Gem Theater

The Gem Theater is located at 1615-17 E. 18th Street. The Gem opened in 1912 as the Star Theatre, it was renamed the Gem Theatre in 1913. The Gem was built for use by African-American audiences and had a seating capacity of 1,414. Movies continued until the mid-1970’s and then it became a venue for live performances. Since 1997, after a detailed renovation to create a 500-seat performance space, removed most of the original interior, and has now become a venue for the American Jazz Museum.