AMERICA’S ABANDONED THEATERS Your Halloween Inspiration

FOX THEATRE, INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA

Built in 1949 on the site of another theater that burned down, the Fox Theatre closed permanently in 1988 but the Inglewood Fox Theatre Alliance was able to get the theater listed on the National Register of Historic Places and hopes to restore it one day.

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KINGS THEATRE, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

One of five Loew’s “wonder” theaters opened in New York and New Jersey just before the Great Depression hit, Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre was abandoned from 1977 until it was restored and reopened in 2015.

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UPTOWN THEATRE, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Opened less than a year before the 1929 stock market crash, the Uptown Theatre operated as a live music venue until the 1970s hosting acts like the Jackson 5, the Temptations, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and more.

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LOEW’S CANAL THEATRE, NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Loew’s Canal Theatre opened in 1927 and is currently used as a warehouse. On September 10, 1932, an explosion threw the theater’s ticket booth into the street and shattered windows on neighboring buildings. An hour earlier, another bomb destroyed the entrance to the Loew’s 46th Street Theatre. While nothing was ever proven, both explosions were assumed to be the work of the Motion Picture Operators’ Union Local 306, who were on strike at the time.

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LOEW’S POLI THEATRE, BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT

The Poli Theatre operated for about 50 years until Loew’s sold it in the 1970s. After showing adult films for a couple years, the theater permanently closed in 1975.

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KENOSHA THEATRE, KENOSHA, WISCONSIN

After opening in 1927, the Kenosha Theatre was in business for 36 years until the building was repurposed as a warehouse and a flea market before closing permanently. The owners are currently looking to restore it.

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STATE PALACE THEATRE, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

The State Palace Theatre operated from 1926 until it was forced to close when Hurricane Katrina damaged the building. After that it was used as a rave venue from time to time until it was officially shut down in 2007 for fire code violations.

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STUDEBAKER THEATRE, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Located in Chicago’s Fine Arts Building, The Studebaker Theatre operated for more than a century from when it opened in 1898 until it closed its doors in 2000. It reopened in 2015 as a live performance venue after renovations were made.

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Courtesy of http://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/travel/a9238/abandoned-theaters-america/