Barney's Theatre
106-110 Penn Street,
Point Marion,
PA
15474
106-110 Penn Street,
Point Marion,
PA
15474
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Appearing on the July 1921 Sanborn, this was a large 2-story brick theatre building. The 1909 map shows several small wooden shops on the lot.
There was a broad entry hall in the center between two small storefronts (books/candy and a jeweler at this point). The auditorium was large, with a deep horseshoe balcony. Stage and scenery were at the rear, under a 3-story fly tower, so live acts must have been on the program. Scenery is still noted on the 1928 map. The 1943 edition of Film Daily Yearbook gives a 450seating capacity. In the 1957 edition of F.D.Y it give 700-seats.
The site is now a parking lot, which does not look new, even on the 2007 streetview. For an idea of the size, the building ran all the way back to the alley behind it, about 50 feet further than its surviving neighbor.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
The October 4, 1922 issue of The Moving Picture World indicates that Barney’s Theatre had moved to a new location:
I suspect that the house on the Sanborn map had originally operated under a different name, and was taken over by Barney’s in 1922. Point Marion appears in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory as Port Marion, with two theaters listed: the Port Marion Opera House on Janes Street, and the Vaudeville Theatre on Penn Street, so the Vaudevile Theatre is the only one likely to have become Barney’s in 1922. I’ve been unable to find Port (or Point) Marion listed in the Cahn guides. However, Barney’s Theatre is mentioned in the March 23, 1929 issue of Universal Weekly.The July ‘21 map specifically labels it Barney’s. The interior, with the outline of the balcony, does have a ‘From Plans’ notation, but since the tenants of the storefronts are specifically labeled, they must have been extant. Even if we assume the building was incomplete, that’s nearly a year and a half before the article you found.
I’m not sure what’s up with the ‘Port’ stuff. There’s no evidence the name of the town was ever ‘Port Marion’. There is no ‘Port Marion’ anywhere in the world. People must have garbled the name. I doubt the opera house used that name.
Jane (no ’s’ on the maps at least) St, which had been renamed Railroad by 1921, does have a large concrete building at the corner with Freeling. In 1909, it is labeled ‘Skating Rink’, and in 1921 ‘Public Auditorium & Dance Hall’. I suppose it could have been the opera house.
A year and a half to complete a large theater in a small town does not seem surprising, especially considering that the national economy had just hit the bottom of the recession of 1920-21 at the time the map was made, and arranging financing for large projects was still difficult in some places, particularly in manufacturing towns (Point Marion’s largest employer was a glass factory.)
The AMPD most likely did get the name of the town and opera house wrong. The publication surely has more than a few other mistakes, too.
Barney’s Theatre in Point Marion is mentioned in the August 7, 1954 issue of The Independent Film Journal. Owner Jack Mapel is quoted in an ad for the Cinemascope company saying “I have been thinking about turning my theatre into anything I could, and now I think I will remain in show business.” I haven’t been able to discover if he did or not, but at least we know that Barney’s Theatre was still in existence in the summer of 1954.
I suppose the stores could have operated while the theater built out. Otherwise, I would expect those spaces to have generic labels. At any rate, in 1921, there was no other building that was being used as a theater, so they must have done without for a while. It sounds like the old theater was relocated, not replaced. There was one building which has a hall on the 3rd floor on the 1909 map, but was remodeled in 1920. That might have been the location of either the Vaudeville, or Barney’s (or maybe they’re the same thing). It would be nice if there were a map from around 1915.
I figured it stayed open longer. I didn’t put that sentence about 1929 in. Usually I’m grateful for the added information, but here it’s wrong.
I was going through a 1968 Morgantown, WV newspaper, and found the “Art Cinema” listed in Point Marion showing adult films. I guess I assume it is this one as no address was given.