Copyright The Philadelphia Inquirer
North Philadelphia’s historic Logan Theatre may once again open its doors following decades of vacancy and attempts to restore the old movie theater to its former glory. Playwright and director Nolbert Brown, Jr., announced a $10 million renovation to revive the long-abandoned building at 4732 Broad Street, as reported by the Philadelphia Business Journal. Under the new moniker, the Cicely Tyson Performing Arts Center — honoring the late groundbreaking actor and activist — the venue would reportedly include a 2,650 capacity theater for plays and musicals, a 200-seat restaurant with live jazz, and a 4,000 square-foot gift shop. The erstwhile movie theater, on Broad St. between Loudon St. and Wyoming Ave., originally opened in 1923 with silent film screenings with a live orchestra. In 1973, it was purchased by Deliverance Evangelist Church, which held religious services in the venue, for years before leaving in 1992. Logan Theatre’s doors have been shuttered ever since. Present owner Owen Williamson purchased the building in 2005 with plans to fix it up and open a live music venue named for his wife, Claretilda. However, the undertaking was reportedly too expensive for Williamson to complete, so the theater remained dormant. In 2022, Brown signed a 10-year lease with Williamson, fueled by an ambition to create Philadelphia’s version of New York’s Apollo Theater. He told Hidden City at the time that the venue would spotlight Black artists primarily for Black Philadelphians with an emphasis on soul, R&B, and gospel acts, in addition to comedy and dance. Brown had also announced that the venue would reopen in 2023 to mark 100 years since the Logan Theatre initially opened its doors. It is unclear why those plans were never came to fruition. Now, Brown has seemingly shifted his primary focus to programming Broadway shows and other theatrical performances in the main theater, the Business Journal reported on Tuesday. (Brown was not available for comment.) He estimates that within the first few years of reopening, the theater will create some 2,000 jobs in North Philadelphia. Brown, who runs an eponymous streaming service called NBJR TV, is reportedly self-funding the revitalization project. Though there is no timeline for completion yet, Brown told the Business Journal that he is currently waiting on permits from the city to move forward. The two-story building is on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places.
