Grand Theater
234 West Broad Street,
Hazleton,
PA
18201
234 West Broad Street,
Hazleton,
PA
18201
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Comerford Theaters Inc.
Styles: Streamline Moderne
Previous Names: Grand Opera House
Nearby Theaters
The Grand Theater first opened as the Grand Opera House in 1889, but was destroyed by fire in 1892. It was quickly rebuilt and the home to many vaudeville and stage shows in addition to silent movies. The building was expanded and extensively remodeled in 1922 and became known as the Grand Theater.
There were approximately 800 seats on the main floor and 200 in the balcony section. The exterior of the building originally contained a rectangle shaped marquee and a small upright, both of which were replaced in the 1950’s. The final marquee was a huge V shaped structure with “Grand” in large gold neon displayed on both sides and smaller letters in front. The building facade had a somewhat ornate look with nine narrow windows just over the marquee level, but these were visible from the street. The theater building contained no other storefronts, so the lobby took up the entire front of the building. The auditorium was somewhat wider then the lobby section since it actually extended behind the YWCA building which stood next to it.
The theater operated almost continuously until 1977 when the operators closed it in early fall. Within a few weeks, an early winter storm dropped heavy wet snow on the area, and the old roof gave way falling into the auditorium. The building stood empty this way until 1981 when it was demolished. A nondescript one-story office building stands in its place.
Contributed by
Bob
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
I don’t remember much about the interior of the Grand, but have memory of it being painted green with pink trim. Hope I’m wrong! Also recall the balcony was supported by a series of columns on the main floor.
Here is a photo link of the exterior late 1920’s.
Here is another image of the Grand Theater around mid 1920’s. The YWCA is the building to the left.
View link
Here is a circa 1932 photo from the Irvin Glazer theater collection:
http://tinyurl.com/lseo6w
From the 1920s a postcard view of the Grand in Hazleton.
Below is a photo link. This photo shows the Grand Theater block around 1980. From right to left is Union Furniture, Catholic Guild, Grand Theater, YWCA, Deemers Store and at the extreme left is Skateland. The only building standing today is Skateland which is now the Ferrara Arts Center.
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a292/zathros/522210_554882754526212_1860411699_n.jpg