Uptown Theater (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Encyclopedia
The Uptown Theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, also known as Uptown Theater and Office Building, is an Art Deco
building built in 1927. The Uptown Theater is located on 2240 N. Broad Street
. It became a major venue on the chitlin circuit, from 1951-1978. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1982. It briefly reopened as a church in the 1980s until water damage occurred and caused it to close in 1991. In 2001, the Uptown Entertainment and Development Corporation bought the building with plans for renovation.
of the area. Unknowingly, it opened up on the eve of the Great Depression
, which in turn had a great effect on the neighborhood. Over the next few decades The Great Depression, outsourcing, and white flight took their toll on North Philadelphia in a fashion similar to other major US cities of the mid to late 20th century, if not in a more pronounced fashion. While some small areas had long housed primarily African-American residents, redlining, racist loan companies, and rising unemployment led white residents out of the city, and forced blacks in. Black doctors, lawyers, politicians and preachers took over the grand mansions along Diamond Street, while middle and lower class blacks moved into the rowhomes that were once predominately white.
and Baltimore's Royal Theatre, and became part of the "chitlin circuit," hosting live music shows that were primarily rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel directed towards an African American audience. The performances at the Uptown Theater came to rival those at Harlem's Apollo Theater
. In 1957, Georgie Woods
of WDAS (AM)
fame started to produce shows at the Uptown Theater. In 1960, Sid Booker became the manager of the theater, and remained so until 1979. >. In 1961, the venue was sold by Mrs. Bert Steifel to a large chain corporation, after managing it for only two months following the death of the Steifel brothers, who owned it for many years
night, in which many white students would come in and watch performances. Often enough, many patrons of the theater would hide in places such as the bathroom to see additional shows in one day. The shows themselves were very competitive in nature, with each act trying to get the biggest rise out of the crowd. Performers and audience members alike dressed up when attending shows at the theater. Performers also tried to impress each other with wowing the crowd with the best dance moves as well. Artists were not often not booked for a lot of money. Georgie Woods
was able to book the Supremes
for $400 for a full 10 day run. Not only did musicians perform at the Uptown Theater, but comedians often opened for the acts, such as Redd Foxx
and Flip Wilson
. The venue itself was unique in that it had its own house band. Bill Masse was band leader of the band until he died in 1961. In 1963 Sam Reed became leader of the house band, which was well known amongst artists in the chitlin circuit. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, by 1971 the shows were grossing $250,000 a year. During the rest of the month when performers were not in town, movies usually played. There were also jazz shows where local and famous jazz performers took the stage. The shows were not characterized by the rowdy crowds that accompanied the shows promoted by Georgie Woods.
The Uptown Theater was also famous for its amateur nights in which local artists would compete for various prizes. Many artists got their start in the music industry due to these amateur nights. One such person that started their career at the Uptown Theater was Daryl Hall
of Hall & Oates
. Hall, who attended the nearby Temple University, won a talent show playing with his then group, the Temptones. This was before pairing up with Oates. The group, backed by the James Brown Band, won the contest thus getting Hall his first record deal.
produced shows at the theater, called freedom shows, in which artists played to promote civil rights, and the money generated at these shows went to charities of Georgie Woods
' choice, regardless of creed, color or religion. In 1967, Georgie Woods
staged a special show for wounded veterans from the Vietnam War
that were from the Philadelphia area.
The theater also became an important landmark for civil rights in Philadelphia. Cecil Moore was a Philadelphia lawyer that was extremely involved in civil rights, and was a close friend of Georgie Woods
, and was also involved in the freedom shows. In 1963, Georgie Woods
, Jackie Wilson
, and Del Shields won awards at the Uptown Theater from the Philadelphia branch of the NAACP for being entertainers that were actively involved in civil rights
. Also, the famous1964 Philadelphia race riot happened blocks from the theater, and when it occurred Commissoner Howard Leary had Georgie Woods
come talk to and calm down the crowd, which eventually dispersed as per his request. His influence on the community was so great, showed how important the Uptown Theater was for the residents of North Philadelphia.
stopped producing shows at the Uptown Theater, mainly because of the drugs and violence in the surrounding neighborhood of the theater. In May 1972, shows stopped playing at all at the venue, and in 1978 the Uptown Theater ultimately closed.
