Newtown Theatre
120 N. State Street,
Newtown,
PA
18940
120 N. State Street,
Newtown,
PA
18940
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Related Websites
Newtown Theatre (Official)
Additional Info
Functions: Movies (First Run)
Styles: Art Deco
Previous Names: Newtown Town Hall
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
215.968.3859
Nearby Theaters
No theaters found within 30 miles
News About This Theater
- Jul 28, 2014 — Future bright at Newtown Theatre
- May 27, 2014 — Historic Movie Theaters in Phila burbs still showing daily movies
- May 14, 2014 — Newtown Theatre announces grand reopening activities
- Jun 3, 2013 — Montgomery Cinema, Newtown Theatre avoid closure by installing digital projectors
- Mar 19, 2012 — Digital conversion could spell the end for the Newtown Theatre
The theatre is located on State Street, in the middle of Historic Newtown. It has a balcony, and the charm of theatres long past.
Contributed by
Eric Silverman
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Recent comments (view all 16 comments)
Email arrived that the theater is soliciting donations from the public towards the cost of $100,000 digital projector.
Times of Trenton story on the theater and its attempts to raise money for the digital conversion here.
A fundraiser for the digital conversion will be held on September 29. Story from The Trentonian here.
Theater is approaching its fundraising goal, with $12,000 to $17,000 still to go. NJ.com story here.
After a shutdown of several months for the digital changeover, theater will reopen May 26 with four nights of classics. Philly.com story here.
May 26: Wizard of Oz at 3 p.m., 5:10 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. May 27: The Godfather at 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. May 28: Singin’ in the Rain at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. May 29: Casablanca at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Admission to each movie will be the same price that was charged the year the movie was released. Those prices are: Wizard of Oz, .23 cents; Godfather, $1.70; Singin’ in the Rain, .53 cents; and Casablanca, .27 cents. Additional donations will be accepted at the door.
May 30 began the 1st main feature with digital projection, the excellent “The Railway Man.”
Yesterday, I enjoyed “The Man Who Knew Infinity” from the balcony. Digital projection was great! I knew the balcony doesn’t have surround speakers but sound was very good. Sightlines from the balcony are terrific. The screen looks very large.
This email today from the theater-
An important message from the Newtown Theatre
It’s no secret we live in a world filled with endless entertainment options. Years ago, the Newtown Theatre was the only game in town when it came to movies. Today, we must contend with two nearby chain theaters, cable TV, on-demand movies, Netflix, Redbox, and countless other options. Compounding the problem is our busy world filled with work, errands, kids’ sporting events, social engagements and other responsibilities. All of this makes it extremely challenging to run a small single-screen movie theatre.
Instead of throwing up our hands, we are adapting to today’s reality. Beginning on Friday, January 13, we are going to limit the screening of regular feature films to Friday, Saturday and Sunday only. These are the days when 99% of our audience attends a movie. Movies will begin at 7:30 PM each of those nights, with an additional 4:00 PM screening on Sundays. This schedule change also gives us better flexibility to host special screenings, rentals, and other events on weeknights.
We have been screening movies for 110 years, and we’re not stopping now! But we must adapt to stay relevant and solvent. Rest assured that we will continue to bring you the same type and quality of movies we have been showing over the past year. It’s our hope you will continue making us your “hometown movie house” and bring along a few friends. Thank you for your continued support.
The Newtown Theatre is one of America’s oldest continuously operating theaters.
Joseph and Susan Archambault deeded Lot 18 of Newtown Common to establish a “free and independent anti-sectarian house of worship and free burying ground,“ creating the Free Church in April 1831, but officially became the Newtown Hall by the 1840s. The Newtown Hall hosting town meetings and lectures with statutory permissions granted in both 1842 and 1853. Despite being rebuilt in 1883, it was known as one of the showbiz houses in the suburbs of Philadelphia, running a mix of minstrel shows, medicine shows, circuses, dances, and Swarthmore Chautauqua performances, including a very notable event where Frederick Douglass appeared in-person on February 4, 1864, which the event drew massive crowds at the Newtown Hall.
Throughout the 1880s and 1900s, it had major upgrades such as a gallery in 1887, electric lighting in 1894, and a fire escape in 1904. Concerts, theatre, and educational events were also added around the time as well, including their own orchestra named after the town established in 1884.
Movies began screening at the Newtown in 1906 when it first film was screened there. However, after remodeling in 1936, two years later comes a court decree which officially authorized films and theatrical performances while preserving its religious and burial purposes in 1938. In 1972, projectionist Amos Farruggio rented the hall from the Community Welfare Council, who had been operating the theater since 1953, spruced it up and kept the theater alive until his death. His wife was able to take it over until her death in 2005.