The Dunbar Theater

The Dunbar Theater was established by Black bankers E. C. Brown and Andrew Stevens Jr., who after being refused entrance into a White owned theater, decided to open the first Black owned, Black built theater. The Great Migration had significantly increased the Black population in Philadelphia, and the businessmen saw an opportunity to offer entertainment for a Black audience in a city with segregated venues.

The Dunbar had a successful start, where it offered quality entertainment for its guests and held events to support the NAACP and Marcus Garvey. Meanwhile, at South and 12th Street, The Standard Theater, owned by affluent Black entrepreneur John T Gibson, stood as another prominent entertainment venue where Black artists such as such as Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, performed to Black audiences.

The Dunbar didn't last for too long and eventually was sold to John T Gibson, who would rename the theater Gibson's Theater. Owning these two venues made Gibson one of the richest Black men in the city. Gibson would lose his fortune during the Depression. The theater sold to new owners who would rename it the Lincoln Theater but would continue to feature jazz artists throughout the 1930s and 40s.

Dunbar Theater

As the Lincoln

John T Gibson portrait

Thanks to the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, we have access to a first person account by John (Jack) Jones, of what theaters and music entertainment in Philadelphia during the 1920s and 30s were like.

Source:Interview: John (Jack) Jones, June 1, 1982,” Goin' North, accessed April 23, 2024, https://goinnorth.org/items/show/1081

Citations

2023. Explorepahistory.com. 2023. http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-152.

2023. Explorepahistory.com. 2023. https://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-62.

‌“PhilaPlace - the Standard Theatre. Philadelphia’s Own Vaudeville Theatre.” 2024. Philaplace.org. 2024.