Cross Keys Theatre

5931 Market Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19139

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dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters on February 11, 2022 at 7:25 pm

John J. McGuirk and Stanley Amusement Circuit built the new Cross Keys (two words) Theatre in 1914 with a new Woolworth’s store around the corner also built and opening at the same time. The new Cross Keys opened with vaudeville including Kute, Kunning and Klever - a children’s team - and Blake’s Circus - a trained animal act on December 28, 1914. The theatre was bathed in a color palette of rose, ivory and gold. Vaudeville presented by Stanley’s Sablosky and McGuirk began to be supplanted more commonly with movies in 1923 and 1924 and, by decade’s end, the Cross Keys converted to sound and became a movie house. Sadly, assistant Manager Max Harris was gunned down in the theatre on march 28, 1928.

Stanley-Warner Circuit closed the Cross Keys permanently on April 12, 1953 with “Niagra” and “The Lawless Breed.” After a period of inactivity, Jerry P. Altman sold the Cross Keys Theatre to Jerry P. Altman who turned it into the Orchid Auditorium with a restaurant in November of 1957. It held sporadic live events for five years. It was later demolished.

William77
William77 on January 10, 2013 at 2:32 pm

The spot where the Cross keys once stood is now a parking lot (across the street from the picture). I confirmed the location using the 1942 atlas (link below) and google street view.

http://www.philageohistory.org/tiles/viewer/

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on June 22, 2009 at 7:32 pm

The theater would have been on the northeast corner of Market and Salford, according to the map.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on June 22, 2009 at 7:29 pm

Here is a more recent view. The Enforcer art gallery is at 5932 Market. If you pan across the street to the other side of Market, the vacant lot is where the Crosskeys was.
http://tinyurl.com/qwvk94

barrygoodkin
barrygoodkin on June 3, 2006 at 8:16 am

There is a complete description of the Crosskeys and the Philadelphia Theatres in Irv Glazer’s book “Philadelphia Theatre, A-Z. The Crosskeys was part of the Sablosky and McGuirk Vaudeville circuit that became part of the Stanley Company of America and subsequently Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corporation.