1926 - New Pergola Theater Allentown PA

{{en|1=New Pergola Theater Allentown PA This photograph, taken November 4th, 1926 shows the New Pergola Theater finishing construction. Note the scaffold under the marquee, which appears to just have been installed. The original Pergola was opened in 1907 by James Bowen, the son of a grocer. It was located at 902 Hamilton Street. It was primarily a penny arcade and bowling alley that Bowen converted into a 500-seat silent movie theater in 1909. It operated successfully during the silent film era, showing the Hollywood motion pictures of the day. The Pergola was torn down in 1926 for the construction of the PPL tower and it was replaced by the new theater shown in the photo, which opened during Christmas of 1926. The "New Pergola" as it was originally called, was a 1,200 seat theater with two balconies and floor seating as well as a box seating area. The interior design was very elegant with the auditorium being constructed with special care for the comfort of the patrons, one feature being that ample space has been left between the seats to prevent cramping the occupants. The theater originally had a custom-built theatrical organ by A. Gottfried, of Erie. There was also a permanent

Date

1926

Photographer / author

Ann Bartholomew (Author), Carol M. Front (Author) (2002), Allentown (Images of America), Arcadia Publishing (April 8, 2002), ISBN-10: 0738509965

Archive

Wikimedia Commons

Type

image

Original size

1,764 × 1,204 pixels

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