Showtime at the Avalon Pier

The year was 1928. The Avalon Casino at 17th Street and Boardwalk had been condemned and Mayor Gustavus Bergner saw an opportunity for a new, modern entertainment facility - keeping Avalon ahead of other local resort towns by boosting tourism while also providing a central social hub.

Designed by the architect William L. Gibb, Jr. and built by Joseph G. Champion, Avalon’s Municipal Pier and Convention Hall at 29th St. and Boardwalk was completed in the summer of 1929. Costing approximately $73,000, the project was over budget by nearly 50% and delayed several times by weather.

The first movie to be shown at the new theater was “Coquette” starring Mary Pickford, which screened just before July 4, 1929.

The structure was formally dedicated by Mayor Bergner and Governor Morgan F. Larson on August 8th, 1929. The yellow stucco building included a fishing pier that extended 483 feet into the ocean, an upstairs “Marine Room” to hold dances and social events, four shops, and the movie theater at boardwalk level.

The building quickly became the center of Avalon social activities, with the pier entertainment committee (chaired by Mayor Bergner’s wife Albertine) arranging weekly concerts, bridge parties, musical events and dances. This committee booked Stan Gallagher’s seven-piece University of Pennsylvania Orchestra as the first orchestra to play at the Avalon Pier.

The Marine Room hosted weekly teen dances in the summer and the ever-popular Lifeguard’s Ball each year. There were also community sings, Borough Christmas parties, the Avalon Baby Parade when bad weather threatened, and the Miss Avalon beauty pageant. The Volunteer Fire Department even held carnival-style fundraisers out front on the boardwalk.

Of the stores on either side of the movie theater, most memorable were Pop Gehringer’s store, selling hot dogs, “brown cow” root beer floats, and roasted peanuts, followed by Charlie’s luncheonette and Marian’s Pokerino, which were run by husband and wife Charlie and Marian Moore.

Between 1929 and 1978, the Avalon Theater screened approximately 10,000 movies.

The Borough of Avalon leased the theater out during most of this time, primarily to J.H. Greenburg - ultimately selling to him in 1971. While he was a lessee and owner, Greenburg then leased the theater for the majority of the time to Hunt’s Theaters, a local chain that managed theaters throughout the area.

In Dave Coskey’s 2005 book, “Pier Memories,” many shared their connection to the theater:

Both Sue Keen and Doris Jackson Lafferty remembered the young handbill distributors who showed up at the theater in the morning, were assigned a route, and returned empty handed for their movie passes.

The last first run movie to be screened was “The Pride and the Passion”, playing for two days in September, 1957. The last day of the season sold 63 matinee tickets and 265 evening tickets, totaling $205.05.

The movie theater, like the pier itself, was a magical place in its heyday. But times were changing - the same movies were screened year after year, and ticket sales declined.

The charm of hearing the waves under your feet, smelling the popcorn from Charlie’s wafting through the doors, hearing shrieks of laughter from Marian’s Pokerino, or the dancing from the Marine Ballroom upstairs was no longer enough.

Repair estimates were sought the following year, but renovation costs ran upwards of $80,000. So, a painful decision was made. In early 1980, the entire Avalon Pier building was demolished.

Today, a new structure stands in its place on the boardwalk with shops, food, and amusements, but the memories and recorded history of Avalon's beloved movie theater remain.