Warner Theatre (Atlantic City, New Jersey)

The Warner Theatre is a former movie palace and live theater venue built in 1929 on the Atlantic City boardwalk. It reopened as a performance venue in 2023.^[1]

The Warner Theatre

Former names	The Warner's Embassy Theatre, The Warren Theatre
Address	2015 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ
Coordinates	39°21′19″N 74°26′2″W
Type	Movie palace, live theater space
Capacity	4,270 (former); 422 (current)
Construction
Opened	1929
Renovated	2023
Demolished	1960s-1970s (auditorium, lobby; facade saved)
Website
spiegelworld.com/shows/the-hook/

On with the Show! was the first film shown at the Warner Theatre

Background

Designed by Philadelphia architectural firm Hoffman-Henon Co. and commissioned by Warner Bros., the Warner Theatre opened in June 1929 on the boardwalk near what is now ACX1 Studios (then the Million Dollar Pier).^[2] It was built on the site of the former Great Northern Opera House.^[3] Opening as the Warner’s Embassy Theatre, its first showing was the 1929 film On with the Show! plus a live stage show.^[4] The venue was built in a Spanish Moorish-Atmospheric style in the auditorium and a Venetian-style lobby. It hosted the Miss America pageant and Bess Myerson was crowned there in 1945.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

In the 1950s, the venue was renamed Warren Theatre and later became a live venue for performing artists. The bulk of the theater was demolished in the early 1960s due to lack of revenue. During this period it was owned by George A. Hamid Jr. of the Hamid Circus who converted it to a bowling alley, Boardwalk Bowl, which opened in 1963. Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello appeared at the alley to plug their film Beach Party in the summer of 1963.^[5]

By 1978, the lobby was being used as a pizza joint.^[10]

2020s renovation as The Hook

In 2023, Caesars Atlantic City and Australian theater producer Ross Mollison's Spiegelworld restored the site as a theater venue, incorporating the original ocean-facing facade, adding stained glass and opening an outpost of Las Vegas's Superfrico restaurant, serving "Italian-American psychedelic" cuisine.^{[11][12][13][14]} The permanent resident show is the adults-only "The Hook," based around Atlantic City's entertainment history.^[15] Belfast-born comedy director Cal McCrystal directs the show.^[16][17]

See also

• Live New Jersey music venues by capacity
• Nightclubs in Atlantic City
• The Orange Loop
• Atlantic City Theater Company

References

1. "New theater, restaurant, bars coming to Atlantic City boardwalk next summer". Asbury Park Press.
2. "Warner Theatre opening". June 19, 1929. p. 17 – via newspapers.com.
3. "Remembering The Warner Movie Palace on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City | Tiki Lounge Talk". January 16, 2010.
4. "Warren Theatre in Atlantic City, NJ - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org.
5. "Warner Atlantic City". incinerama.com.
6. Hurley, Harry (September 18, 2023). "Magnificent Atlantic City Theatre Has Endured For Almost 100 Years". WPG Talk Radio 95.5 FM.
7. Nemy, Enid; McDonald, William (January 5, 2015). "Bess Myerson, New Yorker of Beauty, Wit, Service and Scandal, Dies at 90" – via NYTimes.com.
8. Gold, Marty (September 9, 2020). "Victory Of Bess Myerson In 1945 Pageant Celebrated in Documentary".
9. "Miss America 1945: Rare Photos From the Old-School Jersey Shore". September 6, 2012.
10. "Warner Theater, 2015 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, New Jersey". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.
11. Sheckells, Melinda (July 15, 2023). "Las Vegas Impresario Bets Big on Atlantic City with The Hook (Exclusive First Look)".
12. Monthly, New Jersey (June 26, 2023). "Atlantic City's Newest Italian-American Restaurant Promises 'Psychedelic' Cuisine". New Jersey Monthly.
13. Given, Molly (August 8, 2023). "3 restaurants to try in Atlantic City before the summer is over – Metro Philadelphia". metrophiladelphia.com.
14. "Where To Eat in Atlantic City This Summer".
15. "The Hook, Superfrico are key components to Atlantic City's renaissance - Shore Local Newsmagazine". August 3, 2023.
16. Given, Molly (July 19, 2023). "The Hook is an entertainment venue full of intimacy, history and one-of-a-kind experiences – Metro Philadelphia". metrophiladelphia.com.
17. "Spiegelworld banking on 94-year-old Atlantic City theater". January 18, 2023.