Other reasons led to the decline of theaters similar to the venue. The music industry had changed significantly from when the theater was in its prime. Black artists were now able to cross over, and play in venues such as ones in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. Musicians that played there were able to perform at larger venues and make more profit. Georgie Woods also stated in an interview that the existence of booking agencies made it harder to book acts because they would ask for more money. There was a point in time when black artists could only be heard if they went to Georgie Woods, but once music became integrated Also, the decline of independent record stores disabled local artists from being able to promote their music. On the other hand, music became more integrated, so many radio stations only played a sampling of rhythm and blues, as opposed to stations that used to solely play rhythm and blues. Many artists started to cross over into pop, so they were less inclined to play at theaters such as the Uptown.
The neighborhood also changed dramatically. Many of the businesses started to decline because they catered to the Uptown clientele and lost them once the theater closed.
The Uptown briefly reopened in the 1980s as a church. A church group held services there until a 1991 storm damaged the roof, allowing water to pucker the painted walls and corrode the gilded auditorium. After the congregation left, the only people who entered were thieves, crackheads and taggers More recently, members of the community gathered at the Uptown to mourn the death of Michael Jackson.
The projected completion date is Spring 2011.
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, also known as Uptown Theater and Office Building, is an Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
building built in 1927. The Uptown Theater is located on 2240 N. Broad Street
Broad Street (Philadelphia)
Broad Street is a major arterial street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is nearly 13 miles long.It is Pennsylvania Route 611 along its entire length with the exception of its northernmost part between Old York Road and Pennsylvania Route 309 and the southernmost part south of Interstate 95...
. It became a major venue on the chitlin circuit, from 1951-1978. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1982. It briefly reopened as a church in the 1980s until water damage occurred and caused it to close in 1991. In 2001, the Uptown Entertainment and Development Corporation bought the building with plans for renovation.
Beginnings
Opened on February 16, 1929, the 2,040 seat, 50,000 square foot Uptown Theater was built for sound, specifically the new talkies of the time, made by Warner Brothers. Designed by Louis Magaziner, it featured a lavish interior, with four floors of office space above. The interior consisted of stained glass, high ceilings, and terracotta. As the industrial age peaked in America, North Philadelphia became a working man's town. A large influx of European immigrants moved to the northern part of the city, and moved into the newly developed rowhomes. In addition to the new immigrants, North Philadelphia also became the home to many fashionable mansions of the upper and upper-middle class. Executives from nearby factories lived in Victorian brownstones some with turrets and mansard roofs which lined the streets of North Philly. Along Broad Street were the grand mansions of many famed industrialists. Lower North Philadelphia in particular housed a number the nouveau riche; ambitious first or second generation immigrants or that had made their fortunes starting manufacturing firms. The theater was originally built for the nouveau richeNouveau riche
The nouveau riche , or new money, comprise those who have acquired considerable wealth within their own generation...
of the area. Unknowingly, it opened up on the eve of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, which in turn had a great effect on the neighborhood. Over the next few decades The Great Depression, outsourcing, and white flight took their toll on North Philadelphia in a fashion similar to other major US cities of the mid to late 20th century, if not in a more pronounced fashion. While some small areas had long housed primarily African-American residents, redlining, racist loan companies, and rising unemployment led white residents out of the city, and forced blacks in. Black doctors, lawyers, politicians and preachers took over the grand mansions along Diamond Street, while middle and lower class blacks moved into the rowhomes that were once predominately white.
The Golden Years
In 1951 the Uptown Theatre was bought by Sam Stiefel, who also owned Washington's Howard TheatreHoward Theatre
The Howard Theatre is a historic theatre, located at 620 T Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C..Opened in 1910, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974....
and Baltimore's Royal Theatre, and became part of the "chitlin circuit," hosting live music shows that were primarily rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel directed towards an African American audience. The performances at the Uptown Theater came to rival those at Harlem's Apollo Theater
Apollo Theater
The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous, and older, music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with Black performers...
