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Proctor's Theater

Introduction

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The Proctor’s Theatre was a popular vaudeville venue and movie house in Yonkers, New York. Vaudeville gained popularity in the late 19th and early 20th century in the United States. Vaudeville is defined as a stage entertainment made up of several individual acts or presentations by a single entertainer or group of entertainers, which include musicians, comedians, jugglers, magicians, etc. The Proctor’s Theatre is known for its history of entertainment and for the Neoclassical style building in its prominent location in Yonkers. Famous people documented as visiting this theatre include Jayne Mansfield, George Raft, The Three Stooges, Jerry Lewis, Robert Mitchum, and Shirley MacLaine.

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current photo of the Proctor's Theater

Building, Property, Window, Sky

Proctor's Theater

Sky, Building, Window, Urban design

Backstory and Context

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The Proctor’s Theater was designed by William E. Lehman and built for the showman Frederick Francis Proctor (1851-1929). The theater illustrates the growth of two forms of American entertainment, vaudeville and movie going. The theater was built in 1914 and on January 31, 1916, it opened as Proctor’s Palace to a matinee audience under the name “Supreme Vaudeville and Film Preludes.” By this time the building’s primary goal was to serve as a vaudeville house that also showed short movies as a prologue.

Frederick Francis (F.F.) Proctor was born in Dexter, Maine. He was nicknamed “The Dean of Vaudeville” due to his distinction in the vaudeville industry and as the owner of dozens of theaters that bore his name. Proctor started his theatrical career at a young age, as part of an acrobatic act that traveled the United States and Europe. He used his savings to buy a small theater in Albany, New York in 1886. In 1889 he opened the 23rd Street Theater in New York City. By 1890 Proctor and his partner Henry Jacobs owned a dozen vaudeville houses.

In 1906, after Proctor’s partnership with Henry Jacobs went sour, Proctor partnered with his arch-rival Benjamin Franklin Keith. The two men formed the Keith and Proctor Company. In the next couple of decades, Proctor opened vaudeville theaters in Troy, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, and Yonkers. In 1929, Proctor sold his theater chain to the Radio Keith Orpheum Corporation for $16 million. The theater chain changed its name to RKO Proctor’s Theater, including the one in Yonkers. Shortly after selling the theater chain, Frederick Francis Proctor passed away in 1929.

The theater in Yonkers ran movies until its closing in 1973. The theater briefly opened in 1974 but then permanently closed in 1975. The theater has been converted to retail and office use.

Sources

  1. Shaver, Peter D.. Proctor's Theater. National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. Published August 14th 2008.
  2. Johnson, Karen. Proctor's Palace Theater, After the curtain.net. December 11th 2012. Accessed April 5th 2021. https://afterthefinalcurtain.net/2012/12/11/proctors-palace-theatre-yonkers/.
  3. "F.F. PROCTOR DEAD; DEAN OF VAUDEVILLE; Founded a Chain of Theatres Recently Sold to RadioKeith-Orpheum Circuit.GYMNAST OF NOTE AT FIRST Had to Help Support Family as Boyat Father's Death--FortuneEstimated at $16,000,000. Starts a Chain of Theatres. Introduced Continuous Shows. Tributes From Associates.." The New York Times (New York) September 5th 1929. .
Image Sources(Click to expand)

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U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Additional Information