By Shara Dae Howard, February 16th, 2025.
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — One of the last surviving theatres of its kind in Chester County is in need of some expensive repairs.
Listen to the interview and see the original article here.
Colonial Theatre, located in Phoenixville, was built in 1902. Originally named the Colonial Opera House, the theatre held its first stage performance in 1903. It grew to become a place where many renowned artists, including Harry Houdini and Mary Pickford, came to perform. And all these years on, its still a place for movie and concert goers.
It was even featured in several scenes of the 1958 sci-fi classic, “The Blob,” including one of the more famous ones, where the monstrous Blob attacks a crowd of moviegoers.
That scene of people running out of the theater inspired volunteers at the Colonial to create Blobfest to honor not only the Chester County cult favorite but the theatre itself, which reopened in 1999 after having closed eight years before.
But, with more than 120 years of history comes a multitude of problems.
Jennifer Carlson with the theatre says there’s water infiltration, exterior damage and brick and mortar issues. Plus, community members are always asking when they will fix the interior walls.
Carlson says they must first address the exterior damage before the interior.
“So we really need to chip out that inappropriate and old mortar and repoint the entire wall.” Carlson says those repairs will be quite expensive, which is why they are hoping the community will help chip in.
“So we need $240,000. So far we have $70,000. We’re applying for some grants,” Carlson said.
The theatre is hosting a fundraiser Saturday at 8 p.m. to raise money, but donations can be made at thecolonialtheatre.com .