Nineteenth Street Theater
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The Nineteenth Street (Civic) Theatre building is the oldest cinema in
Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...
. The theater opened on September 17, 1928. It hosts live theater, educational programs, and screens art house films. In July 1957, the property was purchased by Allentown's Civic Little Theatre. Since then, stage productions have been performed at the theater. In 1994 the company officially changed its name to the Civic Theatre of Allentown. The Nineteenth Street Theater produces a live theatre season including four mainstage productions. It also produces children's theatre productions and special events. The theater's film arm primarily shows a variety of independent and international films, generally at lower prices than first run cinemas, with about 60 to 80 movie titles a year. The Theater School enrolls more than 350 students a year in Fall, Winter and Summer sessions. The theater's annual operating budget is roughly $1 million per year.


History


Origins

In the early 1920s, a building boom began in the West End of
Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in T ...
. Residents wanted houses with yards and more open space with less noise than in Allentown's busy center city. Within four years, more than 150 homes with yards were built in that area. In addition to the homes, plans were made for a block of shops, offices and restaurants. The Nineteenth Street Theater was an important part of this plan.Polishing A Gem Lights To Shine Bright On Refurbished Marquee Of 19th Street Theatre, The Morning Call, September 22, 1994
/ref> The theater, located at 527 North 19th Street in Allentown, was developed by Rubin Mainker and Alex Minker and opened on September 17, 1928. "No expense has been spared. The walls inside were painted green with gold and silver accents. The outside of the building was bright yellow with fanciful decorations of birds, flowers, butterflies and elephants," '' The Allentown Morning Call'' reported. The first movie to be shown at the Nineteenth Street Theatre was a silent film called ''
The Sawdust Paradise ''The Sawdust Paradise'' is a lost 1928 American silent drama film directed by Luther Reed and written by Julian Johnson, Louise Long, and George Manker Watters. The film stars Esther Ralston, Reed Howes, Hobart Bosworth, Tom Maguire, Georg ...
''. It featured the new Moller DeLuxe theater organ that the owners had purchased for $16,000. The heirloom instrument is still played at times for audiences at the theater today, though the large opening crowds were not able to make the theater a success. Financial problems and the evolution away from silent films made it difficult for the owners to keep it open. In December 1928 the cinema closed its doors.


Second-run cinema

In 1930, the theater was sold to an L.J. Chamberlain of Amusements Inc. It was converted to show sound films, and it became a second-run theater which, unlike its contemporaries in downtown Allentown, played popular films in a residential neighborhood after they ended their first run at the larger theaters in the entertainment district. Prices were considerably less: during the Depression of the 1930s, admission was 20 cents for adults and 10 cents for children. It operated successfully through the 1930s and 1940s. However, after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the advent of television, attendance at the theater dropped, and it closed in February 1952. In May 1953, however,
Americus Hotel The Americus Hotel is an historic hotel, which is located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was built between 1926 and 1927, and is a thirteen-story yellow brick building. ''Note:'' This includes It was listed on the National Register of Historic P ...
owner Albert Hoffa reopened the Nineteenth Street Theater in May 1953. It was purchased from Amusements, Inc, for $90,000, and the theater's projection system was modified to show
3D films 3-D, 3D, or 3d may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Relating to three-dimensionality * Three-dimensional space ** 3D computer graphics, computer graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data ** 3D film, a ...
, a fad at the time. The first film shown was the 1953 musical ''
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''.


Civic Theatre

During the mid-1950s, Harold Heydt, then manager of the movie theatre began showing foreign films. In July 1957, Allentown's Civic Little Theatre announced it had purchased the 19th Street Theatre from Moffa for $95,000. It was the first home the community theatre group had had since its founding in the late 1920s. The nonprofit volunteer group began to enlarge the stage and quickly bowed to community requests in late 1957 that the Moller organ be retained. Since taking ownership, and after many changes, the Civic Theatre of Allentown offers several plays a year at the theatre, in addition to a variety of independent and international films. Civic Theater School provides theatre training for young people of ages 4–18. The theatre's Board of Directors voted to hire William Sanders as artistic director in 1991 and he has led the theatre to produce ''
A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...
'' annually. In 1994, significant renovations were made to the marquee, which was in severe need of updating. Fundraising efforts and a grant from the Trexler Trust was secured to finance the repair, which was carried out by the Alvin Butz Inc. construction company. In addition to its main historic theater, Civic Theater of Allentown owns Theatre514, a production center and a 92-seat theatre that is directly across the street from the main theater. Civic uses the facility as one of its screens for its well-regarded independent and international film series, as well as to produce and present additional theatrical programming. This theatre underwent a major renovation and expansion in summer 2014.
Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
-area alumni who have appeared at Nineteenth Street Theatre include
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( Fox's ''
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''),
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(''
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''), Michael McDonald (
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
revival of ''
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)'',
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''), actress
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('' Mama Mia''), and actress
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'').


Current status

Civic Theatre entered the digital motion picture era when it replaced its traditional 35mm projectors with state-of-the art DCI compliant units. The conversion was completed in August 2013. Civic Theatre's live production arm has produced adaptations of
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
' ''
A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...
''. The production is being marked with special events, including a retrospective exhibition at Allentown's
Liberty Bell Museum The Liberty Bell Museum (also the Liberty Bell Shrine Museum) is a non-profit organization and museum located in Zion's United Church of Christ (formerly Zion's Reformed Church) in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pe ...
. Civic's recent production of ''
Young Frankenstein ''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor F ...
'' was its best attended musical in recent years. Its production of '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'' was the first post-Broadway production of the play since its
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close in 2013. The Civic Theatre began a two-phase renovation project that will restore the auditorium, upgrade the stage equipment and improve the backstage and front-of-house amenities. The project is led by Mills and Schnoering Architects with Stages Consultants providing theatre and acoustics consulting.


See also

*
List of historic places in Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown, Pennsylvania, the third largest city in Pennsylvania and largest city in the Lehigh Valley region of the state, was established in 1762. Allentown is one of the nation's oldest major cities with deep roots in its history. The city was ...


References


External links


Official website
{{authority control 1928 establishments in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Allentown, Pennsylvania Culture of Allentown, Pennsylvania History of Allentown, Pennsylvania Theatres completed in 1928 Theatres in Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Allentown, Pennsylvania