Loew's Regent Theatre
410 Market Street,
Harrisburg,
PA
17101
410 Market Street,
Harrisburg,
PA
17101
3 people
favorited this theater
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Loew’s Regent closed August 29, 1960 at the end of lease with “Elmer Gantry.” The theater went out profitably in its final year including more than 10,000 tickets sold just for its final 17-day run of “Gantry.” Central Parking took on the property with demolition starting on September 6, 1960.
Thanks for all the comments and detailed news. Loew’s Regent is where my lifelong obsession with MGM started, (in addition to seeing ON THE TOWN at the neighborhood Penway). After moving to California a friend got me into the studio (which was then Columbia). Once we were passed in I was able to roam freely. Not much was left of MGM but I had researched the sound stages and saw where some of my favorite films had been shot. The only MGM artifact I saw was a yellow and black MGM fan through one of the open sound stage doors. Still, quite a thrill…..
In August 1960, Central Parking acquired the Loew’s property with the intention of demolishing it to create a parking lot. Article posted.
Pullman railcar full of celebrities appeared on stage on May 11th, 1925. Ad posted.
Closed in 1920 and rebuilt and reopened on December 21st, 1921.
Regent Theatre reopening 20 Dec 1921, Tue Harrisburg Telegraph (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.com
The Regent Theatre opened January 18, 1915 with “Officer 666.” The New Regent Theatre updating was architected by Clayton J. Lappley and Ritchie Lawrie of Lawrie & Lappley. Both launch ads in photos.
The rebuilt Regent Theatre opened on December 21, 1921. The December 20 issue of the Harrisburg Telegraph said that the project had been designed by local architect Clayton J. Lappley.
The Regent Theatre at Harrisburg was in operation by 1915, and was taken over by Loew’s in 1925. The May 9, 1925, issue of Harrisburg daily, The Evening News, featured several items about the theater, and a full page ad by the Regent’s former operator, Peter Magaro, which said that Marcus Loew would begin operating the house on May 11. The ad also mentioned that Magaro had been in the theater business at Harrisburg for twenty years.
Another article in the paper says that the Regent was on the site of a “store show” Magaro had run in his early days in Harrisburg. He later bought the property and had the Regent built on it, but the article doesn’t say what year the house was erected. Magaro and the Regent were mentioned in the September 4, 1915, issue of The Moving Picture World. A 1916 MPW item gave the address of the Regent as 410 Market Street, so it was definitely the same location.
Items in various construction journals in 1917 indicate that Magaro was intending rebuild the Regent at that time. Plans, by Hoffman & Co., had been approved in April and bids were to be taken in September, but the next mention of the rebuilding I’ve found is from 1921, when the November issue of the construction journal Stone ran this item:
I’ve been unable to discover the reason for the delay of four years. An April 8, 1925 Harrisburg Telegraph article about the projected sale of the Regent to Loew’s said only that Magaro had rebuilt the theater “…several years ago….” Loew’s was offering $275,000 for the house, but Magaro had not yet accepted. Perhaps he got even more.This is a great shot. It’s wonderful to see (obscured behind the flags and under the marquee) the film poster material they used to plaster around the entrance and a film (and short subjects!) on the marquee. I remember all that well. My photos were unfortunately taken after Loew’s REGENT closed. Thanks for the link.
Anne Francis at the Egyptian Theatre (American Cinematheque), Hollywood,
RIP.
I saw FORBIDDEN PLANET at Loew’s REGENT:
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I add to this album of vintage theater photos & memorabilia from time to time:
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WIZARD OF OZ Reissue Loew’s REGENT Ad:
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Looking down Market St. plus Loew’s Regent ad:
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A great page! Also big.
I’ve only had time tonight to skim over it. (I just got back from the downtown Disney Hall).
But the ad for “Forbidden Planet” was wonderful. I only wish I could have read all the small print (the “Id” article!) and wish whoever posted it had put a newspaper date along with it.
Forgot to mention I first saw “North by Northwest” at Loew’s Regent.
I wish they would restore Loew’s State as a film theater. Apparently it has a long history of association with MGM and I’m a huge MGM buff.
I will definitely check out the CT page, thanks.
Yes Penway14 there are many cool shots of the L.A. LOEWS STATE on their C.T. site.
tisloews, you are probably aware there was a Loew’s State in the old downtown section of Los Angeles. I think this was the main MGM flagship theater in LA during the studio era. It’s still there with the old marquee intact but is now a church, (at least it was the last time I saw it).
There has been some attempt to restore the many vintage LA Broadway theaters still standing but the economy has slowed down that process.
An Orpheum Theatre there, one of many across the country I’m sure, was restored and I recently saw “North by Northwest” there, introduced by Eva Marie Saint and Pat Hitchcock.
PS: I just altered the size of the first photo to include a Loew’s MGM newspaper ad.
Click on any blog photo and it will ENLARGE.
A few entries down are two drive-in ads from a Harrisburg newspaper, October 1954:
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Thanks for the photos Penway14.
Two photos of Loew’s Regent:
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Ironically, I’ve just heard that MGM musical star, Kathryn Grayson, just died. I saw her in “Kiss Me Kate” at Loew’s and at a few 3-D festivals many years after that. “Anchors Aweigh” (which was too early for me to have seen at Loew’s) is another favorite.
I once met her at the Virginia Film Festival in Charlottesville, a charming, gracious lady.
I’d be very interested in any pre-1940s/‘50s historical comments on the Harrisburg Loew’s. I mainly knew the theater during the 1950s. MGM was formed in 1924. Marcus Loew was running nickelodeons in the early part of the century.
I have photographs of Loew’s Regent. Unfortunately they were taken after it closed, so they are sort of depressing. In the background the huge Pomroy’s department store building towers over this old 4th St. block on the same side of the street.
I will put these on my blog.
Thanks for your comments. If we don’t remember and document these theaters who will???
They are an important part of America’s past and cultural history. The emergence of the shopping mall and other influences changed everything. I’m sure many people today do not remember how important and wonderful downtowns once were.
I feel fortunate to have been a kid growing up during this era.
Good work guys!
I am so glad guys like Ross and Nick add so much than just “this theatre opened here and closed in that year.”