This week’s 2025 Community Initiative Award winner spotlight is on the rehabilitation of the Lansdowne Theater in the Borough of Lansdowne, Delaware County.
We covered a bit about the theater and the ambitious and highly successful rehabilitation project in our May 6th post announcing the Lansdowne Theater as one of the three 2025 winners. Check it out here if you need a refresher.
For this post, I asked Matt Schultz from the Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation to tell our readers a bit more about this story.
Can you tell us a little bit about the Lansdowne Theater and the Lansdowne community?
Lansdowne is a small borough just west of Philadelphia in Delaware County none for its historic neighborhoods, tree lined streets and now the rehabilitated Lansdowne Theater.
The development of the community was spurred by a railroad line that passed through the community in the 1870s. The 1890s saw the first building boom in the community with varying styles being constructed. Today, the community has two National Register of Historic Places historic districts—Lansdowne Park and Henry Albertson Subdivision that contain 170 properties. Lansdowne also has a Frank Furness designed railroad station that was restored after a fire and hosts a 400 year old sycamore, which is now part of a public park.
Opened in 1927, the Lansdowne Theater opened as a silent movie theater and served the community for 60 years until its closure in 1987 due to the building’s deferred maintenance, changing technologies (VHS tapes), and an electrical fire. The theater sat largely unused for almost 40 years until it opened with much fanfare in August 2025. One of the largest buildings in Lansdowne’s historic central business district its closure left a major hole in the social lives of residents.
Front of the Lansdowne Theater in 1927. Source: Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation.
Lansdowne Theater Auditorium in 1927. Source: Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation.
Lansdowne Theater Lobby in 1927. Source: Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation.
There is a more extensive history of the theater here.
HLTC was formed in 2006 and the theater reopened in August 2025. Did you initially expect the project to take almost 20 years to complete? What were your expectations versus reality?
The Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation (HLTC) was formed because it was thought that the reopening of the theater was the keystone to effort by many people to revitalize Lansdowne’s central business district. The HLTC board knew there were no shortcuts to the achieving our goal of preserving the building while attracting others to invest in the business district who hoped to serve the theater patrons. The building was in rough shape but it retained a great deal of its original details. We quickly agreed on looking for a reuse that would allow the auditorium to remain in its original configuration and to rehabilitate the building to its late 1920s appearance.
Parapet wall deterioration discovered during construction. One of many challenges HLTC navigated as part of the rehabilitation. Source: HLTC.
According to some of the vendors who specialize in theater rehabs, we were actually ahead of schedule. It took awhile to assemble our development team, secure a signed lease with a concert promoter who know leases and programs the theater, and to prove to funding sources that we were serious and would not be deterred. We completed small well defined projects such as restoring the marquee, the façade and original windows. While it took almost two decades there was always work happening at the building.
There were a few things we noticed about this project when considering candidates for this year’s awards but were particularly interested in HLTC’s community engagement throughout the rehabilitation. Can you share some insights into HLTC’s strategy to maintain community support over the length of the project? Were there any challenges?
Lansdowne is a small close-knit community. There were several proposals over the years that had they been done the building would have been drastically changed. One plan called for the building to become an electrical supply house. Luckily borough council blocked the proposal because it didn’t comply to the zoning code and they wouldn’t consider a variance. Another idea would have turned the building into an “antique market.”
When the Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation purchased the building, it held an event to announce our intention to preserve the building and return it to a place of public entertainment. We started a volunteer corps and held clean-up days in building. Some days we would have 50+ people show up to remove debris and sweep up. We photographed those events and posted the photos on our Facebook page, “Save the Lansdowne Theater.” The numbers of volunteers grew and it served as a venue for us to raise funds.
Example of an impactful fundraising campaign. Source: LHTC.
When we finally got to construction, the HLTC posted updates every Thursday. We featured visits to various tradespeople workshops including the lighting conservator’s workshop, and explained step by step how some unique restoration work was completed and built a sense of momentum. One supporter posted that she looked forward to Thursdays so she could see what had been during the previous week. We posted simple videos that showed concrete being poured, steel being installed or areas being painted.
We also held mid-construction tours where people could tour the building and meet with tradespeople who explained their work. We consistently asked for people’s patience and that the final product would make the wait worth it. I think we made good on that promise. There is nothing similar to The Lansdowne in the Philadelphia region.
One way the community stayed engaged in the theater rehabilitation was through regular tours of the building and progress. Source: HLTC.
Can you give us an example of what was the most rewarding or successful part of the Lansdowne’s community outreach? The least?
Definitely when we began construction and could show action at the building people realized it was going to happen. One person remarked that our Facebook posts were the best thing on Facebook.
HLTC kept people engaged by celebrating smaller projects when completed. Here, the unveiling of the restored ticket booth. Source: LHTC.
There were times that we were in negotiations with different parties and it wasn’t appropriate to share information with the public. Some people jumped to conclusions and took this silence as the project had failed and wasn’t going forward. I don’t think people understood the complexity of the project.
We know there are many groups throughout Pennsylvania that want to preserve their local historic theater. What advice can you give to others in a similar situation?
I’ve spoken with numerous people and organizations who want to rehab and reopen historic theaters. I tell them all that they are need to think of themselves as real estate developers. Is there a market for what we’re planning? Do we have the right team of architects and other design professionals, legal, accounting and professionals who understand real estate development? What sources of funding are available to you? Most importantly are you willing to dedicate yourself to doing whatever it takes to complete the project?
Lansdowne Theater exterior after restoration. Source: HLTC.
Restored lobby, August 2025. Source: HLTC.
Restored auditorium, view toward stage. Source: HLTC.
Are there other organizations, people, or companies you’d like to acknowledge for their contributions to this project and its success?
There were a lot of people who made the project a success. JNA Capital provided guidance, ideas and follow-through on the overall project. Fattah Capital Advisors provided fundraising expertise. Atkin Olshin and Schade did a great job with planning the rehabilitation.
Elected officials including U.S. Representative Mary Gay Scanlon, PA State Senator Tim Kearney, PA State Representative Gina Curry, Delaware County Council, and Lansdowne Borough Council helped to secure major funding to complete the project. Columbus Construction and the over 100 tradespeople worked very hard on the project.
We had hundreds of individuals who made contributions to the project. Special thanks to the Presser Foundation, Foundation for Delaware County, Ethel Sergeant Clark Smith Memorial Fund, Connelly Foundation, Broughton Foundation, and Dapplecroft Foundation for generously supporting the project.
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission provided several grants that enabled the HLTC to complete multiple projects. We are indebted to PHMC’s Keystone Grant Program and PHMC’s staff especially great friend of the Lansdowne Theater Karen Arnold.
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