Garden Theatre
102 S. Lehigh Avenue,
Frackville,
PA
17931
102 S. Lehigh Avenue,
Frackville,
PA
17931
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The building was built in 1886. The Garden Theatre was opened in 1925. It was equipped with a Wurlitzer organ. The Garden Theatre was closed on July 1, 1969 with Omar Sharif in “Dr. Zhivago”. It was soon demolished.
Contributed by
K. Watkins
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
The Garden Theater was located on Rt. 61 which was the main steet
of Frackville. It was a large brick building with a very big
marquee. The marquee had a sign which read “Proclaimed most
comfortable, best sound in region”. This quote was not attibuted
to anyone but someone must have said it. I was never inside the theater but passed in many times on trips between Shamokin and
Pottsville. I always was sure to note what was showing whenever
I passed. The theater appears to have been built in the 1930s
as I recall it was red brick with very little trim on the exterior
but the over sized marquee was quite memorable.
There was a very popular drive-in a few miles away on the Frackville-
Ashland Highway (Rt. 61 previously rt 122) This drive in may have
been a factor in the decline of the Garden.
I hope someone with more knowledge of this theater will add to this
posting.
The Hi-Way was the drive in I referred to in my earlier comments.
It was a very large and well maintained drive in with a great
concession stand. The main problem with the drive in was the fog
that often settled in making it impossible to see the screen. I
remember seeing “Five Finger Excercise” at the Hi-way in a dense
fog. The drive-in was located on a large mountain.
Almost 20 years ago, I bought what was left of Wurlitzer organ opus 1004 that was installed at the Garden Theatre in 1925. These parts are now part of the Wurlitzer at the Capitol Theatre in York PA (www.strandcapitol.org)
The caption of this undated photo gives at least three prior names for this theater, the Jack Harris, the J.J. Kehler and the Jim White. The Garden closed in 1968 and was demolished shortly thereafter:
http://tinyurl.com/2h3k6r
Was just up this way a month ago to visit my buddy in Shamokin. I pass the Hess station all the time as I take highway 61 into Shamokin.