Gem Theater
552 W. 4th Street,
Erie,
PA
16507
552 W. 4th Street,
Erie,
PA
16507
1 person
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A smaller neighborhood theater near downtown. The Gem Theater was opened in September 1915 and operated thru to 1950 and beyond…. It reopened as the Cinema on November 20, 1958, but it was short-lived, closing in 1959.
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David Stear
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
I had no idea that the City of Erie had so many theatres throughout the years….truly amazing!
I went to this theater when I was a small boy in the late 1940’s. It cost 4 cents for children and 8 cents for adults. Always showed double features,news, serial and a cartune.No snack bar just a 5 cent candy machine and a water fountain.It had hard wooden seats. It was later fixed up and reopened as The Cinema with new seats a snack bar and tried showing opera movies, but failed after a short time and closed never to open again. In the basement there was a club known as The Gem Social Club that planned to move into the old theater, but it never did. That club closed in the early 1980’s and the building was torn down a short time later.
The Gem Theatre at 552 W. Fourth Street, Erie, Pennsylvania, opened in 1915, according to an announcement in the October 9 issue of The Music Trade Review.
The October 2, 1915, issue of The Moving Picture World said that the Gem Theatre in Erie had opened the previous week. It described the house as “…one of the most beautiful and up-to-date theaters in the city….” and added that it was owned by Joseph and George Seyboldt of Titusville, Pa.
Reopened as Cinema on November 20th, 1952 and closed or stopped placing ads in the newspapers in 1953. Grand opening ad posted.