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Bijou Dream An Early Camden NJ
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Camden NJ in its prime had many theaters, and it wasn't all movies! Camden had its theatres in the Vaudeville days, and venues like the Arlo and the Walt Whitman, up Westfield Avenue in Pennsauken, hosted live shows right up until the end in the 1970s.
Of course, before the age of film Camden had its share of theaters. The crown jewel of course was the Temple Theater at 415 Market Street, on ground now occupied by the United States Post Office for which the grand old palace was razed. Both the Towers and the Lyric Theaters on Broadway predated film, were able to transition, and are well remembered as movie houses. There were other theaters that did not make the switch from live entertainment to film, notable of which was the Broadway, on Broadway near Sycamore Street, where a bank building has been for many, many years.
Of course Camden was the home of the worlds first drive-in movie, invented by Richard M. Hollingshead, whose family operated the R.M. Hollingshead Corporation chemical plant in Camden. It opened up on June 6, 1933, and remained in business for three years. Camden later had a drive-in situated between Mt. Ephraim Avenue and Crescent Boulevard, the Black Horse Twin, that stayed in operation until at least 1978.
It was in 1907 that Herbert Megowan (1862-1948) opened his first movie theater in Camden on the second floor of a building at the southeast corner of Broadway and Chestnut Street, over Sam Goldstein's men's furnishing store. Patrons were seated on folding wooden chairs, one reel was shown, and the price of admission was five cents.
After a few months at this location, Mr. Megowan moved his movie enterprise to 929 Broadway, where he had a front door location. The price of admission remained five cents.
Other movie houses were started, and Mr. Megowan saw the necessity of adding something to the reel showing. He hired Don Travaline as pianist to play the popular songs of the day.
Another pioneer movie operator in Camden was Harvey Flitcraft. He operated three different theaters on Broadway at different times between 1905 and his death in 1913, known as the Royal, the Casino, and Fairyland.
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Bijou Dream An Early Camden NJ
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John McGowan was the vocalist. Later, Mr. McGowan operated his third motion picture theater at the northeast corner of Broadway at Clinton Street and the fourth, The Rio, at North Twenty Seventh Street and River Road. The Rio was later acquired by the Savar Theatre Corporation, owned by Samuel and Joseph A. Varbalow.
In East Camden, Paul G. Huber operated Huber's Family Theater at 2409 Federal Street in 1918. He sold the tickets, started the player piano and started the movie. Another theater, the Crystal Palace, was open at that time at 2508 Federal Street. Both of these theaters gave way when the new Victoria Theater was built at 2516 Federal Street. The Victoria first appears Camden Directories in 1921.
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2409 Federal Street 1918 Photograph Taken circa 1918 Click on Image to Enlarge |
Another Camden entrepreneur, Charles Kaufmann, built the Parkside Theater in the early 1920s. Samuel Varbalow and family owned the Savar Movie Corporation, which owned the Savar, the above-mentioned Victoria, the Rio, and the Midway theaters, among others.
Camden's flagship movie palace, the million-dollar Stanley Theater, opened in 1926. The Stanley featured top-flight live entertainment... acts very willing to come to Camden on Sunday, as Philadelphia venues were all closed that day,
Early in 1928 the "talkies" came to Camden, as the Walt Whitman Theater on Westfield Avenue, just over the city line in Pennsauken NJ, installed sound equipment.
After World War II, with the advent of television and especially with an improved economy that put more people in automobiles, neighborhood theaters slowly began to close their doors across America. The Victoria, a modern theater in 1921, was replaced by the new Arlo by October of 1956. A new building however, could not stave off the decline in attendance. By May of 1964 there were only four movie theaters open in Camden- the Stanley, the Savar, the Midway, and the Arlo in East Camden. The Stanley was razed in 1965 to make way for a Holiday Inn that never came, and the Savar closed around the same time. The Midway and the Arlo limped along for years, but neither building survived the 1980s, the Arlo serving as a caterer's hall and later hosted professional wrestling events before falling to the wrecker's ball.
