Kent Theatre

Mae Desmond’s Desmond Theatre had opened October 14, 1922 with live theatre in the long-standing People’s Theatre. She ceased operations in 1926. The former People’s/Desmond building which had opened August 23, 1890 to the plans of George Plowman - was then sold to Mercantile and Stores Properties, Inc. and demolished in 1927. In its place was a $2 million mixed use property containing a proposed Kenton Theatre designed by Hoffman-Hebron later shortened to the Kent Theatre.

The Kent was a $1.4 million investment and leased to the Stanley Circuit for 40 years. It opened January 16, 1928 with Reed Howes in “The Racing Fool.” Stanley Warner closed the Kent Theatre with a double-feature of “Shuttered Room” and “Vengeance of Fu Manchu” on March 5, 1968 at the end of lease. Home to drug dealers and prostitutes, in the late 1980s, the building was razed in February of 1989.

I don’t remember Jimmy Durante but I do remember going to a Halloween show where somebody was doing some magic tricks on the stage

WONDERED IF ANYONE ATTENDED OR REMEMBERS ONE OF THE STAGE SHOWS IN EITHER 1959 OR 1960 WHEN “JIMMY DURANTE” PERFORMED? I WAS ONLY 5 OR 6.
THX
HOWIE

I grew up on Cumberland Street near front st. I remember going to the Kent almost every Saturday. If you didn’t like what was playing you could go to the Midway, the Iris or the Howard. I remember the stage shows that were put on occasionally. I too went to Visitation and every time a new religious movie came out it was a class trip. Great memories great times.

TheALAN & pham: Google Maps are not always accurate, especially when the street address and Zip Code are incorrectly given when the theatre page is first submitted. In this case, the address & Zip Code are correct, but it is a block off. The Google Street View has been set to the correct location.

The theater opened in 1890 at Kensington Avenue and E. Cumberland Street and was originally called the People’s Theatre. The architect was George Plowman & Co. of Philadelphia (1406 Chestnut St.) and the client was Mercantile & Store Company. —Source: PAB

Note: The accompanying map shows the theater on Kensington Avenue between E. Letterly Street and E. Hagert Street. THIS IS INCORRECT! The theater was on Kensington Avenue between E. Cumberland Street and E. Letterly Street.

The Kent Theatre is a big part of my childhood. I worked there as an usher in 1959 to 1961. Jack Levy, (Uncle Jack), was the manager at that time. He died shortly after I left to join the Air Force in 1961. I use to enjoy watching him give out the lucky bucks on Saturday. The Kent had to be one of the most beautiful buildings. The design was just great. I often wondered what it was like when it was an Opera House. We had a great crew that worked there when I was there. There was Ronnie K, Ronnie J, Jimmy, and me, Richard F.. It is such a shame that a wonderful land mark such as the Kent Theatre had to be torn down.

Hi i was wondering if someone could help me. My mom has a full 92 piece set of dishes that are from when the kent theater did a giveaway dish night as im seeing it was called. The only thing is we cant find nothing on these dishes. Her grandmother gave them to my grandmother who passed them down to her and she wanted to know if anyone had any info or where i could maybe find something on them ive been searching all over and cant find anything. The like a cream color wit 18k gold trim around them and stamped onto the bottom of each piece says Georgelyn Sunset Canonsburg Pottery Co. Ive searched all over with this info i have and cant seem to find anything someone help me please thank you

The Kent Theatre was demolished in 1989, not 1990. I watched the theatre be demolished.

Here is a shot of the Kent marquee, long after closing.

…And I meant to say, “There May As Well Have Been a War,” sorry about that!

I spent more hours of my childhood at The Kent, than anywhere else. The post above that mentions “Uncle Jack” and the “Lucky Buck” brought back wonderful memories. It did have a stadium-seating balcony, which started at the floor. You could walk up from inside the theater, or via a back staircase in the lobby, that took you to the top of the balcony, where you could walk down. A few row up was a large clock, that many kids wanted to sit behind. What a shame that it’s gone.

I still remember attending the “Kent Theater” as a child. I saw “The Ten Commandments” and “Ben Hur” there.The theater was huge inside and I recall there, instead of having a balcony, had stadium type seating that started at floor level and went up to the ceiling. It was a beautiful theater with a large chandelier hanging from the middle of the ceiling. I drove past the site where it stood last summer only to see a vacant lot. Such a shame for a gem such as this!