Hollywood Theater

7 S. Centre Street,
Pottsville, PA 17901

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Comerford Theaters Inc.

Functions: Bank

Previous Names: American Theater

Nearby Theaters

Hollywood Theater

The American Theater was located on S. Centre Street, between Mahantongo Street and W. Norwegian Street in Pottsville and opened on December 9, 1916 with Theda Bara in “Romeo and Juliet”. It was located just over one block away from the much larger Capitol Theater. It was built at a cost of $125,000 and had seats for 1,025. It was a three-floor brick structure that had a popular dance hall on the third floor known as the Holly Roof. The Paul Whiteman Orchestra was a frequent favorite and drew large crowds.

It was remodeled and reopened on January 7, 1924 as the Hollywood Theater. The theater operated until October 1969 and its final film was “Spirits of the Dead” with Brigette Bardot. The theater building was purchased by a bank located next door and used for the banks expansion.

Contributed by Bobs

Recent comments (view all 6 comments)

teecee
teecee on July 29, 2005 at 6:28 am

A Wurlitzer organ, opus 749, was installed on 12/10/1923 in support of the opening.

JohnBrenneman
JohnBrenneman on December 21, 2006 at 1:01 pm

My Great-Grandfather, Philip R Brenneman opened the Hollywood in 1916 as the American Theater. It was the 1ST Fireproof Bldg built in Pottsville after virtually the entire block it was built on had been destroyed by fire in the early teens. It’s capacity was reduced to 900 seats after the stage was enlarged to accomodate motion pictures. There was a center isle with about 8 seats/side, due to the narrowness of the bldg. The Dance Hall’s popularity died after the elevator was taken out of the bldg to enlarge the lobby area of the theater. There was a balcony which sat about 100. The marquee was changed out in the early ‘30s to its more colorful art deco design.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on January 26, 2008 at 12:18 pm

The caption of this photo shows the Hollywood at 7 South Centre Street:
http://tinyurl.com/2palqv

Silicon Sam
Silicon Sam on September 13, 2009 at 5:06 am

Current photo of 7 S. Center St. Just to the right of Miller & Miller building.

HERE

rivest266
rivest266 on August 29, 2018 at 6:44 pm

Also, the grand opening ad has been posted.

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