Fm Kirby Center for the Performing Arts Wilkesbarre Pa
 Exterior of venue (c. 2011) | |
 | |
| Full proper name | F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts |
|---|---|
| Quondam names | Comerford Theatre (1938–49) Paramount Theatre (1949–86) |
| Address | 71 Public Foursquare Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701-2507 |
| Location | Wyoming Valley |
| Capacity | 1,800 |
| Structure | |
| Opened | August 18, 1938 (1938-08-18) |
| Architect | Charles A. Ryan |
| Website | |
| Venue Website | |
| Comerford Theater | |
| U.S. National Annals of Celebrated Places | |
| Architectural style | Moderne Deco, "Depression moderne" |
| NRHP referenceNo. | 80003564[1] |
| Added to NRHP | December 3, 1980 |
The F.Chiliad. Kirby Center (formerly known equally the Comerford Theatre and Paramount Theatre) is a celebrated Art Deco-Moderne style movie theater located at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It was added to the National Register of Celebrated Places in 1980.
History [edit]
Comerford Theater was congenital in 1937 equally an Art Deco-Moderne style theater building on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre. The building takes an irregular trapezoidal shape. It is of steel frame and brick construction with a 4 bay wide, terra cotta and marble front facade. The forepart facade features a stylized ziggurat composition, a fundamental belfry, corrugated steel decoration, and a marquee.[2] It was added to the National Annals of Historic Places in 1980.[1]
The Capitol Theatre, also on Public Square, was built in 1920. It was renamed the Comerford Theatre later the original Comerford was renamed the Paramount in the 1940s. The second Comerford was multiplexed and renamed the Barre East-West Loge in the 1970s and demolished soon subsequently.
The theatre was developed by Michael E. Comerford, owner of the Comerford Theaters Inc.[3] Comerford was likewise a founder of the Move Moving-picture show Theatre Owners of America and a director of the Scranton Chamber of Commerce. At the summit of its success, the Comerford Theaters Inc. owned and operated over 80 movie theaters in Northeastern Pennsylvania and Upstate New York.
Post-obit the success of a Comerford Theater in Scranton, the company began construction of a new theater in Wilkes-Barre. Construction began in 1937 with the help of the Penn-York Utilities, Inc. and designed past Charles A. Ryan. It opened August 18, 1938, with a showing of Alexander's Ragtime Band. At the fourth dimension, the theatre could seat 2,047 patrons.
As a event of the 1949 antitrust laws, ownership of the theater was transferred to the Penn Paramount Company. Closing briefly for repairs, the theatre reopened on September 2, 1949, equally the Paramount Theatre.[four] Operations connected until the early on 1970s. Omnipresence dropped later the venue was flooded due to Hurricane Agnes. The theatre ceased operations in 1977 afterwards the property was sold to a new possessor. The theatre saw occasional use equally a concert and battle venue. Local businesses formed a group known equally "Save the Erstwhile Paramount" (or S.T.O.P.). A few years subsequently, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Throughout a majority of the 80s, the venue was mostly vacant equally it was desperate need of repairs. In 1985, Albert Boscov, August 50. Simms and Fred M. Kirby Ii raised $3.3 million to restored the theatre. Structure began on December 21, 1985. Information technology opened September 19, 1986, as the F.K. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, afterward Fred Morgan Kirby.[5]
References [edit]
- ^ a b "National Annals Information Organization". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July ix, 2010.
- ^ "National Celebrated Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resource Geographic Information System. Note: This includes Carl J. Handman and Michael J. Lewis (n.d.). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Comerford Theater" (PDF) . Retrieved 2012-03-fifteen .
- ^ "Edifice HISTORY: THE F.One thousand. KIRBY CENTER". Lewith & Freeman Real Estate Inc. May three, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
- ^ "Comerford Theater". National Park Service. December 1, 2007. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
- ^ "F. Yard. KIRBY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS - A RICH AND COLORFUL HISTORY". F.G. KIRBY Heart FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Official Website. October 2019. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
External links [edit]
- F.M. Kirby Eye for the Performing Arts on Cinema Treasures
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F.M._Kirby_Center
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