Mayfair Theatre, Historic movie theater in Baltimore, United States.
Mayfair Theatre on North Howard Street is a movie theater built in 1904 with a white stone facade and large marquee sign. Today the structure preserves only its exterior and front lobby as a designated Baltimore landmark.
The first building on the site opened on June 17, 1880 as the Natatorium, a bathing house and swimming school. After alterations it became the Howard Auditorium in 1891, served as an ice skating rink in 1894, and was rebuilt as the Auditorium Theatre for $250,000, opening September 12, 1904. Remodeled in 1940 by architect E. Bernard Evander, it reopened on January 31, 1941 as the 850-seat Mayfair Theatre, which closed on April 22, 1986.
The Mayfair name was adopted on 31 January 1941, when the rebuilt 850-seat house reopened with the film A Night at Earl Carroll's starring Ken Murray. The surviving front lobby and facade are what remain of the 1904 Auditorium Theatre by Philadelphia firm J.D. Allen & Co., later remodelled in 1940 by local architect E. Bernard Evander.
The theater is accessible only from the outside today since only the facade and lobby remain intact. It makes a good stop when walking through the historic buildings along North Howard Street.
The 1896 remodel added a Palm Court on the roof garden, and the theatre was rebuilt in 1904 for $250,000 to designs by Philadelphia firm J.D. Allen & Co. In 1940 architect E. Bernard Evander built a new 850-seat house inside the old shell, sealing the upper balcony behind a dropped ceiling.
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