Stanley Theatre

605 Market Street,
Camden, NJ 08102

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Stanley-Warner Theatres, Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp.

Architects: Paul J. Henon, Jr., William H. Hoffman

Firms: Hoffman-Henon Co.

Nearby Theaters

Stanley Theatre, vintage street view

From what my parents told me it must have been quite a place…The Stanley Theatre was opened on February 19, 1926 with Richard Dix in “The Vanishing American”. It was equipped with a Wurlitzer 3 manual, 14 rank theatre organ (Opus 1203, style 260 Special).

The Stanley Theatre was closed in 1965 and was demolished later that year to build a Holiday Inn on the site. The hotel was never built and the site was a vacant lot for many years until it became a parking lot.

Contributed by RSecinaro

Recent comments (view all 21 comments)

RickB
RickB on May 11, 2008 at 10:37 am

The tall tower in the aerial photo is City Hall, which is still there. The building with the large dome is the old Camden County courthouse, which was torn down in the ‘50s and replaced by a Lit Brothers department store, which closed in the '70s and was renovated into office space for Camden County.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on May 11, 2008 at 11:48 am

I think all the Lit brothers stores closed at the same time. There was one in Atlantic City as well as the flagship store on Market Street.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on May 14, 2008 at 5:49 pm

The Stanley can be seen roughly in the center of this 1957 photo, across from the distinctive building with the dome:
http://tinyurl.com/5kkc2d

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on June 20, 2009 at 3:37 pm

This 1939 photo shows some street ads for the Stanley and the Savar:
http://tinyurl.com/mqf2wp

LugosiResearch
LugosiResearch on December 29, 2012 at 6:51 pm

On Saturday 17 March 1951, Bela “Dracula” Lugosi presented his in person Horror and Magic Stage show at RKO Stanley. Currently I am conducting research on all things Lugosi; if anyone out there actually saw this show and/or has memorabilia (poster, handbill, photos) related to this show, please contact Bill at Thanks in advance for any assistance!

Jewelstoyou
Jewelstoyou on July 19, 2014 at 1:31 pm

The Stanley was a wonderful and very beautiful movie theater. I guess I am giving away my age but my graduating class of 1965 from Woodrow Wilson High School was the last to have its graduation in the Stanley before it was demolished. The interior was born in the 20s for sure. Such a shame that she is gone in time, all but forgotten but by a few of us who were lucky enough to have viewed the lavish interior and enjoyed the shows there.

miclar
miclar on November 27, 2014 at 7:23 am

The most lavish theater in central Camden. Matched the Walt Whitman with its beautiful carpets, chandeliers, and balcony railings.

Michael R. Rambo Jr.
Michael R. Rambo Jr. on July 9, 2018 at 5:15 pm

kencmcintyre, The Lits Camden closed in 1972; Lits Trenton closed in the early 1970’s.

Comfortably Cool
Comfortably Cool on December 12, 2020 at 1:42 pm

A slide show of many Camden cinemas, including the Stanley, can be viewed here

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