The Strand Theatre was located at the Northeast corner of at 9th and Spring Streets in Reading. The city's largest neighborhood theater was constructed by C.H. Schlegel and Son and opened on February 21, 1920. As the Reading Eagle ad of that day [...]
In 1871 the West Reading Market House was erected on the south side of Penn below Fourth Street, extending in the rear to Cherry Street. The directors of the Market House Company, headed by John Kissinger, president, and George M. Ermentrout, secretary and [...]
In 1910, Theodore Auman, J. George Kuersten, J. George Rick and Frank D. Hill built the "Lyric" theatre at 808-810 Penn Street. The theatre, seating 950, opened October 3, 1910, with a vaudeville policy, but after two years it presented a combination of [...]
The small theatre, which once stood at 819 Penn Street, had various names over the years, including the Crescent, the Princess, and even the Arcadia for a short time after the original Arcadia theatre in the 700 block of Penn Street was replaced [...]
The Embassy theatre was constructed on the properties owned by Ad. and Samuel Kutz and E. I. Kaufmann, 739-749 Penn Street, which at one time was the site of the Berks County House and the Bubp grocery store. Before the buildings were razed [...]
Drive-in theaters were hugely popular after World War II and, on special summer occasions featured all-night shows. Among its advantages was the fact that older adults with children could take care of their infant while watching a movie, while youth found drive-ins ideal [...]
Ben Zerr opened the Olivet Theatre at 647 Schuylkill Ave., near Oley, on Thanksgiving Day 1911. The initial attraction was “The Landing of Columbus.” In 1913, this “motion-picture house” was renamed the Schuylkill Avenue Theatre. Below: Schuylkill Avenue Theatre, 647 Schuylkill Ave. [...]
