Friends of the Boyd

Very good news for Philadelphia's historic Sedgwick! Movie palace from 1928 to 1966.

Sedgwick Theater to undergo $8 million renovation following ownership change The Quintessence Theatre Group plans to restore the original marquee and add seating to the building, which opened in 1928 as a movie palace.

We organized to save the Boyd on this day in 2002. We didn't save the movie palace, but we raised preservation awareness, saved artifacts & the front, and got a law passed to protect historic interiors! Our message today: step forth to help preserve our historic architecture! Say something, fund something, advocate, do something, so Philadelphia does not look like Houston.

An enthusiastic rally today by students to save the University of the Arts, after the shocking announcement that a well respected school that dates to the 1870’s would close in 7 days, without any public plea for help! Philadelphia and Pennsylvania must do better! Photo courtesy of Howard B Haas

Will Jordan volunteered as our Treasurer & in other capacities for 20 years, until his unexpected passing a week ago. He will be deeply missed by many of us! His full obit in a comment. R.I.P. Will.

Thanks to CinemaTour for this Philadelphia Inquirer image. Rocky III had its world premiere May 24, 1982 at the Boyd (Sameric)! Stallone & Mr. T appeared on the red carpet. The Rocky statue was presented to the City. See in a comment the July 9, 1982 Inquirer ad. Back then, movies played for weeks at a time in the huge auditorium!

Wow! The Louxor auditorium, built in 1921, as Paris’ only ancient Egyptian style movie theater ever. It closed in 1983. the City of Paris rebuilt its decor and it reopened in 2013 as a “Palais du Cinema” Don't miss the closeup photo in a comment! Photo courtesy of Howard B. Haas

If your summer vacation includes Paris........Built in 1921, the Louxor was Paris’ only ancient Egyptian style movie theater ever. It closed in 1983. the City of Paris rebuilt its decor and it reopened in 2013 as a “Palais du Cinema” Yea! photo courtesy of Howard B. Haas

Horrible news! A zoning, demolition permit has been obtained for 1812-14 Chestnut Street, a rare surviving Philadelphia shopping Arcade, from 1924 and which was a movie theater from 1967 to 1992. Characterized as a "contributing" building by the federal Center City West district, it should be retained, not demolished for a "vacant lot" ugh! More recent photos in comments.

Yea! The annual 35mm film festival is this coming weekend at the historic Ambler Theater (1928) in the Philly burbs!

35mm film is a dying art. An Ambler movie theater is keeping it alive From April 12 to April 14, the theater is holding its annual 35mm Film Festival to showcase nine classic features such as “The Wizard of Oz,” “Evil Dead II,” “Rififi” and “The Naked City.”

The Boyd, from the 1950s, was known for a huge screen. The largest Philadelphia area screen now is the IMAX at the Regal UA King of Prussia with its enormous 74 foot wide screen! That auditorium now has the 70mm IMAX reissue of "Tenet" and on Thursday starts "Dune: Part 2" in 70mm IMAX. 2-26-24 photo by Howard B Haas

R.I.P. film director Norman Jewison, age 97. "Fiddler on the Roof" was the smash hit that reopened the Boyd as the Sameric in 1971! He directed so many fantastic classics including "In the Heat of the Night" "Moonstruck" and "The Hurricane"

Norman Jewison, filmmaker with lens on social issues, dies at 97 He received Oscar nominations for directing such varied movies as “In the Heat of the Night,” “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Moonstruck.”

Sad news! Lou DiCrescenzo passed away. A projectionist since the 1960s, he projected at the Boyd! He was a Friend of the Boyd. He was a great collector, and donator, of vintage film and projectors. Photo by Rob Bender of his being a volunteer DJ at one of our 2004 "The Swan" film event at International House. Thank you, Lou, we know you've gone to the section of Heaven reserved for awesome fans of film!

Congrats to Pierre Robert on his contract renewal & radio longevity! He was a passionate Friend of the Boyd, including hosting a rally in front for us!

Pierre Robert is keeping the job he interviewed for at a Ho***rs show at the Chestnut Cabaret in 1981 The beloved Philadelphia rock jock has spent his entire four decade career in Philadelphia on WMMR-FM (93.3). And he is nowhere near done.

Good news! Michael Klein reports in today's print Inquirer that he expects the historic Boyd lobby & front will reopen in 2024! "Bankroll, Philadelphia’s splashiest sports bar of all time, bet big and lost, a $25 million investment gone after less than four months. I’m told that the space at 1910 Chestnut St. will pick up a new tenant, possibly two, in 2024."

The top five Philly restaurant stories of 2023 The Philly news included James Beard winners, the speedy demise of a sports bar, the revival of a cheesesteak landmark, and the demolition of a diner. There's also a bar trend worth noting.

Congrats to the Ambler (1928 movie palace, saved by a nonprofit) for being listed as best movie theater in Pennsylvania!

The Best Movie Theater in Every State | Wealth of Geeks December 5, 2023 Cinema transports us to euphoric emotions and heartwrenching moments of grief and heartbreak. It succeeds in bringing opposing forces

Todays news that the Franklin Institute's IMAX (1990) will not reopen, is profoundly disappointing! As the only "domed" IMAX in our region, it showed many 70mm IMAX films, in addition to other kinds of films.

