Erie's showplace: A timeline of the Warner Theatre's history

Kevin Flowers, Erie Times-News
·3 min read

Here is a timeline of events in the history of Erie's Warner Theatre, which will reopen to the public in late January after a nearly $27 million renovation:

'A beautiful place': Take a closer look at the renovations of the iconic Warner Theatre

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April 10, 1931: Dedication of new Warner is outstanding social event

Drumroll, please: Erie Philharmonic eager to start 2022 lineup of live shows

After more than 40 years, the marquee on the front of the Warner Theatre in downtown Erie was fully re-lit on Dec. 3. The marquee and the vertical "Warner" signs are filled with 6,910 LED lights. The marquee cost $700,000 and is a replica of the original marquee, which was part of the iconic art deco theater, which opened in 1931.
After more than 40 years, the marquee on the front of the Warner Theatre in downtown Erie was fully re-lit on Dec. 3. The marquee and the vertical "Warner" signs are filled with 6,910 LED lights. The marquee cost $700,000 and is a replica of the original marquee, which was part of the iconic art deco theater, which opened in 1931.

  • 1929: Filmmaking giant Warner Brothers commissions the construction of a new 2,250-seat, art deco and French Renaissance-styled theater in Erie at a cost of more than $1.5 million. The Warner was designed by architectural firm Rapp and Rapp Company of Chicago. Warner Brothers officials said at the time that the design goal for their luxury movie palaces was to create an environment “twice as rich, three times more fanciful than life.”

  • April 10, 1931: The Warner Theatre opens to the public with the showing of the film "The Millionaire" starring Academy Award winners George Arliss and James Cagney. The theater features a 10-ton marquee with more than 8,000 colored lights; a solid bronze, freestanding ticket booth and solid bronze doors leading to a gold-gilded grand lobby; tapestries and French gold-backed mirrors; a staircase with bronze banisters leading through an archway of marble, gold gilding and draped tapestry to the theater’s mezzanine and balcony; Czechoslovakian glass; and crystal chandeliers.

  • November 8, 1931: The Warner formally initiates a vaudeville season. Later that month, Bob Hope makes an appearance at the Warner, telling stories while sitting downstage on a barrel.

  • 1971: Cinemette Corporation of America purchases the Warner from the Stanley Warner Corporation.

  • 1974: The Erie Philharmonic has its first concert at the theatre.

  • 1976: State officials and the city of Erie negotiate the purchase of the Warner from Cinemette, largely to keep the theater from being demolished. Shortly afterward, the theater would stop showing first-run films.

  • 1977: The Erie Civic Center Authority is created to oversee the physical and financial management of the Warner Theatre.

  • 1981: The Broadway Theatre League begins to bring top Broadway musicals to the Warner Theatre and the Erie Civic Ballet begins performing on the Warner’s stage. The theater is also listed for the first time on the Pennsylvania’s Inventory of Museums and Historical Places.

  • April 1982: The Warner Theatre is placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

  • 1996: The Pennsylvania Legislature first approves an $11 million grant for renovations to the Warner Theatre. The project would receive additional state money in future years.

  • 2002-2003: More than $3 million in state money funds two phases of Warner Theatre upgrades that included new seats, a new roof and interior decorative painting.

  • 2007: An additional $2.5 million renovations phase, combining tax dollars and private donations, pays for an theater expansion that includes additional restrooms, concession areas, and a new entrance and electronic marquee off French Street.

  • May 2020: Work begins on the final $27 million phase of Warner Theatre renovations after years of delays, including cost overruns and a complicated property arrangement involving land near the Warner needed to expand the stage. That deal took more than 15 years to negotiate. The work also includes an enclosed walkway affixed to the theater along French Street; new orchestral practice and event space; new rigging; an updated sound system; new loading docks; and additional production equipment. Construction is expected to take at least 18 months. An outdoor video screen is also planned.

  • October: Erie Events officials announce the planned December reopening of Erie's Warner Theatre will be delayed for at least a month, into January 2022, because of construction delays.

  • Dec. 3: The Warner’s restored marquee is fully re-lit for the first time in roughly 40 years during a public ceremony. The marquee was restored as part of the final phase of theater upgrades.

  • Jan. 23: The Warner Theatre is scheduled to reopen to the public with a performance by the Erie Philharmonic.

Sources: Erie Events, Erie Times-News archives

Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNflowers.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie's Warner Theatre, from 1931 to 2022: a timeline of key events