Bethlehem’s iconic Boyd Theatre slated to come down soon

Arturo Fernandez / TMC
Father Anthony Mongiello of St. Anne's Church in Bethlehem leaves the 1:30 showing of "The Passion of the Christ" at the Boyd Theatre in Bethlehem on Wednesday February 25, 2004.
EMILY PAINE / THE MORNING CALL
Exterior of the Boyd Theatre at 30 Broad Street in Bethlehem.
April Gamiz/The Morning Call
A look at the Boyd Theatre at 30 W. Broad Street in Bethlehem shows the decaying interior and exterior, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. A windstorm damaged the roof in 2011, closing the theater for good. Water damage from the leaking roof also shut down several storefronts at the property in 2015.
April Gamiz/The Morning Call
A look at the Boyd Theatre at 30 W. Broad Street in Bethlehem shows the decaying interior and exterior, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. A windstorm damaged the roof in 2011, closing the theater for good. Water damage from the leaking roof also shut down several storefronts at the property in 2015.
April Gamiz/The Morning Call
A look at the Boyd Theatre at 30 W. Broad Street in Bethlehem shows the decaying interior and exterior, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. A windstorm damaged the roof in 2011, closing the theater for good. Water damage from the leaking roof also shut down several storefronts at the property in 2015.
April Gamiz/The Morning Call
A look at the Boyd Theater at 30 W. Broad Street in Bethlehem shows the decaying interior and exterior, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. A windstorm damaged the roof in 2011, closing the theater for good. Water damage from the leaking roof also shut down several storefronts at the property in 2015.
EMILY PAINE / MORNING CALL FILE PHOTO
The Boyd Theatre at 30 Broad Street in Bethlehem. The theatre was a venue that featured live performances dating back to the vaudeville era, the Boyd became the place to see first-run movies in Bethlehem.
MONICA CABRERA / THE MORNING CALL
Bethlehem's Boyd Theater on Broad Street in Bethlehem.
April Gamiz/The Morning Call
A look at the Boyd Theatre at 30 W. Broad Street in Bethlehem shows the decaying interior and exterior, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. A windstorm damaged the roof in 2011, closing the theater for good. Water damage from the leaking roof also shut down several storefronts at the property in 2015.
EMILY PAINE / THE MORNING CALL
Exterior of the Boyd Theatre at 30 Broad Street in Bethlehem.
MONICA CABRERA / THE MORNING CALL
Bethlehem's Boyd Theater on Broad Street in Bethlehem.
ED CRISOSTOMO / TMC
Boyd Theatre in Bethlehem.
April Gamiz/The Morning Call
A look at the Boyd Theatre at 30 W. Broad Street in Bethlehem shows the decaying interior and exterior, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. A windstorm damaged the roof in 2011, closing the theater for good. Water damage from the leaking roof also shut down several storefronts at the property in 2015.
Courtesy of Bill Weiner / THE MORNING CALL
Broad Street 1953 The Boyd Theater was originally called the Kurtz Theater and opened on September 1, 1921. A. R. Boyd Enterprises bought the theater in 1934 and changed the name to 'The Boyd.' This view shows the theater before the 1966 fire that started in a nearby retail shop and caused damage to the theater's lobby, external facade and marquee.
EMILY PAINE / THE MORNING CALL
Exterior of the Boyd Theatre at 30 Broad Street in Bethlehem.
MONICA CABRERA / THE MORNING CALL
Bethlehem's Boyd Theater on Broad Street in Bethlehem.
EMILY PAINE / MORNING CALL FILE PHOTO
The Boyd Theatre at 30 Broad Street in Bethlehem. The theatre was a venue that featured live performances dating back to the vaudeville era, the Boyd became the place to see first-run movies in Bethlehem.
April Gamiz/The Morning Call
A look at the Boyd Theatre at 30 W. Broad Street in Bethlehem shows the decaying interior and exterior, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. A windstorm damaged the roof in 2011, closing the theater for good. Water damage from the leaking roof also shut down several storefronts at the property in 2015.
EMILY PAINE / THE MORNING CALL
Exterior of the Boyd Theatre at 30 Broad Street in Bethlehem.
MORNING CALL FILE PHOTO / TMC
Exterior of the Boyd Theater in Bethlehem. Photo taken April 19, 1989.
The six-story-tall mix-use building of the former Boyd Theatre property on West Broad Street in Bethlehem, shown in a draft rendering, won approval from the city's planning commission.
EMILY PAINE / THE MORNING CALL
Exterior of the Boyd Theatre at 30 Broad Street in Bethlehem.
THE MORNING CALL
Kurtz Theatre and Restaurant on West Broad Street in Bethlehem.
April Gamiz/The Morning Call
A look at the Boyd Theatre at 30 W. Broad Street in Bethlehem shows the decaying interior and exterior, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. A windstorm damaged the roof in 2011, closing the theater for good. Water damage from the leaking roof also shut down several storefronts at the property in 2015.
HARRY FISHER / TMC
Robert Martinez (from left), 19, is dressed as "Jedi Master" as he joins Andrea Olsovsky, 22, of Danielsville, and and Chad York, of Bethlehem, in staking out positions in front of the Boyd Theatre in Bethlehem, for a midnight showing of Episode 3 of Star Wars, on Wednesday, May 18, 2005.
April Gamiz/The Morning Call
A look through the front windows into the Boyd Theatre at 30 W. Broad Street in Bethlehem shows the decaying interior, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. A windstorm damaged the roof in 2011, closing the theater for good. Water damage from the leaking roof also shut down several storefronts at the property in 2015.

By Lindsay Weber | liweber@mcall.com | The Morning Call

PUBLISHED: January 25, 2022 at 5:49 p.m. | UPDATED: January 26, 2022 at 4:08 a.m.

Bethlehem’s iconic Boyd Theatre is finally coming down.

Alicia Miller Karner, Bethlehem’s director of community and economic development, said the city will begin demolition of the long-blighted building in early February.

Serfass Construction Co. is handling the demolition and the company has already begun interior flattening of the building, clearing out asbestos and other junk before exterior work can begin.

Boyd Theatre, once a staple of Bethlehem’s performing arts scene, has sat vacant and blighted since 2011 after severe weather damaged the building that year. The storefronts next to the theater were condemned in 2015 because of the building’s deterioration.

DLP Real Estate Capital and Monocacy General Contracting bought the building in early 2021 with plans to transform the long-empty site into a luxury apartment complex.

The Bethlehem Planning Commission approved plans for the building in October, though the developers had to scale back their original plans from 13 stories to 6 to win the city’s approval. With 204 apartment units, an underground parking deck, pool and courtyard, the project’s price tag is $50 million. It will be the biggest redevelopment project in downtown Bethlehem, according to Monacacy CEO Plamen Ayvazov.

The six-story-tall mix-use building of the former Boyd Theatre property on West Broad Street in Bethlehem, shown in a draft rendering, won approval from the city's planning commission. — The six-story-tall mix-use building of the former Boyd Theatre property on West Broad Street in Bethlehem, shown in a draft rendering, won approval from the city’s planning commission.

Demolition is expected to take three months, according to Karner, and building construction will begin soon after that. The new complex is expected to be finished by 2023.

Fans of the theater’s iconic “Boyd Theatre” sign that has long graced West Broad Street don’t need to worry about its future. Karner said the developers plan to incorporate the signage into one of the building’s courtyards.

“It’s a once in a lifetime project,” Karner said of the development. “The redevelopment of that site is going to reinvigorate an area of Broad Street that’s been a challenge for the city.”

Morning Call reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at 610-820-6681 and liweber@mcall.com.