Franklin Institute’s IMAX theater will not be reopening The only domed, large-format film venue in Philadelphia was Center City’s only IMAX screen. It'll be closed for good.

At 2023 Sansom St, near the Boyd, Philadelphia's Roxy closed for good when the Pandemic hit, in 2020, and is slated to have additional stories added for residences. In the meantime, the facade has received a bit of a refresh! Thanks to James Fennell for today's photo, which as a bonus shows restaurant Wilder's lovely vertical sign!

Fantastic! Montgomery County officials were hellbent on demolishing Norristown's extraordinarily historic Airy Street Prison (1851, by the same architect as Philadelphia's Academy of Music and the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul). Now, after protest by preservationists, they are seeking proposals for reuse! Perhaps the iconic neo Gothic former prison can become a Museum of Justice, or another worthwhile reuse!

Demolition of historic Norristown prison is put on hold as alternatives are sought On the eve of Tuesday's election, the Montgomery County Commission asked the Borough of Norristown to delay demolition of a long-vacant but architecturally significant prison.

Thanks to James Fennell for his impressive photo today of the surviving part of the Boyd. The marquee still lights up, but as Bankroll is no more, the space is waiting for a new tenant!

Adrian Scott Fine was the National Trust for Historic Preservation local director in Philadelphia when Friends of the Boyd organized in our efforts for the Boyd. As a devoted, wonderful, historic preservationist, he played a pivotal role for us until he departed to join the Los Angeles Conservancy. Congratulations to his promotion!

Los Angeles Conservancy Announces New President and CEO - LA Conservancy Adrian Scott Fine is named as the Los Angeles Conservancy's new president and CEO.

Good news! On Friday, the Phila Historical Commission unanimously designated, 1611 Walnut, a handsome 1923 Neoclassical building, so 100 years old! Built for the relocation of Philadelphia's financial industry to Walnut West, it helped Philadelphia continue as a national powerhouse. From 1940 to 1968, Bachrach Photography, one of the nation's best photographers, had its studio there. Thanks to the Center City Residents Association for nominating it. 6-20-21 photo by Howard B. Haas

There are many Art Deco details on the City National Bank Building (1931) at 1503-05 Walnut St, nominated by the Center City Residents' Association to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, but none as impressive as the entry's showplace centerpiece! Absolutely beautiful. 8-30-22 photo by Howard B. Haas

So glad that one of Philadelphia's loveliest Art Deco buildings, the City National Bank Building (1931), 1503-05 Walnut St, not far from the Boyd, has been nominated by the Center City Residents Association for listing on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places! As the nomination says: "A brilliantly simple, but beautifully detailed Art Deco presentation" 8-30-22 photo by Howard B. Haas

Today's Inquirer article provides many reasons why Bankroll didn't succeed at the Boyd. Let's hope a new tenant has ways to make the space work, so that the surviving parts of the former movie palace (the front & Grand Lobby) can soon open again to the public!

Bankroll bet big on Philly sports fans. Who’s to blame for its failure? Legal filings, disgruntled contractors, boxes of plates embossed with Bankroll’s QR code — and questions — remain.

Thanks to Jay Schwartz ("Secret Cinema) for his Sunday photo of a former movie theater (the Columbia, 1940-1981) in Bloomsburg, PA which has been reused for nonprofit live theater with its magnificient Streamlined Moderne marquee intact!

Awesome news today about pending redo & reuse of Philadelphia's former Sedgwick Theatre! Friends of the Boyd have helped document with historic & modern photos, the former Mt. Airy movie palace. The Sedgwick's lobby & foyer spaces are decadent, dazzling 1928 Art Deco!

Philadelphia’s Movie Theater Maven Sets Her Sights on the Sedgwick Daniela Holt Voith, founder of Philly's oldest woman-owned architecture firm, marks 20 years of renovating historic movie houses

Sunday is the 2nd annual National Cinema Day, $4 movie tickets in many movie theaters including many local theaters! Go enjoy a movie on the big screen!

Today's article confirms the finality of Bankroll's departure. To Bankroll's credit, they spared no expense in a state of the art refurbishment, so let's hope another restaurant or other tenant can soon reopen the surviving part of the historic Boyd!

Want to buy a gently used sports bar? Bankroll sports bar has everything up for auction. All the equipment and furnishings of a 350-seat restaurant, spread over 13,000 square feet on two floors in part of the former Boyd Theater, is up for sale.

A "wow" and rare experience! The only IMAX 70MM shows of "Oppenheimer" in the Philadelphia region are at the UA King of Prussia 16, on its huge screen. Only 31 theaters worldwide are showing this 3 hour epic in IMAX 70mm. IMAX 70MM has far more detail than any other format & there's more picture seen, too, for most of the film due to IMAX filming. Photo from Tuesday by Howard B Haas & more in comments.

The Media Theater in the burbs was a daily movie palace from 1927 to 1990. Rescued for live shows, it now has a show that features its own history! That includes audience visits to areas of the building not usually on view!

A deadly garden blooms in a new play at Media Theatre A campy horror show meets a procedural story in Alterra Productions' 'Poison Garden.'