Philadelphia’s only art déco movie palace, The Boyd Theatre, opened on Christmas day in 1928. The 2,450 seat theater was initially intended to be a movie theater and rarely presented live performances. It was sold in 1971 to the SamEric Corporation, who renovated the theater, renamed it the SamEric Theatre, and added three additional screens in an adjacent building. 

The Boyd closed in 2002 and was slated for demolition, but it was temporarily saved by the preservation group, the “Friends of the Boyd.” It was partially demolished in 2015. The auditorium was replaced by an apartment building, and the lobby remains vacant despite various redevelopment plans.