Stanley Theatre
605 Market Street,
Camden,
NJ
08102
605 Market Street,
Camden,
NJ
08102
1 person
favorited this theater
Showing 21 comments
A slide show of many Camden cinemas, including the Stanley, can be viewed here
Grand opening ad:
Stanley theatre opening Fri, Feb 19, 1926 – 13 · Morning Post-Telegram (Camden, New Jersey, United States of America) · Newspapers.com
kencmcintyre, The Lits Camden closed in 1972; Lits Trenton closed in the early 1970’s.
The most lavish theater in central Camden. Matched the Walt Whitman with its beautiful carpets, chandeliers, and balcony railings.
The Stanley was a wonderful and very beautiful movie theater. I guess I am giving away my age but my graduating class of 1965 from Woodrow Wilson High School was the last to have its graduation in the Stanley before it was demolished. The interior was born in the 20s for sure. Such a shame that she is gone in time, all but forgotten but by a few of us who were lucky enough to have viewed the lavish interior and enjoyed the shows there.
On Saturday 17 March 1951, Bela “Dracula” Lugosi presented his in person Horror and Magic Stage show at RKO Stanley. Currently I am conducting research on all things Lugosi; if anyone out there actually saw this show and/or has memorabilia (poster, handbill, photos) related to this show, please contact Bill at Thanks in advance for any assistance!
This 1939 photo shows some street ads for the Stanley and the Savar:
http://tinyurl.com/mqf2wp
The Stanley can be seen roughly in the center of this 1957 photo, across from the distinctive building with the dome:
http://tinyurl.com/5kkc2d
I think all the Lit brothers stores closed at the same time. There was one in Atlantic City as well as the flagship store on Market Street.
The tall tower in the aerial photo is City Hall, which is still there. The building with the large dome is the old Camden County courthouse, which was torn down in the ‘50s and replaced by a Lit Brothers department store, which closed in the '70s and was renovated into office space for Camden County.
It’s such a shame. There were many bustling small towns/cities in the 40’s and 50’s and it’s amazing to see how far some have fallen. Specifically, in New Jersey, Camden and Patterson. Other cities like Jersey City and Newark fell pretty hard too, but their geographic nearness to New York is allowing them to rebound as they share in New York’s prosperity. I’ve never been to Camden, but it doesn’t sound like there is much hope there.
Luis, I haven’t been in Camden for many years. I remember that tower, but I couldn’t tell you if it’s still standing. Camden has had some tough times in the past twenty five years or so.
Ken…I have a question about the aerial photo. I don’t know if you are familiar with Camden at all, but in the photo it looks like there are two very impressive buildings just across the street from the Stanley. I assume one is City Hall. Are they both still standing or has Camden become one big barren wasteland? (With the exception of the riverfront aquarium and the Campbell Soup Headquarters).
Because my mother refused to take the expressway from Jersey to Philly, we spent a lot of time getting lost in Camden when we were trying to find the Ben Franklin bridge using surface streets. I remember, vaguely, some theaters in Camden, but I think this one was gone before my time.
Here is a 1966 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/2yjgve
Here is an aerial photo from 1952. The theater is at the middle right:
http://tinyurl.com/2hng9l
Listed in the 1944 FDY as part of Warner Bros. Listed as part of Stanley Warner Corp. in the 1961 Film Daily Yearbook.
Old postcard at this link:
View link
A 1926 photo at this link:
View link
The Stanley site is currently a parking lot (it also hosts a billboard). I don’t think any building larger than a Fotomat booth has stood on any part of that ground since the theater was demolished.
When the Stanley was built the theaters in Philadelphia were closed on Sundays due to state blue laws, so many big-name acts would play Philly on Saturdays and cross the river to play the Stanley on Sundays.
Demolished soon after it closed to make way for a Holiday Inn that never got built.