Many thanks to Beth Massa of the Civic Theatre, Allentown, Pennsylvania for this guest post about their efforts to preserve their theatre’s history. Do you have a story to tell about your theatre? We’d love to hear from you!
The Civic Theatre was founded in 1927 by two local newspaper reporters in response to the then-current national Little Theatre movement. Located in Allentown, PA, the Civic Little Theatre (CLT), as it was then called, found success from its very first production. Over the years the organization struggled to find a permanent home, moving from shared attic space to an unheated building on the city’s fairgrounds to a vacated movie theater to a local high school auditorium to a local college stage. Finally, in 1957, CLT moved into its current home at the Nineteenth Street Theatre, a 1928 Art Deco movie palace in Allentown’s West End. In the last decade, capital improvements to the theatre have included an updated HVAC system, a new street-level entrance, and $5.5 million renovation of the auditorium, stage, and building systems.
Just a handful of significant milestones in our history include
- 1927 – founding and first production (Suppressed Desires)
- 1931 – first full-length play (Daisy Mayme)
- 1944 – longest-running production (Papa Is All, which ran for 38 performances)
- 1956 – opening of Children’s Theatre School
- 1957 – purchase of current home, the Nineteenth Street Theatre
- 1962 – first musical production (Bells Are Ringing)
- 1989 – start of art film screenings
- 1996 – name change from “Civic Little Theatre” to “Civic Theatre of Allentown”
- 2014 – opening of second location, Theatre514, across the street from the main theater
- 2018 – renovation of the interior of the 19th Street Theatre
Civic was fortunate to have an official historian for 30+ years. In the 50th anniversary program published in 1977, it is noted that Richard P. Hoffman had been serving as historian since the forties and that, “Few organizations are blessed with so articulate a pioneer or so meticulous a recorder.” The current archiving efforts are possible in no small part due to Mr. Hoffman’s diligence and organization for so long.
Since Mr. Hoffman left as historian, various people have ensured that newspaper clippings were clipped; playbills were stored; photos, CD, DVDs, and other media were accumulated; and other items were retained with various degrees of organization. However, it became more and more apparent over the years that a concerted archiving effort was needed.
In March 2021, a small group of volunteers began the enormous undertaking of cataloging all the collected ephemera. The existing storage is multiple file cabinets full of file folders—one folder for each mainstage production. Some have playbills but no newspaper clippings. Some have clippings but no photos. Some have an abundance of photos but no playbills. A very few have stage design sketches. We have posters for some and not for others. None of it is archivally preserved, but much of it in astoundingly good condition in spite of that.
We also have stacks and stacks and stacks of photographs. Some are labeled; some are not. One of our volunteers focused solely on these photos to identify their subjects and organize them by production or event. Even with all that effort, we have many more to be identified.
When we started this effort, we asked ourselves lots of questions. Why should we bother? What value would come from this work? Who cares? How would we do it? What would we do with it all once it was organized? What would be our best tools and resources? And so many more.
Some of the answers are simple. We should bother because this history is important. It tells a nearly 100-year history of the local arts scene. A listing of all the sponsors from all the playbills would be a Who’s Who of local businesses from the past century. We care. Our public cares. Our supporters care. The information can be made accessible to researchers. We can share this memorabilia with the public in displays and presentations. We have a centennial coming in 2027, and we want to start preparing now for what a wonderful celebration that will be.
Tools? Resources? Best practices? We’re still working through those questions, with great assistance from the American Theatre Archive Project. We’ve made a good start. We have a long way to go. But we are up for the challenge and excited to move ahead!
