Morgan Theater

MFields on July 25, 2018 at 5:35 pm

As a kid in Morgantown, I didn’t frequent the Morgan much as it was where all the second run, cowboy and serials ran. I remember it as owned by the Comuntzis family’s Morgantown Amusements, which also owned the Metropolitan and the Oaks drive-in. Members of the family also owned their famous High Street restaurant, “Where Dad Took His Girl”.

The Morgan was an exceptionally long, narrow house, without a balcony. It had a small screen, which made it really difficult to see detail if you were seated in the rear half of the auditorium.

There was some excitement in town when the Morgan ran “The Red Shoes” in the late 1940s. Some hoped that the owners were changing their booking policy to accommodate art films but after “The Red Shoes” closed, the theater returned to cowboys, serials and second run.

The Morgan had a sort of moderne decor inside and as I recall, lots of wood paneling.

Great popcorn, too.

Strangely, all three of Morgantown’s High Street theaters are still standing. The Morgan has become a nightclub with retail on the street; The Metropolitan has been restored and functions as a venue for live entertainment and The Warner, though closed, still exists.