I fondly remember my evening outings to my downtown movie theater as a child, especially waiting in a long queue at the Eric Pacific to secure coveted tickets to see the Empire Strikes Back in 1980. While the theaters opened in Lancaster City in the 1980s were modern replacements of the landmark movie houses of the early twentieth century, the excitement of a day out at the movies was always a special memory.
Fortunately, movie theaters garner lots of attention when they shutter. Not only because of those memories, but also because they are often landmark buildings in the central business districts. They are very much an economic driver of retail and restaurants in the surrounding community. In fact, there are a great many inquiries to the Keystone Grant program about support of closed theaters. Readers may remember this 2024 post, Reimagining the Everett Theatre, of another theater project in process.
Much like the Everett Theatre (1995RE05645) in Everett, Bedford County, the Lansdowne Theater (1986RE00809)has recently completed a multi-million-dollar rehabilitation in Lansdowne, Delaware County. It too serves as an example of the tenacity and commitment of a community to ensure that an important landmark is preserved for future use.
Front of the Lansdowne Theater in 1927. Source: Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation.
History of the Lansdowne Theater
The Lansdowne Theater was commissioned by the Stanley Company of America, affiliated with Warner Brothers in 1927. The company hired William Harold Lee (1884-1971), a prominent architect working in Philadelphia. The single-screen movie theater boasted 1,358 seats and included an orchestra pit, an organ and prominent organ chambers, one of the last in the Philadelphia region to do so as the movie industry was moving away from silent movies. The organ was decommissioned in 1975.
Lansdowne Theater Auditorium in 1927. Source: Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation.
The theater sits in a prominent location in the central business district of the inner ring suburb of Philadelphia. It was accessible from the Baltimore Avenue trolley line and included storefront shops and second floor offices. The theater auditorium itself is the largest assembly space in the borough. World War II bond drives were held in the theater, and the local Selective Service had an office in the theater’s office block. High school graduations, dance recitals, and concerts by the local American Legion Post were also hosted.
The Lansdowne Theater in 1970. Source: Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation.
Listed in the National Register in 1986, the Lansdowne Theater is historically significant for its Spanish Revival style and for its association with its architect, William Lee. Lee, originally from Shamokin, completed nearly 70 theaters nationwide throughout the 1920s and 1930s. His other Philadelphia regional work includes the 1913 Hiway Theatre in Jenkintown (2005RE01094), a 1920 renovation of the Walnut Street Theatre (1962RE00002), the 1926 Seville/ Bryn Mawr Theatre (2004RE06567), and the 1927 Tourison/Sedgwick Theater situated on Germantown Avenue (1986RE01074) – all past Keystone Grant recipients.
Unfortunately, the theater closed in 1987 due in part to an electrical fire but the changing landscape of multi-plexes and home video rentals made its repair and continued operation economically infeasible.
Birth of the Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation
The closure of such a prominent building left a gaping hole in the streetscape and hampered economic development efforts for the borough. In 2006, the Greater Lansdowne Civic Association and Lansdowne Economic Development began searching for grants to purchase, secure the building’s envelope, fully rehabilitate and eventually reopen the theater for performing arts and concert venue. The Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation formed to undertake this huge task.
New marquee lighting in action. Source: Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation, 2025.
Initially, the organization secured small grants to mobilize the project. PHMC provided a planning grant in 2010 to develop full plans and specifications that would guide the rehabilitation. Soon other grants restored the marquee and other visible projects, chosen to assure the community that the organization had the capacity to complete the full rehabilitation. A second PHMC Keystone grant in 2013 focused on the restoration of the original galvanized steel sash windows in the office block. Each window was stripped of paint, patched, reglazed and repainted.
Example of original windows and architectural details on the theater exterior.
Rehabilitation Begins
The Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation secured a partnership with BRE Presents to manage the theater’s operation in 2019. With an entity who could program the auditorium space, the full rehabilitation of the theater began in earnest. In addition to a third Keystone grant to focus on the rehabilitation of the storefront and the outdoor lobby, other grants and historic tax credits were secured to complete the almost $20 million dollar project.
This third Keystone grant focused on the zinc came transoms, removal of paint from the glazed storefront tiles and cast stone details on the front facade; and restoration of the original doors, one fitted with ADA automatic door along the main entrance. The result is miraculous.
Restored Lansdowne Theater in 2025. Source: Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation.
Other construction work throughout the building was no less astonishing. Extensive structural steel and masonry repairs were necessary due to decades of active water leaks along the parapet walls and stage house roof; which then required subsequent no less extensive plaster repairs throughout the building including some that impacted the decorative auditorium finishes.
As with all projects that are funded through PHMC’s Keystone grant program, the project’s rehabilitation plan paid careful attention to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. The auditorium was left a single theater with the historic character retained with amenities necessary for a successful 21st century theater experience sensitively incorporated. New seating, carpeting, acoustic wall panels, lighting, control booths, concealed mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems as well as a fire suppression system were installed.
Lansdowne Theater after restoration. Source: Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation.
Because of their care and attention to the theater, the Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation was a recipient of a 2025 Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Rehabilitation category award from Preservation Pennsylvania recently.
Theater reopened on August 22, 2025 with Chazz Palminter’s one-man show “A Bronx Tale” and their schedule is filling up for the 2026 season. You can learn more about the theater’s transformation on their website LansdowneTheater.org.
Congratulations to the Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation and all their patrons on their project. It is heartwarming to know that the Keystone Grant program played a small part in their success.
Considering an Application to the Grant Program?
PHMC will again offer the Keystone Historic Preservation Grants in state fiscal year 2025-2026 to support preservation projects throughout the Commonwealth. The application opened on December 1st in advance of March 2, 2026 deadline. Learn more about the eligibility information and guidelines here on the PHMC website. The grant program is open to nonprofit organizations and municipal governmental entities who own and operate historic sites that are eligible for or are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Tune in to our live webinar series for prospective applicants. Those interested in capital projects should attend on Wednesday, January 22, 2026 at 3:00 PM and you can register here. Anyone interested in the planning category grants should opt for the Thursday, January 23, 2026 program, also at 3:00 PM and you can register here.
Remember that all applications must be submitted through the Commonwealth’s Enterprise eGrants System. Paper or email applications cannot be accepted. Please reach out to our PA-SHPO grants staff at phmckeystonegrants@pa.gov for additional information.
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Karen: Thank you for featuring The Lansdowne in the blog. We appreciate your support and patience as we worked through this project. The Keystone Grant Program was an early source of funding that helped us to leverage other grants. Lansdowne and The Lansdowne are indebted to the program.
Matt Schultz
Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation
Thank you for your kind words about the impact of the grant program, Matt. It was a pleasure being a very small part of your project. Congratulations again to you and your whole team who made the project possible.