The Uptown Theater in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, also known as ''Uptown Theater and Office Building'', is an
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
building built in 1927. It was designed by the Philadelphia-based architectural firm of
Magaziner, Eberhard & Harris. The Uptown Theater is located on 2240 N.
Broad Street. It became a major venue on the
Chitlin' Circuit, from 1951–1978. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1982.
[
It briefly reopened as a church in the 1980s until water damage occurred and caused it to close in 1991. In 2001, the ''Uptown Entertainment and Development Corporation'' bought the building with plans for renovation.
]
Beginnings
Opened on February 16, 1929, the 2,040 seat, 50,000 square foot Uptown Theater was built for sound, specifically the new talkies
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...
of the time, made by Warner Brothers
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
. Designed by Louis Magaziner, it featured a lavish interior, with four floors of office space above. The interior consisted of stained glass, high ceilings, and terracotta. As the industrial age peaked in America, North Philadelphia became a working man's town. A large influx of European immigrants moved to the northern part of the city, and moved into the newly developed rowhomes.
In addition to the new immigrants, North Philadelphia
North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as everything north of either ...
also became the home to many fashionable mansions of the upper and upper-middle class. Executives from nearby factories lived in Victorian brownstones, some with turrets and mansard roofs, which lined the streets of North Philly. Along Broad Street were the grand mansions of many industrialists. Lower North Philadelphia in particular housed a number the nouveau riche; ambitious first or second generation immigrants or that had made their fortunes starting manufacturing firms.
The theater was originally built for the nouveau riche
''Nouveau riche'' (; ) is a term used, usually in a derogatory way, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. The equivalent English term is the "new rich" or "new money" ( ...
of the area. Unknowingly, it opened up on the eve of the Great Depression, which in turn had a great effect on the neighborhood. Over the next few decades The Great Depression, outsourcing, and white flight
White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...
took their toll on North Philadelphia in a fashion similar to other major US cities of the mid to late 20th century, if not in a more pronounced fashion. While some small areas had long housed primarily African-American residents, redlining, racist loan companies, and rising unemployment led white residents out of the city, and forced blacks in. Black doctors, lawyers, politicians and preachers took over the grand mansions along Diamond Street, while middle and lower class blacks moved into the rowhomes that were once predominately white.[Update for the Uptown](_blank)
''Philadelphia Weekly''. June 23, 2009.
The Golden Years
In 1951 the Uptown Theatre was bought by Sam Stiefel, who also owned Washington's Howard Theatre
The Howard Theatre is a historic theater, located at 620 T Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C. Opened in 1910, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
In its heyday, the theater was known for catering to an African- ...
and Baltimore's Royal Theatre, and became part of the " chitlin circuit," hosting live music shows that were primarily rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel directed towards an African American audience. The performances at the Uptown Theater came to rival those at Harlem's Apollo Theater.[ In 1957, ]Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods (1927 – June 18, 2005) was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.
Woods came to Philadelphia from New York in 1953 and began broadcasting from AM statio ...
of WDAS (AM)
WDAS (1480 kHz) is an AM radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Owned and operated by iHeartMedia, the station airs a sports format as an affiliate of Fox Sports Radio. WDAS's studios and offices are located in Bala Cynwyd.
WDAS's tran ...
fame started to produce shows at the Uptown Theater. In 1960, Sid Booker became the manager of the theater, and remained so until 1979. In 1961, the venue was sold by Mrs. Bert Steifel to a large chain corporation, after managing it for only two months following the death of the Steifel brothers, who owned it for many years
Performances
Many different types of shows went on at the venue during its prime. Usually, each show consisted of multiple artists, usually ten to twelve acts, and they performed in order of popularity. There were several performances a day, and the show usually lasted for about ten days. The first show of the day started at 2pm. The midnight performances of the show cost $2.50, while the earlier shows cost $1.50, and the kiddie matinees cost 50 cents a person. In its early years patrons could arrive on the Broad Street Subway
The Broad Street Line (BSL), also known as the Broad Street subway (BSS), Orange Line, or Broad Line, is a subway line owned by the city of Philadelphia and operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). The line r ...
and enter through the theatre's own subway platform.