. In 1957, Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area....
of WDAS (AM)
WDAS (AM)
WDAS is a radio station licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station airs an urban oldies format.At noon on November 23, 2011, the station flipped to its current format and returned to the locally historic WDAS call sign.-History:...
fame started to produce shows at the Uptown Theater. In 1960, Sid Booker became the manager of the theater, and remained so until 1979. >. In 1961, the venue was sold by Mrs. Bert Steifel to a large chain corporation, after managing it for only two months following the death of the Steifel brothers, who owned it for many years
Performances
Many different types of shows went on at the venue during its prime. Usually, each show consisted of multiple artists, usually ten to twelve acts, and they performed in order of popularity. There were several performances a day, and the show usually lasted for about ten days. The first show of the day started at 2pm. The midnight performances of the show cost $2.50, while the earlier shows cost $1.50, and the kiddie matinees cost 50 cents a person. Also on Thursday nights, they used to have Temple UniversityTemple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
night, in which many white students would come in and watch performances. Often enough, many patrons of the theater would hide in places such as the bathroom to see additional shows in one day. The shows themselves were very competitive in nature, with each act trying to get the biggest rise out of the crowd. Performers and audience members alike dressed up when attending shows at the theater. Performers also tried to impress each other with wowing the crowd with the best dance moves as well. Artists were not often not booked for a lot of money. Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area....
was able to book the Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
for $400 for a full 10 day run. Not only did musicians perform at the Uptown Theater, but comedians often opened for the acts, such as Redd Foxx
Redd Foxx
John Elroy Sanford , better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American comedian and actor, best known for his starring role on the sitcom Sanford and Son.-Early life:...
and Flip Wilson
Flip Wilson
Clerow Wilson, Jr. , known professionally as Flip Wilson, was an American comedian and actor. In the early 1970s, Wilson hosted his own weekly variety series, The Flip Wilson Show...
. The venue itself was unique in that it had its own house band. Bill Masse was band leader of the band until he died in 1961. In 1963 Sam Reed became leader of the house band, which was well known amongst artists in the chitlin circuit. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, by 1971 the shows were grossing $250,000 a year. During the rest of the month when performers were not in town, movies usually played. There were also jazz shows where local and famous jazz performers took the stage. The shows were not characterized by the rowdy crowds that accompanied the shows promoted by Georgie Woods.
The Uptown Theater was also famous for its amateur nights in which local artists would compete for various prizes. Many artists got their start in the music industry due to these amateur nights. One such person that started their career at the Uptown Theater was Daryl Hall
Daryl Hall
Daryl Hall is an American rock, R&B and soul singer, keyboardist, guitarist, songwriter and producer, best known as the co-founder and lead vocalist of Hall & Oates . Hall scored several Billboard chart hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, and is regarded as one of the best blue eyed soul singers...
of Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
. Hall, who attended the nearby Temple University, won a talent show playing with his then group, the Temptones. This was before pairing up with Oates. The group, backed by the James Brown Band, won the contest thus getting Hall his first record deal.
Civil Rights
The theater was a hotbed for civil rights activism, especially in the form of music. Georgie WoodsGeorgie Woods
Georgie Woods was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area....
produced shows at the theater, called freedom shows, in which artists played to promote civil rights, and the money generated at these shows went to charities of Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area....
' choice, regardless of creed, color or religion. In 1967, Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area....
staged a special show for wounded veterans from the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
that were from the Philadelphia area.
The theater also became an important landmark for civil rights in Philadelphia. Cecil Moore was a Philadelphia lawyer that was extremely involved in civil rights, and was a close friend of Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area....
, and was also involved in the freedom shows. In 1963, Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area....
, Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson
Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and rock history...
, and Del Shields won awards at the Uptown Theater from the Philadelphia branch of the NAACP for being entertainers that were actively involved in civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
. Also, the famous1964 Philadelphia race riot happened blocks from the theater, and when it occurred Commissoner Howard Leary had Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods
Georgie Woods was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area....
come talk to and calm down the crowd, which eventually dispersed as per his request. His influence on the community was so great, showed how important the Uptown Theater was for the residents of North Philadelphia.
