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Regent Theatre

This early work of Thomas White Lamb opened in what was then a German-American neighborhood in Harlem. The theatre had a Venetian palazzo exterior and a Spanish-Moorish interior decorated in gold, blue and red, with satin wall panels and dark blue carpets. The theatre was initially designed exclusively for film and was unsuccessful until impresario S.L. "Roxy" Rothafel made modifications to the furnishings and programming. B.S. Moss later added the theatre to the Keith-Albee vaudeville circuit.

The theatre was purchased for use by the First Corinthian Baptist Church sometime after 1964 (Fodors). Work on the lavish and crumbling exterior had apparently been going intermittently for awhile by the time I visited in the Spring of 2008. Photos of the exterior minus the protective netting can be seen HERE...

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