On Thursday nights, the theater used to have Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...
night, in which many white students would come in and watch performances. Many patrons of the theater would hide in places such as the bathroom to see additional shows in one day. The shows themselves were very competitive in nature, with each act trying to get the biggest rise out of the crowd. Performers and audience members alike dressed up when attending shows at the theater. Performers also tried to impress each other with wowing the crowd with the best dance moves as well. Artists were not often booked for a lot of money. Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods (1927 – June 18, 2005) was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.
Woods came to Philadelphia from New York in 1953 and began broadcasting from AM statio ...
was able to book the Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...
for $400 for a full 10-day run.
Not only did musicians perform at the Uptown Theater, but comedians such as Redd Foxx and Flip Wilson
Clerow "Flip" Wilson Jr. (December 8, 1933 – November 25, 1998) was an American comedian and actor best known for his television appearances during the late 1960s and 1970s. From 1970 to 1974, Wilson hosted his own weekly variety series ''The F ...
used to open for the acts. The venue itself was unique in that it had its own house band. Bill Masse was band leader of the band until he died in 1961. In 1963 Sam Reed became leader of the house band, which was well known amongst artists in the chitlin circuit. According to ''The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'', by 1971 the shows were grossing $250,000 a year. During the rest of the month when performers were not in town, movies usually played. There were also jazz shows where local and famous jazz performers took the stage. The shows were not characterized by the rowdy crowds that accompanied the shows promoted by Georgie Woods.
The Uptown Theater was also famous for its amateur nights in which local artists would compete for various prizes. Many artists got their start in the music industry due to these amateur nights. One such person that started their career at the Uptown Theater was Daryl Hall
Daryl Franklin Hohl (born October 11, 1946), known professionally as Daryl Hall, is an American rock music, rock, rhythm and blues, R&B and soul music, soul singer and musician, best known as the co-founder and principal lead vocalist of Daryl ...
of Hall & Oates
Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...
. Hall, who attended the nearby Temple University, won a talent show playing with his then group, the Temptones. This was before pairing up with Oates. The group, backed by the James Brown Band, won the contest thus getting Hall his first record deal.
Civil rights
The theater was a hotbed for civil rights activism, especially in the form of music. Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods (1927 – June 18, 2005) was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.
Woods came to Philadelphia from New York in 1953 and began broadcasting from AM statio ...
produced shows at the theater, called ''freedom shows'', in which artists played to promote civil rights, and the money generated at these shows went to charities of Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods (1927 – June 18, 2005) was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.
Woods came to Philadelphia from New York in 1953 and began broadcasting from AM statio ...
' choice, regardless of creed, color or religion. In 1967, Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods (1927 – June 18, 2005) was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.
Woods came to Philadelphia from New York in 1953 and began broadcasting from AM statio ...
staged a special show for wounded veterans from the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
that were from the Philadelphia area.
The theater also became an important landmark for civil rights in Philadelphia. Cecil Moore was a Philadelphia lawyer that was extremely involved in civil rights, and was a close friend of Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods (1927 – June 18, 2005) was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.
Woods came to Philadelphia from New York in 1953 and began broadcasting from AM statio ...
, and was also involved in the freedom shows.
In 1963, Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods (1927 – June 18, 2005) was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.
Woods came to Philadelphia from New York in 1953 and began broadcasting from AM statio ...
, Jackie Wilson, and Del Shields won awards at the Uptown Theater from the Philadelphia branch of the NAACP for being entertainers that were actively involved in civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
. Also, the famous 1964 Philadelphia race riot
The Philadelphia race riot, or Columbia Avenue Riot, took place in the predominantly black neighborhoods of North Philadelphia from August 28 to August 30, 1964. Tensions between black residents of the city and police had been escalating for seve ...
happened blocks from the theater, and when it occurred Commissioner Howard R. Leary
Howard R. Leary (August 7, 1911 – January 31, 1994) was an American law enforcement officer who served as Commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department from 1963 to 1966 and New York City Police Commissioner from 1966 to 1970.
