Family Theatre
Main Street,
Locust Gap,
PA
17840
Main Street,
Locust Gap,
PA
17840
No one has favorited this theater yet
Additional Info
Nearby Theaters
The Family Theatre opened by February 1920. This tiny theatre appears on the 1927 Sanborn in a simple wooden structure. This had been built between 1913 and 1920, and housed the post office and a dwelling on the east side, and the theatre the west. The 1920 map shows the theatre space as a grocery.
This little coal camp consisted almost entirely of wooden structures and supported a few businesses. The Family Theatre was closed on May 12, 1928. The structure was demolished at some point. While it was operating, it was located on Center Street, but the names of most streets have been changed.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
I’ve added a map view, which is turned 90 degrees, with north at the right. The larger building in the upper right is still there, which helps locate the spot where the theater was.
This converted storefront could perhaps be the Family Theatre, which operated in Locust Gap in the 1920s.
The Family Theatre was first mention in The Moving Picture World issue of February 28, 1920, where it was reported that its manager, Arthur J. Maier, had been appointed the town’s postmaster. If this was the Family, Mr. Maier didn’t have much of a commute between jobs.
The 1926 – 1929 editions of the Film Daily Yearbook have the Family Theatre listed, seating 200.
The theatre however, appears to have closed in 1928.
The June 16, 1928 issue of the Motion Picture News carried a list of theatres in central Pennsylvania that were closing for the summer months, the Family Theatre among them. According to owner H. Meyer, it closed on May 12, with plans to reopen on Labor Day. The July 26 issue of The Film Daily however, listed the Family Theatre as recently closed.
That sounds like it has to be the one. There can’t have been two.