Royal Theater (Philadelphia)

Royal Theater
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
File:RoyalTheaterPhilly.JPG
Location	1524–1534 South St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates
Area	0.3 acres (0.12 ha)
Built	1919
Architect	Hahn,Frank E.
Architectural style	Regency Revival
NRHP Reference #	80003619
Added to NRHP	February 08, 1980

The Royal Theater was a center of African American culture in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Built in 1919, the theater closed in 1970, after attendance dwindled and the threat of the Crosstown Expressway had decimated the neighborhood. (The proposed highway was never built.)

In 2000, Kenny Gamble’s Universal Companies purchased the Royal, 1522 and 1536 South, buildings on either side of the theater, as well as 1523, 1537 and 1539 Kater St. (the narrow street just south of South) and 1521–1523 South St. (across the street), from the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia for $250,000.

Conservancy Lawsuit

In April 2013 Universal Companies applied for a demolition permit claiming the renovation was "economically unfeasible." Universal's proposal would preserve only the facade and a small portion of the front for culture use while the remaining property would be developed for commercial use. On May 20, 2013 local Philadelphia resident Juan Levy filed in the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas a petition seeking to appoint local real estate developer Ori Feibush as conservator over the property to save it from further deterioration.