The Levoy Theatre
P.O. Box 678
126 - 130 N. High Street
Millville, NJ 08332
Office Phone: 856-327-9870
Fax: 856-327-4076
Last modified
August 18, 2008
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Warner Brothers
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The last nail in the coffin for Vaudeville at The Levoy occurred on May 28, 1930, when Warner Brothers assumed control of the theatre.
When Handle and Rovner enlarged the Levoy they envisioned a theatre with stage shows and motion pictures, typical of theatres in the 1920's. The 1930's brought the first time in history that theatres were built solely for movie use, and Warner Brothers wanted to modernize the Levoy into one of these new movie palaces.
This brought about the third major renovation of the Levoy, in 1939. Different than the other renovations of the Levoy in 1912 and 1927, the 1939 renovation was not an enlargement. Instead, it was mostly a cosmetic renovation consistent with Warner Brothers' view of what a modern theatre should be.
A new marquee (the present one) was placed facing High Street; the front
doors were changed to the famous half moon shaped doors; the lobby was
remodeled to create a new “eye flow principle”; the auditorium
had new wall tapestries with illustrations of the earth's eatern and
western hemispheres on opposing walls; the whole theatre was now “scientifically
air conditioned” for
the comfort of all patrons; and movies were made ever grander by the
enlargement of the movie screen and the utilization of the RCA Company's
new “Sound
Apex” system.
With it's grand reopening on August 18, 1939, the Levoy had now officially entered the Golden Age of motion pictures.
The 1940's were probably the best years of the Levoy's movie
life. Movies at the theatre would continuously attract lines of people
down the street and around the block to view the feature of the day.
The movies were America's favorite pastime outside of baseball—until
television.
Television brought movies, dramas, comedies, variety shows, newscasts and more to everyone's home. Where once people would visit the Levoy several times a week, now they stayed home thrilled and entertained by the new medium. Levoy revenues dropped dramatically, and in 1952 Warner Brothers sold to Eugene Mori, owner of the Landis Theater in Vineland.
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