A historic Delaware County landmark is making a dramatic return after being closed for 38 years.
The Lansdowne Theater is officially reopening on Friday, following a $20 million renovation funded through grants and private donations. The once-abandoned movie house is now a state-of-the-art concert venue, designed to breathe new life into the borough’s downtown.
“It was very exciting,” Matt Schultz, executive director of the Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation, said. “It was very, very scary at multiple times for lots of different reasons, but I’m glad we’re coming out the other end.”
The theater has been standing since 1927, but it closed after a fire in 1987. Since then, it had fallen into disrepair until the community rallied behind a vision to transform it into a modern performance space with upgraded lighting, sound and new infrastructure.
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“We wanted to make the arts more accessible to people outside of the city,” Schultz said. “And we also wanted to spur economic development throughout the business district.”
The theater’s revival is already having an impact. Across the street, Backstage Tap + Grill recently opened its doors and its owner believes the theater’s reopening signals a turning point for Lansdowne.
“There’s a general excitement in town about the opening and there’s a real pride in the business district right now, which has been needed for a long time,” Backstage Tap + Grill owner Dan Brodeur said.
The first act to hit the stage will be Academy Award-nominated actor Chazz Palminteri, performing his acclaimed one-man show “A Bronx Tale.”
“People who love the movie A Bronx Tale will be really surprised to see, because I’m by myself and I do the whole movie on stage alone,” Palminteri said.
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Concert promoters said the venue is already attracting attention from artists and fans across the region.
“People that usually travel further to go see something may not have to do that now,” Ken Alderfer, Senior VP at BRE Productions, said. “They can come here instead. So, I think that’s significant.”
For longtime residents, the theater’s grand return is the fulfillment of a promise.
“I’ve lived here 22 years,” Lansdowne resident Kymberly Hernandez said. “When I moved in, they said, ‘Oh yeah, it’s opening soon.’ So it’s nice to have it finally open.”
Schultz said he expects the theater to draw as many as 100,000 visitors per year, making it not only a cultural destination but a potential economic engine for Delaware County.
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