Colonial Theatre
227 Bridge St, Phoenixville, PA
Phoenixville, PA
A lovingly restored early movie palace that starred in a classic monster film, where every summer fans reenact the moment the audience fled a creeping red menace.
The Colonial Theatre is a jewel of early-twentieth-century movie-house architecture on the main street of Phoenixville, opened in 1903 and lovingly restored to its former glamour. It looks the part of a grand old picture palace, but its real fame comes from a low-budget horror film shot partly in and around it decades ago.
In the 1958 cult classic The Blob, a young Steve McQueen leads a terrified crowd bursting out of a movie theatre as an oozing red menace pursues them, and that theatre was the Colonial. The scene made the building a landmark for horror fans, and every summer the town throws Blobfest, when crowds gleefully reenact the run-out from the very doors that starred in the film.
What Guests Love
- The historic auditorium itself, restored to its early-twentieth-century glamour
- Its starring role in the 1958 cult film The Blob, shot partly right here
- Blobfest, the summer festival where fans reenact the famous theatre run-out scene
- A working independent cinema and stage in a lively, walkable downtown
Worth Knowing
- This is a working theatre, so what you can see inside depends on the show or film schedule
- Blobfest is hugely popular and its tickets and events sell out well in advance
- Downtown Phoenixville parking fills on event nights, so arrive early or use nearby lots
- Check the theatre's calendar to time a visit around a screening, concert, or tour
Details
Phoenixville, PA
Learn about Colonial Theatre
A movie palace on Bridge Street
The Colonial opened in 1903, in the early days of moving pictures and grand small-town theatres, and it grew with the golden age of cinema as a place where a whole town came to watch the screen. Like many such houses it later fell on hard times as audiences drifted away, and it faced the wrecking ball that claimed so many old theatres.
A community effort saved and restored it, bringing back the ornate auditorium and reopening it as a nonprofit cinema and performance space. Today it shows films, hosts live music and events, and serves as an anchor for the revival of Phoenixville's downtown, proof of what a saved old theatre can do for a town.
The Blob and Blobfest
In 1958 a modest science-fiction horror film called The Blob was shot in and around this part of Pennsylvania, with the Colonial standing in for the theatre where the monster corners its victims. The image of Steve McQueen and a screaming crowd pouring out of the doors became one of the most memorable moments in classic B-movie history.
The town has embraced its unlikely fame with Blobfest, an annual summer festival built around the movie. Its signature event is a mass reenactment of the run-out scene, when fans stream out of the theatre's doors just as the panicked crowd did on film, alongside costume contests, screenings, and celebrations of vintage horror. It has become the theatre's best-loved tradition.
An iron town reborn
Phoenixville grew up as an industrial town, its name and fortune tied to iron and steel making along French Creek and the Schuylkill River. This valley lies within the ancestral homeland of the Lenape, also called the Delaware, whose descendant communities continue elsewhere today after removal from the region. Generations of workers, many of them immigrants, forged rails, pipe, and structural iron here.
When the mills closed, the town's main street slid into decline, and the Colonial's near-loss was part of that story. In recent decades Phoenixville has come back strongly, its brick storefronts filling with restaurants, breweries, galleries, and shops, and the restored theatre has been both a symbol and an engine of that revival.
A year at the Colonial
The theatre keeps a full calendar through the year, mixing new releases with classic films, live concerts, and special events, so almost any visit can be timed to catch something on the screen or stage. Its schedule is the best guide to what you will find inside on a given day.
Summer is the theatre's high season thanks to Blobfest, which fills the town for a weekend of monster-movie fun. The rest of the year the Colonial and the surrounding downtown make an easy evening out, with dinner on Bridge Street and a film or show under the restored ceiling, whatever the weather outside.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Travelers Rest Motel
Honorable Mention3701 Old Philadelphia Pike, Intercourse, PA
32 miles away|Learn More ›
Things to Do Near Phoenixville
Downtown Phoenixville
Surrounding the theatre
A revived main street of restaurants, breweries, coffee shops, and independent stores in a former iron town.
Valley Forge National Historical Park
About 10 miles southeast
The site of the Continental Army's hard winter encampment, with monuments, trails, and rolling parkland.
Schuylkill River Trail
A few miles from town
A long paved rail-trail following the Schuylkill River, popular for biking and walking through the region.