The Uptown Theater

Hidden Historic Gem in North Philly

The Uptown Theater designed by Louis Magaziner in 1927

Walking through North Philly today you'd never know that 50 years prior, it was a tourist hot spot. If it wasn't for Temple University's campus, there would be no reason to venture up North on Broad. The Uptown Theater is located on 2240 North Broad Street between Dauphin and Diamond Streets and used to be the center for black entertainment in Philadelphia. In fact, some of the biggest names in R&B and motown performed there such as: The Silhouettes, The Supremes, The Jackson Five, BB King, Ray Charles, and Stevie Wonder! The architect, Louis Magaziner, designed the building in an Art Deco style which was all the rage in the 1920's.

Heres a sample of what you could hear in The Uptown Theater back in the fifties...



   

Besides live music, The Uptown Theater was known for its movies. "Talkies" were just coming out and the theater provided for the new movie-goer audiences. Even though the theater was popular through the decades, it could not keep up with the changing industry and decline of the surrounding neighborhood and it officially closed in 1983. After that, it became a church until 2003.

Today, renovations are going on to bring back the charm and success of the theater and to hopefully to bring in life to the neighborhood. The Uptown Entertainment and Development Corporation hopes to create programs for kids and adults and bring back the entertainment that made it so famous back in the day.
As a Temple student it would be great to see the Theater up and running again. Unless you're headed to Center City, no one really goes off campus. The Uptown Theater would be a great addition to the neighborhood and a great nearby attraction for Temple Students. 

Click to see what is happening today at the Uptown Theater.