Ogontz Theatre
6033 Ogontz Avenue,
Philadelphia,
PA
19141
6033 Ogontz Avenue,
Philadelphia,
PA
19141
3 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Stanley-Warner Theatres, Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp.
Architects: Paul J. Henon, Jr., William H. Hoffman, Louis Magaziner
Firms: Hoffman-Henon Co., Magaziner, Eberhard, and Harris
Styles: Spanish Renaissance
Previous Names: Orgontz Playhouse
Nearby Theaters
The Ogontz Theatre was built for Samuel Shapiro in 1926-27, designed by the firm of Hoffman-Henon Co. in association with the firm of Magaziner, Eberhard & Harris. It was opened February 4, 1927 with George Sydney in “The Auctioneer”. The Kimball 3 manual 15 ranks theatre organ was opened by organist Karl Bonawitz, and it had an electric grand piano. The proscenium was 34ft wide. Two weeks after opening it was purchased by the Stanley-Warner Theatres chain. By 1941 it was operated by Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp. The 1,777 seat Ogontz Theatre was closed as a movie theatre on March 9, 1952 with Cary Grant in “Room for One More” & Van Johnson in “Invitation”.
In 1954 it reopened screening religious movies and it soon closed. In 1958 a thrust stage was added and it reopened as a live theatre playing ‘Off Broadway’ type shows as the Orgontz Playhouse, but this only lasted a short time. Rock ‘n Roll concerts were the final use for the theatre, which finally closed in 1961. The building then stood vacant and vandalized until it was demolished in 1985.
Contributed by
Bryan
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
This theatre after it stopped showing films sat empty but then became a stage theatre. They tried to bring in plays/musicals and rock n rolls shows (like the Uptown) It didn’t last long because of the area. At one point I tried to lease the theatre for movies but when StanleyWarner closed a theatre they just tour everything out so it could not be used as a movie house. rg
Thumbnails at this link, don’t try to expand without a paid subscription:
View link
Here are two expanded views of the PAB thumbnails posted on 3/7/05. The photos are from the Irvin Glazer collection. The marquee in the first photo says “City of David”, but I’m not sure if that was a film:
http://tinyurl.com/23fowv
http://tinyurl.com/ynsvvp
Here are some photos from phillyhistory.org taken in June 1985:
http://tinyurl.com/o32a6j
http://tinyurl.com/qlyamg
http://tinyurl.com/qwn3ln
http://tinyurl.com/qyt6q8
http://tinyurl.com/okfhc8
http://tinyurl.com/q943ca
This theater was built with two stores to the front of the auditorium on Ogontz Avenue, one on each side of the theater foyer/lobby.
A roof sign framed in chase lights read OGONTZ in incandescent bulbs. The two vacant lines beneath OGONTZ probably read PHOTOPLAYS and VAUDEVILLE as this sign was very similar to the roof sign of the Oxford Theatre in Burholme. Both theaters staged vaudeville.
The marquee was three sided. The front had a neon sunburst behind the lettering OGONTZ THEATRE. The sides (or ends) had the lettering OGONTZ above the signboard and featured individual letters that actually plugged into the signboard and lit up. Chase lights outlined all three sides. Today it’s an empty lot between the Ogontz Free Library of Philadelphia and Ed’s Pizza House.
Does anyone know what style this theater was built in?
This opened on February 4th, 1927. Its grand opening ad can be found in the photo section for this theatre.
The Ogontz Theatre opened February 4, 1927 with “The Auctioneer” and an organ program. It was a one million dollar theatre and was purchased by Stanley just two weeks after it had opened. It forced the hand of another It would transition the Ogontz to sound to stay relevant. Stanley-Warner closed here after showtimes on March 29, 1952 with “Room for One More” and “Invitation.”
The Ogontz rebranded as a religious movie house known as “Philadelphia’s Reel Pulpit” in 1954 as the final film screenings. Charles Teller formed Cor-Tel Production and took on the Ogontz Theatre. Under their watch, it became a live venue starting with plays as the Ogontz Playhouse in 1958 and then moving to rock ‘n’ roll shows in 1961 returning to the Ogontz Theatre.