I remember seeing it get torn down. I was living in the Blackwood Estates section at the time. I moved there in late 87' and from what I was told, the theatre had been closed for several year’s. I do remember they were looking for a buyer but the building needed extensive repair’s mainly to the roof. In fact, if memory serve’s me correct, they were willing to sell the thing for like a dollar but the repair’s exceeded the “at time” value of the building. Of course and unfortunatly that was about ten year’s before the big realestate boon in South Jersey. Now as nursebrittany has described, sadly, it is a small grassy “area” complete with gazeeeebo! Had this theatre been in a Collingswood, Haddonfield or Woodbury it would probably be, if not a theatre of a sort, then a resturant or something other than a small grassy “area”. The above mentioned town’s know how to “preserve” and “restore”. This theatre was just in the wrong place at the wrong time!
is this the one that was along the pike across from the library that got torn down in the late 80s/early 90s and is now a small grassy area with a gazeebo?
A Moller organ, opus 4944, was installed in this theatre in 1927.