Casino Theatre (I)

Built in 1922, the original Casino Theatre originally housed the Casino Night Club before being converted to a movie theatre following Mrs. H.C. Smith of Stroudsburg purchasing the site. The Casino Theatre had been operating prior to 1941 when it was listed as (Closed) and remained closed until at least 1943. It had reopened as a movie theatre by the late-1940’s.

Unfortunately, exactly two years after its renovation, a large evening fire destroyed the Casino Theatre on March 10, 1976, when flames shot 50 feet above into the night sky, engulfing both the Casino Theatre and several other businesses. A total of 35 firefighters from the Pocono Mountain Volunteer Fire Department responded with four trucks, including its battalion chief, to the fire around 10:00 PM that evening. The chief, David Carey, released a statement to the Pocono Record saying that the building was completely engulfed when his men arrived and remained on scene for over two hours trying to contain the blaze. He replied that the fire’s origin was unknown nor whoever caused it, but Carey said an investigation was conducted. Residents at the scene said the theater had been broken into several times during the winter by juvenile vandals, including at one time burglarized the projection equipment. This was not possible to confirm these reports.

The entire theatre was rebuilt immediately afterward, and the Casino Theatre reopened its doors on July 2, 1976 with Walter Matthau in “The Sunshine Boys”, housing 325 seats. That theatre closed following its property sale on September 30, 2021, and has its own Cinema Treasures page.

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