Family Theatre

Main Street,
Locust Gap, PA 17840

Unfavorite No one has favorited this theater yet

Showing 3 comments

SethG
SethG on September 24, 2022 at 11:00 pm

That sounds like it has to be the one. There can’t have been two.

walterk
walterk on September 24, 2022 at 10:56 pm

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.

SethG
SethG on September 20, 2022 at 6:54 am

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.