Camden theaters included the following:
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IMAGES OF CAMDEN THEATERS
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ELM
THEATRE
Camden Post-Telegram "Iron
Claw" |
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Towers Theatre Broadway & Pine Street Camden, N.J. 1917 Click on Image |
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| Above: The Stanley Theater, 1926 | Above: The Stanley Theater,
1955 (Camden Trust Bank in background) |
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1926
Advertisement |
| Stanley
Theatre Program
1928 Click on Images to Enlarge |
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| Camden Courier-Post - January 28, 1928 | |
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Camden Courier-Post October 30, 1931 The Century was up until its razing around the year 2002, was at White Horse Pike and Kings Highway in Audubon. The Crescent, on Mt. Ephraim Avenue, now holds a tire business. I posted this here more to denote the presence of Jed Dooley, who had some ties to Camden- |
| Camden Courier-Post - June 6, 1933 | |
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AUTO
MOVIE THEATRE HAS PREMIERE TONIGHT The world's
first automobile movie theatre which has aroused national
interest because of its basic patents and in which motor cars literally
are transformed into private theatre boxes, will have its premiere
performance tonight in the Camden Drive-In Theatre. On the Admiral
Wilson Boulevard, near the Central
Airport, it occupies approximately There is a
slight incline at the front of each aisle which guarantees uninterrupted
vision. The program will be a complete talking picture show and will be changed on Wednesdays and Sundays with three evening performances daily, at 8:30, 10:00 and 11:30 o'clock. |
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| Camden Courier-Post - June 7, 1933 |
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MOTORISTS
SEE OUTDOOR
MOVIES The
World's first open-air Automobile Theatre opened on Crescent Boulevard
last night with more than 600 motorists attending the initial
performances.
The
theatre, called the Automobile Movie Theatre, was built at an initial
cost of $60,000, with Richard Hollingshead, president, and W. W. Smith,
treasurer of the company. Abridged
features, with all dull or uninteresting parts omitted, will be featured
at the theatre, which will give three shows nightly. The
management announces beer and lunches will be on sale at the theatre
beginning next week. The entire family can attend for an admission price of $1, or at the rate of 25 cents per person. |
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Camden
Courier-Post |
| Camden Courier-Post - June 10, 1933 |
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DRIVE-IN THEATRE BILLS 'RACING STRAIN' 3 DAYS The premiere showing of "The Racing Strain" will be the feature attraction at the Camden Drive-In Theatre, the world's first automobile movie theatre, near Central Airport, for three days beginning tomorrow. "The Racing Strain" features Wallace Reid, Jr., son of the famous late Paramount Picture star. It is the youngster's initial screen effort to follow in the footsteps of his father. Supporting Reid, Jr. is J. Farrell MacDonald, Dickie Moore, Phyllis Barrington, Eddie Phillips, Kit Guard, Paul Fix, Ethel Wales and others. A comedy, cartoon and Pathe News rounds out the program. Patrons of the Camden Drive-In Theatre sit in their cars and see and hear the movies. . |
| ASBESTOS LUMBER MAKES DEBUT HERE
Asbestos lumber made its debut in Camden with the building of the operating and screenroom of the new outdoor automobile moving picture theatre on Admiral Wilson boulevard. Original plans called for a composition which would have required considerable painting, but the colorful effect of this new material eliminated the painting problem. This new material made in sheets 21 x 24 inches is weatherproof and fireproof. Since its erection it has been discovered that the nature of this material, because it does not vibrate, has improved the anticipated sound effects. It was supplied by the Antrim Hardware Company of Camden, who are the exclusive distributors for this new product. |
Camden Courier-Post June 10, 1933 |
| Camden Courier-Post - June 21, 1933 |
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DRIVE-IN THEATRE BILL IS 'SLIGHLTY MARRIED' "Slightly Married," featuring Walter Byron, Evelyn Knapp, Marie Prevost, Robert Ellis, Jason Robards, Clarissa Selwynne and Phillips Smalley at the Camden Drive-In Theatre near Central Airport, the world's first automobile movie theatre with shows nightly at 8.45 and 10.15 o'c1o'ck. Beginning Sunday night at 8.15 and 10.15,
Helen Twelvetrees' success,
"Her Man," will be the feature attraction. The story
of "Frankie and Johnnie" not only earned stardom for Miss Twelvetrees
but brought fame to Phillips
Holmes, practically unknown until his work in "Her
Man." Ricardo Cortez, |
| Camden Courier-Post - June 24, 1933 | |||
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| Camden
Courier-Post August 16, 1933 |
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| Camden Courier-Post May 1, 1934
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Camden May 1934 |
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Camden August 29, 1935 |
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Walt
Whitman Theater Camden
Courier-Post Radio's Wizard of the Strings About ROY SMECK More about Roy Smeck To get another all too small taste of Roy Smeck, you can download the Quicktime movie clip Those Hands. |
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Stanley Theater Camden
Courier-Post
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Broadway Theater Camden
Courier-Post Charles "Buddy"
Rogers GYPSY
NINA
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Grand Theater Broadway & Mickle Street Camden Courier-Post August 1936 |
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Stanley Theater 605 Market
Street Camden Courier-Post August 1936 More about Charlie Chase |
| Camden Courier-Post * August 31, 1936 | |
| Modernity in Camden Playhouse | |