Early life
Le ...
had Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods (1927 – June 18, 2005) was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.
Woods came to Philadelphia from New York in 1953 and began broadcasting from AM statio ...
come talk to and calm down the crowd, which eventually dispersed as per his request. His influence on the community was so great, showed how important the Uptown Theater was for the residents of North Philadelphia.
Neighborhood
By the late 1950s, North Philadelphia
North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as everything north of either ...
was the epicenter of Philadelphia's African-American community. It was a vibrant place populated by all classes. There were dozens of factories, numerous clubs along Columbia Avenue, shops and restaurants all over the place, and the Uptown—which evolved into a mecca for live music. Many family owned businesses around the theater became popular spots for the performers and audience members alike. Many of the performers would eat at Miss Pearl's house, which was located right behind the venue on Carlisle Street.
In addition to that, many of them got their hair done at Don's Doo Shop, which was and still owned by Don Williams, right around the corner on 15th Street and Susquehanna Avenue. Many of the artists stayed at the Ben Motor Inn on 22nd Street and Spring Garden. The neighborhood was often noted to be tight-knit, where many people living in the area worked in the nearby factories and knew each other by name. The area surrounding the theater was also unique in that it did not provide a lot of space for parking, so many people walked or took public transportation to the Uptown.
Later years and decline
Eventually, the riots and the manufacturing exodus of the 1960s occurred, and the gang wars of the 1970s. By 1978, the Uptown was too small for the major acts, in an area with high crime. In 1971, Sam Reed, who was leader of the house band in the 1960s stepped down. In December 1971, there were frequent concert gang fights that broke out. In 1972, Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods (1927 – June 18, 2005) was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.
Woods came to Philadelphia from New York in 1953 and began broadcasting from AM statio ...
stopped producing shows at the Uptown Theater, mainly because of the drugs and violence in the surrounding neighborhood of the theater. In May 1972, shows stopped playing at all at the venue, and in 1978 the Uptown Theater ultimately closed.
Other reasons led to the decline of theaters similar to the venue. The music industry had changed significantly from when the theater was in its prime. Black artists were now able to cross over, and play in venues such as ones in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. Musicians that played there were able to perform at larger venues and make more profit. Georgie Woods also stated in an interview that the existence of booking agencies made it harder to book acts because they would ask for more money.
There was a point in time when black artists could only be heard if they went to Georgie Woods, but once music became integrated. Also, the decline of independent record stores disabled local artists from being able to promote their music. On the other hand, music became more integrated, so many radio stations only played a sampling of rhythm and blues, as opposed to stations that used to solely play rhythm and blues. Many artists started to cross over into pop, so they were less inclined to play at theaters such as the Uptown.
The neighborhood also changed dramatically. Many of the businesses started to decline because they catered to the Uptown clientele and lost them once the theater closed.
The Uptown briefly reopened in the 1980s as a church. A church group held services there until a 1991 storm damaged the roof, allowing water to pucker the painted walls and corrode the gilded auditorium. After the congregation left, the only people who entered were thieves, crackheads and taggers More recently, members of the community gathered at the Uptown to mourn the death of Michael Jackson
On June 25, 2009, American singer Michael Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication at his home on North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. His physician, Conrad Murray, said tha ...
.
Uptown Entertainment and Development Corporation (UEDC)
The Uptown Entertainment and Development Corporation (UEDC) is a Community Development Corporation that was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1995. It acquired the theater building in 2001. Fund raising and renovation work were ongoing in 2018 and a 2020 re-opening was anticipated. However the work stalled due to Covid-19 shutdowns and an attrition of board leadership. In February 2022 the UEDC had new leadership and was restarting the renovation work. The group declined to anticipte a new opening date after having missed that goal in the past.
References
{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia
Theatres completed in 1927
Theatres in Philadelphia
African-American theatre
African-American cultural history
Art Deco architecture in Pennsylvania
Templetown, Philadelphia
Historically African-American theaters and music venues