Directions to Fm Kirby Center for the Performing Arts Wilkesbarre Pa Us
 Exterior of venue (c. 2011) | |
 | |
| Full proper noun | F.G. Kirby Eye for the Performing Arts |
|---|---|
| Erstwhile names | Comerford Theatre (1938–49) Paramount Theatre (1949–86) |
| Address | 71 Public Foursquare Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701-2507 |
| Location | Wyoming Valley |
| Chapters | ane,800 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | August 18, 1938 (1938-08-xviii) |
| Architect | Charles A. Ryan |
| Website | |
| Venue Website | |
| Comerford Theater | |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| Architectural style | Moderne Deco, "Depression moderne" |
| NRHP referenceNo. | 80003564[1] |
| Added to NRHP | December 3, 1980 |
The F.M. Kirby Center (formerly known as the Comerford Theatre and Paramount Theatre) is a historic Art Deco-Moderne style movie house located at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Information technology was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
History [edit]
Comerford Theater was built in 1937 every bit an Art Deco-Moderne style theater building on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre. The edifice takes an irregular trapezoidal shape. It is of steel frame and brick structure with a four bay wide, terra cotta and marble front facade. The front facade features a stylized ziggurat composition, a central belfry, corrugated steel decoration, and a marquee.[2] It was added to the National Register of Celebrated Places in 1980.[1]
The Capitol Theatre, also on Public Square, was built in 1920. It was renamed the Comerford Theatre after the original Comerford was renamed the Paramount in the 1940s. The second Comerford was multiplexed and renamed the Barre East-West Loge in the 1970s and demolished soon subsequently.
The theatre was developed past Michael E. Comerford, owner of the Comerford Theaters Inc.[3] Comerford was too a founder of the Motion Picture Theatre Owners of America and a director of the Scranton Chamber of Commerce. At the height of its success, the Comerford Theaters Inc. owned and operated over fourscore movie theaters in Northeastern Pennsylvania and Upstate New York.
Post-obit the success of a Comerford Theater in Scranton, the company began construction of a new theater in Wilkes-Barre. Structure began in 1937 with the assistance of the Penn-York Utilities, Inc. and designed by Charles A. Ryan. Information technology opened August 18, 1938, with a showing of Alexander's Ragtime Ring. At the time, the theatre could seat ii,047 patrons.
As a result of the 1949 antitrust laws, ownership of the theater was transferred to the Penn Paramount Company. Closing briefly for repairs, the theatre reopened on September two, 1949, as the Paramount Theatre.[four] Operations continued until the early 1970s. Attendance dropped after the venue was flooded due to Hurricane Agnes. The theatre ceased operations in 1977 afterward the property was sold to a new possessor. The theatre saw occasional use as a concert and battle venue. Local businesses formed a group known as "Relieve the Sometime Paramount" (or Southward.T.O.P.). A few years later, the building was added to the National Annals of Celebrated Places.
Throughout a bulk of the 80s, the venue was more often than not vacant every bit information technology was desperate need of repairs. In 1985, Albert Boscov, August L. Simms and Fred One thousand. Kirby Two raised $3.3 meg to restored the theatre. Construction began on December 21, 1985. It opened September nineteen, 1986, every bit the F.M. Kirby Centre for the Performing Arts, after Fred Morgan Kirby.[five]
References [edit]
- ^ a b "National Annals Information System". National Register of Celebrated Places. National Park Service. July ix, 2010.
- ^ "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Note: This includes Carl J. Handman and Michael J. Lewis (n.d.). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Comerford Theater" (PDF) . Retrieved 2012-03-fifteen .
- ^ "Edifice HISTORY: THE F.Thousand. KIRBY Middle". Lewith & Freeman Real Estate Inc. May 3, 2017. Retrieved Oct 13, 2019.
- ^ "Comerford Theater". National Park Service. Dec ane, 2007. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
- ^ "F. Chiliad. KIRBY Center FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS - A RICH AND COLORFUL HISTORY". F.M. KIRBY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Official Website. October 2019. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
External links [edit]
- F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts on Cinema Treasures
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F.M._Kirby_Center
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