The "Movies in Good Ol' Lancaster" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Talking with Carol about taking in a few movies that we have seen advertised on TV.  About a mile from us is the Penn Cinema which is a 14-screen movie complex which also features an IMAX theater.  An immense complex geared toward entertaining the entire family all in one location.  Got to thinking about my youth and the four movie theaters that were located in the 100 block of North Queen Street in downtown Lancaster, PA.  Made visits to most of the theaters from my early childhood to the mid-60's when all four of them were demolished during an urban renewal project in downtown Lancaster.  

The Hippodrome built in 1910.  The owner of the theater,
George Krupa, is pictured on the right in this photo.

The earliest of the theaters was the Hippodrome Theatre built in 1910 by the Krupa family.  It was located on the west side of the first block of North Queen Street in the middle of the block.  Wasn't long before the theater was destroyed by fire and was replaced in 1916.  The rebuilt theater was to be named the Aldine Theatre when it also was destroyed by fire on December 29, 1924.  

The Capitol Theatre can be seen on the left side of this photo.
If you click on the photo you can see the Hamilton Theatre on
the left, two buildings past the Capitol.  At the end of the block
can be seen the Colonial/Boyd Theatre.  The view is looking north.

The location changed hands and was replaced by The Capitol Theatre, designed by architect William Harold Lee, which had a seating capacity of 1,161 and opened December 21, 1925.  It was one of the theaters that was demolished in the mid-60's.  Part-way to the north, on the west side of the block, stood the Hamilton Theatre.  It was opened in the early 1930's and seated 1,014 patrons.  It was one of three theaters that were operated by Warner Bros.  

The interior of the Capitol Theatre.  The Capitol replaced
the Aldine Theatre which was destroyed by fire on Dec., 29, 1924.

I remember seeing a few horror films in this theater which had large marble pillars and mirrored walls in its lobby.  This theater closed in the early 60's and was demolished along with all the other theaters shortly after.  On the north-west corner of the block stood the Colonial Theatre.  It was open by 1914 and seated 1,250.  

An old photograph of the Colonial Theatre
showing a wagon in front of it that was
titled "Capt. Louis Sorcho's Great Deep Sea
Divers - Now playing the Colonial." It eventually
changed its name to the Boyd Theatre.

It was perhaps the grandest theater on the block and in the early 1940's had magician Harry Blackstone performing on its stage.  The Colonial was home to many vaudeville shows which played to a sold-out theater most evenings.  My wife's grandfather was an usher at the Colonial and had many autographed postcards from entertainers who performed at the theater.  It was said that after the shows the patrons would exit by using the fire escapes as well as the theater's staircases.  Sometime in the late 1950's or early 1960's the theater was remodeled and was purchased by Boyd Theatres and renamed the Boyd.  I remember visiting the theater, but only after it had changed hands and was known as the Boyd.   This theater also was demolished in the mid-1960's.  Across the street, mid-block on the east side of North Queen Street stood the Grand Theater.  It opened in the early 1920's and could seat 900 people, being the smallest of the theaters on the block.  I remember this theater more than the others, since it was where I went with my friends who were in the choir with me at St. James Episcopal Church.  

The Grand Theatre can be seen on the opposite side of
North Queen St.  At the corner stands the majestic
Hotel Brunswick where Mr. McConnell would treat the choir
boys of St. James Church to a lunch of "Chicken in the
Basket" and then a movie at the Grand Theatre.  Oh,
the memories of good ol' Lancaster.  All this was destroyed
to make way for a concrete jungle that still looks bad.  

Our choir director and organist would play organ recitals every Saturday during Lent and would have his choirboys usher.  As a treat he would take all of us to eat at the Brunswick Hotel, around the corner from the theater, and then take all of us to the Grand to see a Western.  Thinking back to the mid-1950's and trips to the Grand with my friends, I find it hard to believe that he would take a group of young boys out to eat and then to a movie.  He really was a Saint!  

One final shot looking south on N. Queen St.  Playing at the
Capital is John Wayne and Stewart Granger in "North to Alaska,"
while across the street at the Grand is Haley Mills in "Tiger Bay."

Well, this theater, as well as the Brunswick were demolished along with the rest of the buildings in a two-city block renewal.  There were a few other movie houses in the city, but the 100 block of North Queen Street was the entertainment capital of Lancaster for many years.  I should note at this time that these city blocks were, and still are, a dismal attempt at urban renewal.  The concrete monstrosity that replaced the historical stores, movie theaters and hotels are a disgrace to the city of Lancaster, PA.  Just my opinion you must realize.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.