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Late 1964-1965 photo album and scrapbook on the demolition of 4 old theaters on Theater Row on North Queen Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Album documents the last days of the Strand, Capitol, Boyd and Hamilton theaters. The album contains 30 color and black and white photos of 3 of the theaters (Capitol, Boyd, & Hamilton) and their demolition. There are also31 album page leaves with newspaper articles attached concerning the 4 theaters (not all of the articles are seen in the photos). Many pages are annotated. Inside the front cover is a ticket stub from one of the last performances at the Capitol Theater and a \"PULL\" sign taken from the Capitol Theatre door. Inside the back cover is a cardboard sign taken on the Chestnut Street side of the Boyd Theatre.
Strand Theater - Ed Kuhn opened his Kuhn Theatre on March 6, 1911 with “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Pawnee Bill’s Far East.” The theatre was saleed in 1914. Two Philadelphia operators purchased it and renamed it the Manor Street Theatre. In 1916, it received a refresh and under new operators became the Lancaster Theatre. On April 19, 1920, it became the Strand Theatre under the operation of George Benthan. Harry M. Chertcoff took on the location in 1928 whose Chetco Circuit operated it to its closure. The theatre closed April 1, 1962 with Dirk Bogarde in “The Singer Not the Song.” Sadly, projectionist turned Mayor George B. Coe had ironically issued a proclamation earlier that week celebrating, “International Theatre Week.”
Capitol Theater - Located on the site of the Hippodrome Theatre built in 1916, which replaced the 1910-built Hippodrome Theatre which was destroyed by fire. The second Hippodrome Theatre was also destroyed by fire on December 29, 1924.The Capitol Theatre was opened on December 21, 1925 with Ramon Novarro in “The Midshipman”. Seating was listed at 1,161. It was equipped with a 4 manual 21 ranks, Robert Morton unit organ, which was opened by organist John Krupa. This theatre was later operated by Warner Bros. and their subsidiarys.The Capitol Theatre closed on July 5, 1965 with Ingrid Bergman in “The Yellow Rolls Royce” and was later demolished.
Boyd Theater - The Colonial Theatre was open on January 29, 1912. Seating was listed at 1,250. This theatre was later acquired by Boyd Theatres and was renovated to the plans of architect Paul Henon Jr., reopening as the Boyd Theatre on August 14, 1956 with Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis in “Pardners”.The Boyd Theatre closed on July 5, 1965 with Elizabeth Taylor in “The Sandpiper”. It was later demolished for a redevelopment of the area.
Hamilton Theater - The Hamilton Theatre was opened on September 11, 1916 with Billie Burke in “Gloria’s Romance” & Mary Pickford in “Hulda from Holland”. This was one of four theatres that were to line the 100 block of N. Queen Street. Seating was listed at 1,014. This was one of three houses in the block that was operated by Warner Bros. and its subsidiaries. The Hamilton Theatre was closed by RKO Stanley Warner on November 25, 1956 with Biff Elliot in “I, the Jury” & Jennifer Jones in “Ruby Gentry”. It was later demolished.
Additional information on all the theaters can be found at cinematreasures.org.
- CONDITION: Overall Very Good++ with front cover detached from the album.
- SIZE: Album measures approximately 10 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches.