Neighborhood
By the late 1950s, North Philadelphia was the epicenter of Philadelphia’s African-American community. It was a vibrant place populated by all classes. There were dozens of factories, numerous clubs along Columbia Avenue, shops and restaurants all over the place, and the Uptown—which evolved into a mecca for live music. Many family owned businesses around the theater became popular spots for the performers and audience members alike. Many of the performers would eat at Miss Pearl's house, which was located right behind the venue on Carlisle Street. In addition to that, many of them got their hair done at Don's Dew Shop, which was and still owned by Don Williams, right around the corner on 15th Street and Susquehanna Street. Many of the artists stayed at the Ben Motor Inn on 22nd Street and Spring Garden. The neighborhood was often noted to be tight-knit, where many people living in the area worked in the nearby factories and knew each other by name. The area surrounding the theater was also unique in that it did not provide a lot of space for parking, so many people walked or took public transportation to the Uptown.Later Years and Decline
Eventually, the riots and the manufacturing exodus of the 1960s occurred, and the gang wars of the 1970s. By 1978, the Uptown was too small for the major acts, in an area with high crime. In 1971, Sam Reed, who was leader of the house band in the 1960s stepped down. In December 1971, there were frequent concert gang fights that broke out. In 1972, Georgie WoodsGeorgie Woods
Georgie Woods was an American radio personality who was best known for his broadcasting career in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area....
stopped producing shows at the Uptown Theater, mainly because of the drugs and violence in the surrounding neighborhood of the theater. In May 1972, shows stopped playing at all at the venue, and in 1978 the Uptown Theater ultimately closed.
Other reasons led to the decline of theaters similar to the venue. The music industry had changed significantly from when the theater was in its prime. Black artists were now able to cross over, and play in venues such as ones in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. Musicians that played there were able to perform at larger venues and make more profit. Georgie Woods also stated in an interview that the existence of booking agencies made it harder to book acts because they would ask for more money. There was a point in time when black artists could only be heard if they went to Georgie Woods, but once music became integrated Also, the decline of independent record stores disabled local artists from being able to promote their music. On the other hand, music became more integrated, so many radio stations only played a sampling of rhythm and blues, as opposed to stations that used to solely play rhythm and blues. Many artists started to cross over into pop, so they were less inclined to play at theaters such as the Uptown.
The neighborhood also changed dramatically. Many of the businesses started to decline because they catered to the Uptown clientele and lost them once the theater closed.
The Uptown briefly reopened in the 1980s as a church. A church group held services there until a 1991 storm damaged the roof, allowing water to pucker the painted walls and corrode the gilded auditorium. After the congregation left, the only people who entered were thieves, crackheads and taggers More recently, members of the community gathered at the Uptown to mourn the death of Michael Jackson.
Uptown Entertainment and Development Corporation (UEDC)
The Uptown Entertainment and Development Corporation (UEDC) is a Community Development Corporation that was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1995. The mission is to stimulate the economy in blighted areas in Philadelphia by creating commercial enterprises, developing neighborhood revitalization projects and managing moderate and housing. The UEDC has identified the historic Uptown Theater as its first acquisition and revitalization project. In 2002, they became owners of the actual building. The development plans include renovating the theater into a technology center, artist lofts and office space. Proposed tenants include a faith-based institution, high school, record production facility and restaurant. The technology center will create jobs for 200 youth and adults and provide entrepreneurial opportunities for disadvantaged members of the community. Project participants include Berean Institute, Base Group and the Uptown Cultural District Group. The linchpin of the program strategy will be the creation of a film and media center, technology center and film stage. It will be the headquarters for the Art and Education Youth Programs, provide space for a sound studio and catering facility and house the business offices for the development corporation. The UEDC has received pledges of $3.5 million but it will take around $8 million to get the facility fully operational.The projected completion date is Spring 2011.