Harlem Park Theatre

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Harlem Park Theatre
Pietsch - Harlem Theatre, Baltimore, about 1932.jpg
Site Information
Address614 N Gilmore St
Geo-reference39°17′45″N 76°38′35″W / 39.29584°N 76.64301°W / 39.29584; -76.64301
Building Data
Building TypeCommercial
Construction
Completed1903
Renovation
Date1932
ArchitectTheodore Wells Pietsch

During segregation, on the west side of Harlem Square Park at the site of the Harlem Park Methodist Episcopal Church, which had caught fire several times, plans were put in place for a motion-picture theater for African Americans. It was 1928, and Theodore Wells Pietsch, who had already designed a few motion-picture theaters in Baltimore, was hired to plan it. He took the building’s history into consideration. When he came up with a plan, he ensured it was fireproof by using steel and concrete. A fire extinguishing system was also included in the new plan. After an enormously successful opening in 1932, the theater stayed open for nearly forty years. But in 1975, it was converted back into a church—the Harlem Park Community Baptist Church—which is still being used today. In 2020, the Neighborhood Design Center announced it will also be used as “a multi-purpose event space, cultural arts center, and a resource center focused on employment and food justice.”