Adonis Cinema
2026 Sansom Street,
Philadelphia,
PA
19103
2026 Sansom Street,
Philadelphia,
PA
19103
2 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Functions: Movies (Adult)
Previous Names: Sackett Screening Room
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
215.557.9319
Nearby Theaters
The Sackett Screening Room was opened in January 1974 playing classic movies. It was not a great success and became an adult theatre on April 24, 1974. By 1975 it was screening gay adult movies and was renamed Adonis Cinema by 2004. These are still being screened in 2019.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
Maybe the absence of details is for the best!
Maybe?
I like the understated look, like the recently closed Bijou Theater in Chicago. Unlike the garish neon filled facades of straight porn shops!
After he lost his lease on the Aarde Cinema across the street, Barney Sackett set up shop at 2026 Sansom in January 1974, operating as a revival house called the Sackett Screening Room. An Inquirer story said that the theater had 29 seats and no lobby. The 29 seats turned out to be plenty, as two weeks later Sackett announced that he had sold a total of 60 tickets and was switching to porn. He took a couple more shots at revivals later in the year (the Al Jolson musical “Hallelujah, I’m a Bum” seems to have been a favorite) but they didn’t fare any better. The theater was advertising as a gay porn house in 1975-76, and Sackett lasted here at least long enough to complain about business being bad in a 1978 Inquirer story. The Adonis started advertising at this address in 1986.
nycman: If you’re looking to watch a film, probably not worth the trip. If you’re looking for the other “amenities”, then maybe?
I am going to be staying a few blocks away from here on a trip in early 2022, I may get a few photos of the outside and the closed Roxy across the street. I don’t think I’ll brave entering though.
Brandon, I was on the block today but did not take a photo of this or the Roxy. The facade of the closed Roxy, which is for sale, looked the same as my last photo in August which I have now added to the Roxy’s page.
I haven’t been there in 20 years, but it is 2 stories. The main theater is on the entrance level, and downstairs in the basement there used to be about ten individual booths, which are probably still there.
I live in Brooklyn, NY. Do you think it’s worth the amtrak ride to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania? Is the action hot at the Adonis? The Fair Theatre is the only adult cinema left in NYC but I dislike the crowd that goes there. You say?
Patrick Crowley on April 7, 2008 at 10:49 am Yeah, I couldn’t agree more, guys. I’ve removed all the off-topic/sexual comments.
Note to adult theater patrons: Cinema Treasures isn’t the place to discuss such topics. If you post anything that is of a sexual nature, we’ll delete your comment and account without warning."
Became “The world’s most intimate adult cinema” on April 24th, 1974. Ad posted.