My father,Tony DeCosmo,was the Chief Projectionist at the Capitol Theater for many years and worked there till it closed in 1963.I remember the ladder that lead to the roof of the building.We watched John F. Kennedy campaign in front of the Altamont Hotel (just a few doors away) from the Capitol roof.I believe the company that actually owned the theater had some sort of clause that prohibited the building’s use as a theater after the Capitol closed.In fact I’ve got hundreds of memories of the Capitol,most of which are very good.
The Ritz,as of February 2004,was owned by a Corporation headed by Attorney Scott Schermerhon who maintained law offices on the first flor of the building.A restaurant “William At The Ritz” was also located on the first floor in an area that had,at one time,been transformed into a mini mall.Attorney Schermerhon had beeb working on renovations to the huge upstairs balcony area with the intent,at that time,of using it as a dinner theater area for stage productions,musical pesentations,opera,comedy and the like.There were no plans,at that time,to include any movie presentations.The upstairs concession stand area had alreday been converted into a bar and lounge.All of this information was included in a news story prepared for WYOU TV in Scranton which include video of the balcony and stage areas.Since that time there has been no new information about the project.Some people affiliated with te arts in Scranton have indicated that Attorney Schermerhon had been talking to a local theater group that was looking for a venue for its stage plays.But there was no futher word on what,if any,agreement had been finalized.We’ll be watching.
The Alton Theater had a twin (which still exists though renovated).The Alton and the Hersker (in West Hazleton,PA) were virtually identical.They were built owned by the Hersker brothers.The theater in West Hazleton was known as the Hersker,later the Key and,now,the Cinema and Draft House.It is a dinner theater (dinner and movies that is) and is a beautiful theater.The Alton,as mentioned earlier,had long since stopped being used as a theater when it burned in a fire that destroyed an entire city block.I covered that fire for a local television station (and got a mild case of frost bite while filming the blaze!) My father was a projectionist in Hazleton (at the Grand,Capitol,and Church Hill Mall Cinema over the years) I am surprised at the number of Pennsylvania Theaters that are NOT listed here.I’ll try to update the list,at least by town,since I don’t know many of the theater names “from the old days!)
My father,Tony DeCosmo,was the Chief Projectionist at the Capitol Theater for many years and worked there till it closed in 1963.I remember the ladder that lead to the roof of the building.We watched John F. Kennedy campaign in front of the Altamont Hotel (just a few doors away) from the Capitol roof.I believe the company that actually owned the theater had some sort of clause that prohibited the building’s use as a theater after the Capitol closed.In fact I’ve got hundreds of memories of the Capitol,most of which are very good.
The Ritz,as of February 2004,was owned by a Corporation headed by Attorney Scott Schermerhon who maintained law offices on the first flor of the building.A restaurant “William At The Ritz” was also located on the first floor in an area that had,at one time,been transformed into a mini mall.Attorney Schermerhon had beeb working on renovations to the huge upstairs balcony area with the intent,at that time,of using it as a dinner theater area for stage productions,musical pesentations,opera,comedy and the like.There were no plans,at that time,to include any movie presentations.The upstairs concession stand area had alreday been converted into a bar and lounge.All of this information was included in a news story prepared for WYOU TV in Scranton which include video of the balcony and stage areas.Since that time there has been no new information about the project.Some people affiliated with te arts in Scranton have indicated that Attorney Schermerhon had been talking to a local theater group that was looking for a venue for its stage plays.But there was no futher word on what,if any,agreement had been finalized.We’ll be watching.
The Alton Theater had a twin (which still exists though renovated).The Alton and the Hersker (in West Hazleton,PA) were virtually identical.They were built owned by the Hersker brothers.The theater in West Hazleton was known as the Hersker,later the Key and,now,the Cinema and Draft House.It is a dinner theater (dinner and movies that is) and is a beautiful theater.The Alton,as mentioned earlier,had long since stopped being used as a theater when it burned in a fire that destroyed an entire city block.I covered that fire for a local television station (and got a mild case of frost bite while filming the blaze!) My father was a projectionist in Hazleton (at the Grand,Capitol,and Church Hill Mall Cinema over the years) I am surprised at the number of Pennsylvania Theaters that are NOT listed here.I’ll try to update the list,at least by town,since I don’t know many of the theater names “from the old days!)