Gem Theatre
149 1st Avenue,
Derry,
PA
15627
149 1st Avenue,
Derry,
PA
15627
1 person
favorited this theater
The Gem Theatre was constructed around October 1916 and was presumably opened in December of that year; it also had a balcony in addition to its main floor seating. The theatre was still active, showing movies until March 1970, experiencing such advents as sound and even 3-D. The final film screened was the Disney animated feature “101 Dalmations”. The Gem Theatre sat vacant for a year and in 1971 it was taken over by a local theatre group, but closed for good in 1972. After that until 1983, when it became a hardware store.
The Gem Theatre was inactive again shortly thereafter until December 1998, when the theatre was used as a performing arts venue for concerts by independent rock bands; that raised the ire of many local residents who assisted in closing the theatre again after reported unruliness by its adolescent patrons. The Gem Theatre is now in residential use. Plans were proposed to renovate the theatre in early-2025.
Contributed by
William B. Warfield
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Recent comments (view all 14 comments)
Sorry to ask again, but it’s been a little over a year now, and I’m hoping somebody will come through this time.
Does anybody have any pictures of the inside of the Gem? I’m curious to see what it looked like!
Thanks!
Correction!
The Gem’s seating capacity is actually 300 seats, not 400 as originally thought. When I first submitted that info,that was only an estimate; I just checked the 1930 Film Daily Yearbook online,which shows the Gem as having 300 seats. So, the above should be changed to read “300 seats.”
One more time: Does anybody have any photos of the Gem’s interior? I’m still curious to see what it looked like! Thanks again!
Also verified it with the Motion Picture Herald’s 1943 Yearbook on line:
The Gem does indeed have 300 seats, not 400!
So, moderator, if you could make that correction above, that wouldd be appreciated. Thanks again.
I finally got a subscription to Newspapers.com and discovered something contrary to what I first stated in the overview: According to the Latrobe Bulletin, the Gem closed (i.e. stopped showing movies regularly) circa March 1970. From what I could gather, the final film shown was the 1970 rerelease of Disney’s “101 Dalmatians.”
After that, the Gem sat idle until approximately one year later, when a local theater group staged some productions there until 1972. Then the Gem became totally inactive.
One other “advent” the Gem experienced was widescreen movies from the late 50’s through the late 60’s; the theater had the ability to screen both Cinemascope and Vista Vision films. It is unknown whether or not there was the ability to play the stereo soundtracks for said films(most likely it was just mono).
(Still once again: Any pictures of the Gem’s interior? Thanks again, though, elmorovivo,for finding the picture of what the Gem looks like now. That supports my findings very well.)
Thank you to whoever made the corrections on my above overview.
According to: Latrobe Bulletin Latrobe, Pennsylvania Fri, Mar 2, 1917
Page 6
The Gem Theatre seated 450 on the floor and an additional 100 on the balcony for a total of 550 seats.
That makes me even more curious to see any photos of what the inside looked like!
Come to our facebook page at ‘Friends of the Gem Theater’ we have photos there, we plan on restoring the theater.
Thanks very much, but I’m afraid I don’t subscribe to Facebook.
Are you able to post any of your pictures here? If so, that would be nice.
Will the Gem be turned back into a cinema again? That would be so cool, especially if all 9 “Star Wars” movies in the series would be rereleased for its 50th anniversary in 2027. I have never been inside the Gem when I visited my relatives in Derry when I was a kid (by 1977, when I was 15, the Gem was history, and my cousin and I saw the first “Star Wars” movie at Cinema 35 in Latrobe).
Would the Gem be twinned if it were reopened?
Please let me know. Thanks.
I meant…. I saw “Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope” at the Laurel 30 Cinema in Latrobe in 1977. I was confusing it with Cinema 35 in Paramus, New Jersey (which itself has long since closed but patently not being renovated since there is already retail occupying that building).