What better way to celebrate the start off the work week than with some Philly history? Dennis Carlisle of OCF Realty Commercial gives you the scoop on some of Philadelphia’s most interesting buildings in the return of a familiar feature.

Midvale Theatre, built 1914, by architect Lawrence Visscher Boyd, has a rounded facade that compliments the odd-shaped, uphill corner of Midvale Avenue and Frederick Streets in East Falls. The homes going uphill behind it were developed by John H. Edgar in 1899.

The Midvale Theatre operated as a silent film theater until 1929, when it was upgraded to show “talkies” and was renamed the Falls Theatre. In 1939, the theater was auctioned off, and after a period of vacancy, became a grocery store called the Midvale Market in 1947.

It transitioned to a party supply store in the 1970s and early 80s, a beer distributor in the late 80s, and was converted to the offices of Human Resource Development Inc in the early 90s.

In the 21st Century, two tech firms, BuLogics and Stratus, called the old theater their home until 2022, when owners Felicite Moorman and Ryan Buchert converted the building to the The Fallser Club, a performance and event venue. This is an outstanding outcome for a building like this; it’s always great to see an old theatre operate again as a community gathering space.

-Dennis Carlisle, @denniscarlislecommre