Introduction
The Victoria — 1941
The Victoria Theatre first appears in Camden City Directories in 1921. The Victoria was for many years part of a chain of theaters owned by Samuel Varbalow and his family. The family business, originally known as the Victoria Amusement Company, evolved into the SAVAR Corporation which at one time owned thirty movie houses in South Jersey.
The Victoria was torn down not long after the 1947 City Directory was compiled. By 1949 the Varbalows had built a new theater, the Arlo, a short walk away from the Victoria, and a diner, known for many years as the Jackson Diner, was built on the old theater’s site. This diner has been known as Elegante Cafe & Nightclub since 2000.
Direction of Victoria Amusement Co.
Camden Courier-Post —
Direction of Victoria Amusement Co.
Walt Whitman — 46th–Westfield Ave. — George O’Brien in “East Side, West Side” — 3 Acts of Vaudeville
Victoria — 26th & Federal — Olive Borden — Pajamas
Auditorium — 27th & River Ave. — Olive Borden — Pajamas
Apollo — Gloucester — Edmund Lowe in “Publicity Madness” — 3 Acts of Vaudeville
Leader — Gloucester — George O’Brien in “East Side, West Side”
Park — Merchantville — “His Dog”
Walter Huston in ‘The House Divided’
Camden Courier-Post —
Victoria — 26th and Federal — Walter Huston in “The House Divided”
Auditorium — 27th and River Ave. — Miriam Hopkins — Two Kinds of Women
Apollo — Gloucester — Spencer Tracy in “Young America”
Warren William in ‘The Mouthpiece’
Camden Courier-Post —
Victoria — 26th and Federal — Warren William in “The Mouthpiece” — Continuous Showing
Auditorium — 27th and River Ave. — Helen Twelvetrees in “Panama Flo”
Victoria Amusement Co. Theaters
East Camden News —
Victoria — 26th and Federal Street
Fri.–Sat. Feb. 20–21 — Claudette Colbert — Remember the Day — with John Payne
Sun.–Mon. Feb. 22–23 — William Powell · Myrna Loy — Shadow of the Thin Man — with Dickie Hall and Asta
Towers — Broadway and Platt — Fri.–Sat. Feb. 20–21–22 — Parisian “Stage Scanties” — Marty Bohn and a Big Stage Show — and First South Jersey Showing of — Jane Frazee · The Merry Macs · Leon Errol · Mischa Auer — Moonlight in Hawaii
Walt Whitman — 46th and Westfield Avenue — Fri.–Sat. Feb. 20–21 — William Powell · Myrna Loy — Shadow of the Thin Man — Dickie Hall and Asta
Sun.–Mon. Feb. 22–23 — Claudette Colbert — Remember the Day — with John Payne
The Rio — 27th and River Ave. — Fri.–Sat. Feb. 20–21 — William Powell · Myrna Loy — Shadow of the Thin Man — with Dickie Hall and Asta
Sun. Feb. 22 — Jimmy Durante · Phil Silvers — You’re in the Army Now