Category:Pergola Theater, Allentown, Pennsylvania

The Pergola Theater was an early movie theater in Allentown, being the second-oldest in the city. Established in 1906 as a Penny Arcade, it became a small cinema in 1908 and closed in 1925.

The Pergola initially opened in December 1906 at 903 Hamilton Street as an arcade, bowling alley and billiard parlor. It also offered a bowling league. In February 1908, an experimental area was set aside for a new form of amusement, known as the "Opéra-Comique". This was a 45 minute performance consisting of a moving picture and music, vocal and instrumental. The Opéra-Comique became very popular with audiences and an area, with the screen on the inside front wall being put aside to accommodate a small audience which was expanded to a multi-event evening performance. The screen was located between the two front door entrances. The presentation consisted of leading the audience in a several songs, as well as two or three short silent films, occasionally a film in tinted color. The admission to the Opéra-Comique was 5 cents. The arcade and bowling and bollard rooms continued to occupy the rear of the building.

The Opéra-Comique became quite popular and in August 1908, the entire space of the arcade was taken over by the small cinema. The arcade equipment was moved to Central Park. In January 1910, a balcony was put into the building which expanded seating to 1,400 people, taking over the entire first floor. The bowling alleys were also sent to Central Park and the bollard tables set up in a room on the second floor. This expansion also included the construction of 14 doors for emergency exits, along with a stage and vaudeville was added. In 1916, the theater was again enlarged, the north wall now on Court Street. In 1915, the Pergola became possibly the first theater in the United States to show a Kinemacolor films in 1910, mostly travelogues. Admission was still a nickel for general admission, although a dime was charged for reserved seating at evening performances, and the average length of a film was an hour. Showed early Tom Mix westerns, films by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and D. W. Griffith among others. As the movies became more and more popular, it was found necessary to drop vaudeville

The theater was forced to close in 1925 and be torn down for construction of PP&L Building. A replacement "Pergola" was built on the north side of Ninth And Court Street, which opened in late 1926. That eventually became the Boyd Theater, which closed in January, 1971.

Object location	40° 36′ 04″ N, 75° 28′ 32″ W	View all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap	40.601111; -75.475556