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| August 1937-
Courier-Post newsboys were treated to the Broadway Theater to see the movie Slave Ship |
| Camden Courier-Post * August 14, 1936 | ||
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Camden Courier-Post June 29, 1939 & June 30, 1939 At The Lyric Click on Image |
| October
1939 - Street Advertising
The photo was taken by
Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. |
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Click on Image to Enlarge |
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2514-2520 Federal Street The
Victoria Theater
Click on Image to Enlarge |
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2500
to 2516 Federal Street 1941 Click on Image to Enlarge |
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Camden Courier-Post
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| Camden Courier-Post * July 25, 1941 | |
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| ...continued... | |
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| Camden Courier-Post * August 13, 1942 | ||
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| Click on Image to Enlarge | ||
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| GRAND THEATER -1945 | NEW LYRIC THEATER - 1944 |
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| GRAND THEATER -1945 |
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| TOWERS THEATER
-1950 photo courtesy of Robert & Jane Hamilton |
| Click on Image to Enlarge |
| Camden Courier-Post - January 29, 1951 | |
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OPENING NEW MIDWAY MOVE is Mayor Brunner, who can be seen above in tape- cutting ceremony. Others in front row are, left, Arthur Smith, theatre manager, and district manager for Savar Theatre circuit, and Captain Ellison Wynn, commanding officer of the Camden Army Recruiting Station. In the rear are, left, Technical Sergeant Merle Bailey, information officer for local recruiting office, and Master Sergeant Horace A. Cooper, of the Air Force. |
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| The ROXY THEATER - November 11, 1954 |
| Camden Courier-Post - December 12, 1957 | |
| NORTH CAMDEN THEATER | |
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| Nicholas Pavlak - Vine Street | |
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The SAVAR Photo Courtesy of John Sims |
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The ARLO Photo Courtesy |
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The ARLO |
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Two views of |
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Advertised in the |
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CLICK ON THE IMAGES FOR ENLARGED VIEWS
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Camden Courier-Post May 4, 1934 |
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The World's First Drive-In Movie - Camden NJ - 1933 |
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Site of the future drive-in theater in Camden, circa 1932. This photo appears to have been taken from the Admiral Wilson Boulevard, looking north towards Marlton Avenue |
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The World's First Drive-In Movie |
Richard M. Hollingshead Jr. |
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The Walt Whitman Theatre 4600 Block of Westfield Avenue Pennsauken NJ OK..... Click on Picture For Enlarged View |
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Name
Unkown "This wooden building is long gone. When I enlarged the photo I could just make out the "R" located above the white double doors in the front of the building." - Bernie Rieck Click on Images to Enlarge |
| ADDITIONAL
COMMENTS by James Rickenbach I used to live directly across the street from the old wooden building. It was at 27th Street and Harrison Avenue. I grew up knowing it as the "Curtain Factory". They made the material for window shades for a company in Philadelphia. It was run by the Ott family. My father grew up in the same house and he said the entire river front lot across the street was a family type park when he was young. The wooden building was originally a dance hall. It later became a nickelodeon. |
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Camden Courier-Post - May 19, 1964 | |
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The Stanley would be closed and gone the following year. In the days before cable television, major sporting events would be broadcast by closed circuit television to theaters. I saw Muhammad Ali fight on closed circuit at the old Cherry Hill Arena back in the 1960s.-
Phil Cohen |
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Camden
Courier-Post |
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Camden
Courier-Post |
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| Where They Were | |
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Click
On
The Note: Map is in Error, The North Camden & The Standard were on and the same |
If you have pictures or graphics
related to any of Camden's Theaters
or New Car dealers, and you would like to see it on this
website,
please contact me
E-Mail Phil Cohen
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Where (and What) They Are - 2002 |
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The STAR |
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The ROXY |
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The PRINCESS In 2002 it is the home
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The Click
On
The
Images For |
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The was acquired in the 1950s by John Okulicz, who expanded the store he had at 1508-1510 Mt. Ephraim Ave. and expanded his store into the theater building. The Okulicz Furniture Store was a fixture on Mt. Ephraim Ave for many years. In the 1990s a Korean-American merchant open the store as the Cambridge Discount Plaza Click
On
The
Images For
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by Mark J.
Bialek Mark J. Bialek is president of The Drive-In Theatre Fan Club in Baltimore, Md. |
Since January 28, 2003 you are
visitor #
