Downtown Philadelphia in one of the city’s premier shopping areas stands one of the last surviving motion picture theater palaces of its time. The Boyd Theater, which many might know as the Sameric, opened Christmas day 1928 and played many top movies until it closed in 2002.
            The 2450 seat capacity, art deco masterpiece was built for Alexander R. Boyd and designed by one of the great Philadelphia theater architects, Hoffman-Henon. The Boyd Theater was considered to be the most elegant theaters on Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. Stepping into the Boyd was like stepping into an exquisite palace or an older Victorian home. It was one of the most luxurious theaters ever built. The theater was equipped with an etched glass-mirrored lobby, stunning chandeliers hanging from the ceilings, an orchestra pit, a stage house and balcony area seating. Alexander Boyd sold the theater palace to Warner Bros. shortly after he opened it to the public.
            People from everywhere in and out of the city would travel to the Boyd to watch timeless classic films. Some of the best movies of all times, such as “The Good Earth”, “Gone With The Wind” and “Kitty Foyle”, among many more credited films, had their exclusive first showings at the Boyd Theater. It was a place where both the rich and famous along with the ordinary person came to enjoy a night out. Grace Kelly even made an appearance in person for the opening night for the film “High Noon” which she had a starring role in.
            In 1971, Warner Bros. sold the Boyd Theater to the Sameric Corporation and renamed the Boyd Theater to the “Sameric”. The company refurbished the theater before reopening it to the public again. In 1988, after adding three smaller auditoriums to the Sameric in the earlier 1980’s, the corporation sold the theater to the United Artists Circuit.
In 1993, the theater palace hosted the world premier of the Academy Award winning movie “Philadelphia”. Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, and director Jonathan Demme all appeared in person to promote the film.
In 1998, the Goldenberg Group, local developers, purchased the Boyd Theater from the United Artists Circuit. Films continued to be shown until United Artists’ left the Boyd Theater May 2, 2002 at which point the Goldenberg Group obtained a demolition permit. Local and concerned citizens of Philadelphia organized the Committee to save the Sameric June 2002. Later on that year the committee incorporated the nonprofit organization and named it Friends of the Boyd, Inc. July 2002, Preservation Pennsylvania designated the Boyd Theater as one of Pennsylvania’s ten most endangered historic properties.
Live Nation acquired the Boyd Theater from the Goldenberg Group in 2003, paying roughly $13 million for the historic landmark. Philadelphia’s citizens saw the company as the theater’s savior. Live Nation promised to invest approximately $17 million to expand the small stage for live shows and fix the art deco detailing of the theater inside and out. Live Nation hoped to bring the beloved Boyd Theater to life again. Although Live Nation managed to stabilize the building, sealing it from water infiltration as well as obtaining rights to the adjacent parking lot, but the costs seemed too high for the company to complete the mission they set out to do.  In 2006, the company ceased work to restore the Boyd Theater.
March 2008, the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia listed the Boyd Theater in its 5th Annual Endangered Properties List. May 2008, The National Trust for Historic Preservation named the Boyd Theater on its 2008 List of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.
The three small screening rooms that were once part of the Boyd have been turned into shops. The Boyd Theater is now on the real estate market once again in hopes it will be purchased. So what is next for the historic Boyd Theater palace? If the nonprofit organization, Friends of the Boyd have anything to say the theater will be preserved. It may never be the place it once was, but it should remain one of Philadelphia’s finest historic landmarks of its time. A venue where people can visit the city’s past. Still the nonprofit organization rallies to save the Boyd Theater. They have even designed a website to help their cause to save the Boyd from demolition.
People are optimistic about the Boyd Theater considering that of that the 200 places listed by the National trust nationwide over the past 20 years, only 7 have been lost. Many people feel that the decoration inside the Boyd Theater survived the years and should be preserved for generations to come, so they too can enjoy the historic landmark. The Boyd Theater is a movie palace that stands in the heart of Philadelphia’s city as a reminder of what once was.

Sources:

Saffron, Igna. “Boyd Theater Renominated for Landmark Status”, Philadelphia, PA: The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 30, 2008. B01.

Saffron, Igna. “Changing Skyline: Boyd’s Loss Would Be a New Shame of the City”, Philadelphia, PA: The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 22, 2008. A01.

Saffron, Igna. “Boyd Theater Makes Endangered List”, Philadelphia, PA: The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 20, 2008. A01.

Rickey, Carrie. “Can Boyd Still Have Film Role”, Philadelphia, PA: The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 11, 2007. B01.

Gross, Dan. “Work Stops on Sameric”, Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia Daily News, Sept. 13, 2006. Page 31.

Geater, Mike.“Cinema Treasures|Boyd Theater”.http://cinematreasuers.org/theater/1209/, June 12, 2008.