Historic Lansdowne Theater reopens this month after $21 million renovation
The almost 100 years old venue was closed in 1987 after an electrical fire.
After closing its doors almost 40 years ago, Delaware County’s historic Lansdowne Theater will reopen this month for live shows.
The theater, which began showing silent movies in 1927, has undergone extensive renovations in the past two years to restore original fixtures like the chandelier and paint. The Historic Lansdowne Theater Corp., the nonprofit that owns the building, raised $21 million for the restoration project over 15 years, to shift the space from a movie theater to a live entertainment venue.
Upgrades to the historic theater include new plush red seats for its 1,280-capacity auditorium, dressing rooms, and office space.
The first show in the renovated theater will be New York actor Chazz Palminteri’s autobiographical one-man show, A Bronx Tale, which premiered in 1989 and was later adapted into a movie starring Palminteri and Robert De Niro (who also directed). Tickets are now on sale for the show that opens on Aug. 22.
Designed by Philadelphia architect William H. Lee — who also built Mount Airy’s Sedgwick Theater and Bryn Mawr’s Seville Theater — the nearly 100-year-old building has long served as a signature backdrop in the suburban Delco town, earning a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. It closed in 1987 due to an electrical fire; the last movie it screened was Beverly Hills Cop.
Though the Historic Lansdowne Theater Corp. had initially scheduled a slate of shows to reopen in October 2024, problems with the roof and other unresolved issues delayed launch efforts by almost a year, prompting event cancellations.
Working with promoter BRE Productions, the Lansdowne will host several concerts this fall, including guitarist Steve Hackett, rock tribute bands (the RUSH Tribute Project, Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen, and the Fab Four — The Ultimate Beatles Tribute), and a jazz Christmas show from saxophonist Dave Koz.