Philadelphian Sabbath Church

530 Eastern Parkway
Harrison Wiseman
1924

This Egyptian-inspired, Art Deco style theater opened in 1924 as the Cameo Theater. A year later, it was purchased by the Loews chain and renamed the Kameo. The exterior is striking for its multiple rows of polychrome terra cotta tile, highlighted by a frieze incorporating a stylized Muse repeated across and around the façade. The theater also features a roof garden auditorium and screening wall, which can be seen from the back and sides of the building. The 1500-seat theater was a neighborhood fixture until it closed in 1974, when the building was purchased by the Philadelphian Sabbath Church, an African-American Pentecostal congregation. Luckily, much of the original interior remains intact.

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