Mayfair Theatre

January 31st, 1941 grand opening ad as Mayfair can be found in the photo section.

zenith82: The problem with Howard Street can be tied to one person: real-estate mogul “Honolulu” Harry Weinberg. He owned most of the property in downtown, but refused to develop it or even lease it to businesses. The buildings deteriorated. However, the city was afraid to press him, because it was known that he planned to bequeath his vast wealth to many hospitals. Nearly every medical center in Baltimore has a “Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Building.”

After Weinberg’s death, his estate held up the much-ballyhooed Westside development project, because they wanted their own developer instead of the one chosen by the city.

This is another one I drive past every day shaking my head and asking myself why. I recently saw a picture of Howard Street taken in 1982 that showed every building occupied and a lot of people on the sidewalks doing their Christmas shopping. Those of you who live in or near Baltimore know that Howard Street now has a post-apocalyptic look to it, all thanks to local mismanagement.

Even though the roof is gone and the interior is totally trashed by 15 years of exposure to the elements, the walls and facade of this theater look like they might can still be saved. The later marquee that still hangs above the entrance obscures some of the original detail of the building along with the other “improvements” made to the street level over the years. There has been talk of people resurrecting this theater over the past several years, but nothing ever materialized.

Thanks Chuck1231, I am already familiar with Kilduff’s site, btw he is giving me two Stanley Theatre programs for free and one movie ad from both the Mayfair and Stanley. But I can never seem to get a picture of the Mayfair interior or the Auditorium interior.

I saw EXODUS at the Mayfair in 1960 in 70mm. It was one of the worst projected films I have ever seen at any major theatre. Everytime reels were switched you heard a sound like aclap of thunder. The reel changes were rough and you missed some of the dialogue on changeover. The theatre was dirty and in some dis repair. I vowed never to go back there again and I didn’t. I was a projectionist myself at the time at NAS Anacostia in D.C. and I noticed those mistakes.

This is an amazing photograph – not just for the shot itself but the subject matter. Those doors once led to the darkness of the auditorium where one came in to escape the harsh realities of the world outside, and now… A pretty remarkable image. And the lighting fixture on the left looks like the animated character Lumiere from Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast!”

Pity a proud city can’t save this theatre.

Yeah, but now you can see it!

Went there in the late 50’s to see the first 3d movie Bwana Devil. Glasses were cardboard and cellophane. Spears poked toward the audience.

Here is an undated photo:
http://tinyurl.com/qrmo4h

I was wondering if anyone had photos of the exterior and interior of the Mayfair from the days it was known as the Auditorium that they would be willing to share. Thanks

www.urbanatrophy.com has done an excellent job photographing the Mayfair as it sits today in Sept. 2006. See dozens of photos of what the old theatre looks like now inside and out. Check out the site to see the photos.

A May 2005 photo of the exterior of the Mayfair Theatre:
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