Walnut Street Theatre

America’s oldest continuously-operating theatre.

A parcel of land owned by John Brown on the corner of Walnut Street and 9th Streets in Philadelphia was sold to Victor Pépin and Jean Baptiste Casmiere Breschard for $11,058 on October 4, 1808. A theatre, going by the name of the New Circus Theatre, was built on the parcel by the pair, who formed the Circus of Pepin and Breschard, which toured the United States from 1807 to 1815. Pépin and Breschard constructed numerous venues in cities along the U.S. East Coast, which often featured, along with performances of their circus, classical plays as well as horse dramas, with their first show was performed on January 31, 1809. When it was first constructed in 1809, the New Circus Theatre had no stage, just a ring of sawdust marking the performance area. Instead it was made of brick due to the Philadelphia fire code, unlike other venues built by Pepin and Breschard, which had a peaked roof and a dome with a flagpole on top of it, becoming Philadelphia’s tallest building.

In 1811, the two partners commissioned architect William Strickland to design and construct a stage and orchestra pit for theatrical performances. They also bought another parcel of land from Brown for $6,250 on February 1, 1811, to increase the size of the theatre. The theatre was renamed the Olympic Theatre with a reopening on January 1, 1812 with the live performances of “The Rivals” and “The Poor Soldier”.

The building was put up for auction in a sheriff’s sale on February 5, 1813, but there were no bids and the lien holder James Clemson gained control of it. Charles Bird, an attorney, bought the building at a public auction on November 29, 1814, for $12,650. Pépin re-purchased the building on October 21, 1818, with the help of a group of stockholders, for $34,000. He then, in turn, sold it to an attorney and two merchants for the same price and they established a trust with 115 members known as the Proprietors of the Walnut Street Theatre. William B. Wood and William Warren, who managed the first Chestnut Street Theatre (then-known as the New Theatre) until it burned down in 1820 (which was later rebuilt that same year and closed following the massive July 5, 1854 fire that destroyed much of Chestnut Street and George Street), leased the theatre on Walnut Street and paid for renovations to the building.

They renamed it Walnut Street Theatre and reopened with a live performance of “Wild Oats” and “The Agreeable Surprise” in November 1820. At the same time, the dome on the building was removed for sound quality improvements. The name of the theatre was changed back to the Olympic Theatre with its reopening on September 3, 1822, for equestrian and theatrical performances. The building was scheduled to be demolished in 1827, but the owners instead renovated it, and became the Walnut Street Theatre again by 1828. The Walnut Street Theatre was the first theatre to install gas footlights in 1837, and was also the first theatre to feature air conditioning in 1855. Edwin Booth and John Sleeper Clarke purchased the theatre on October 5, 1863, for $100,000, and in March 1871, Clarke bought out Booth’s share of the theatre. The theatre switched to electric chandeliers and footlights in 1892.

In 1900 it was presenting vaudeville. In 1920 it was renovated to the plans of architect William Harold Lee. One notable attraction in June 1923 was the premiere of the first Marx Brothers movie “I’ll Say She Is”. In 1930 it became a burlesque theatre and in 1934 Yiddish drama. In 1937 it was screening Russian films. The theatre became part of The Shubert Organization in 1941 and began presenting pre-Broadway try-outs. A court ordered The Shubert Organization to divest from some of their properties in 1956, including the Walnut Street Theatre.

On October 15, 1966, the Walnut Street Theatre was designated a National Historic Landmark, and in 1969, the theatre was purchased by a non-profit organization and turned over to the new Walnut Street Theatre Corporation. This was followed by interior renovation in 1970, and on September 23, 1976, the Walnut Street Theatre became the site of the first presidential debate between Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter hosted by Edwin Newman of NBC News. Also during its later years, the Walnut Street Theatre also housed the Philadelphia Drama Guild until 1981. This was followed by the Walnut Street Theatre Company, a non-profit regional producing company, being formed in 1983 by Bernard Havard.

In 1984, Walnut Street Theatre School was established and over 1,200 students enroll annually, and 1986 saw the introduction of the Independence Studio on three series. The company produces five productions per season on the theatre’s main stage.

The many famous performers who have appeared at the theatre include Ethel Barrymore, Edwin Booth, George M. Cohan, Claudette Colbert, Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda, Marlon Brando, Edwin Forrest, Julie Harris, Helen Hayes, Katharine Hepburn, Mark Indelicato, Samuel L. Jackson, Jack Lemmon, Groucho Marx and the Marx Brothers, Rob McClure, Mike Nichols, George Peppard, Harold Perrineau, Robert Redford, Edward G. Robinson, Laura San Giacamo, Marina Sirtis, Lucas Steele, Jarrod Spector, George C. Scott, Jessica Tandy and Ethel Waters.

In May 2019, Walnut Street Theatre announced a major expansion, to begin in 2020, but was postponed after six weeks due to COVID-19.

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