{"nrhp_refnum":"83002263","name":"Keswick Theatre","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"291 Keswick Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Glenside","county":"Montgomery County","state":"PA","lat":40.106628803000035,"lon":-75.14698661699998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-06-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture","Social History","Performing Arts"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story ell-shaped concrete theater building in Glenside, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, with brick walls covered in stucco and Tudor-style exterior woodwork. It was built in 1928 as a vaudeville and movie house.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the theater is a late and excellent example of the Adam style applied to theater architecture, and that it is the only theater designed by architect Horace Trumbauer. It also cites the theater's role as a neighborhood gathering place and charitable venue in Glenside, and its use for both legitimate stage shows and films.","narrative":"Built in 1928 in Glenside, Pennsylvania, the Keswick Theatre is a three-story concrete building with brick walls under stucco, a slate roof, and two octagonal towers flanking its entrance. Its interior is finished in the Adam style, with plaster pilasters, marble stairs, and a marble-framed mirror in the foyer, and the auditorium seats 1,576. Designed by Horace Trumbauer, it was built at a cost of $500,000 as a vaudeville and movie house. The nomination describes it as one of the last surviving theaters of its era in the Philadelphia area. Edwin N. Johnson, its first owner and the developer of Greater Glenside, used it as the centerpiece of a plan to make the district a cultural and commercial hub. The theater hosted charity benefits from its opening onward, and in 1970 it held Sunday masses during construction of a nearby church. Performers included the Marx Brothers and Mae West.","period_of_significance":"1900-1928","architect_builder":"Horace Trumbauer (architect); The Turner Construction Co. (builder)","architectural_style":"Adam style (interior); Tudor style (exterior)","criteria":[],"status_note":"The exterior is described as intact and in excellent condition; the interior was modernized in the early 1950s with new paneling and a suspended ceiling.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:34.078058-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/83002263.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83002263/c3a86588df-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83002263/c3a86588df-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Keswick_Theater_Montco_PA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Keswick_Theater_Montco_PA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995687","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keswick_Theatre","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15235806"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/montgomery-county/keswick-theatre-83002263/"}