JF Theatres

JR Theatres was a chain of cinemas in the Baltimore metropolitan region. Now defunct, it was one of the largest movie theatre chains in Maryland between the 1950s and the 1980s. At its height, JF Theatres owned over 50 movie theatres, including all of the major cinemas in Baltimore, including the Royal Theatre and what is now the Charles Theatre.^[1]

JF Theatres

Company type	Private
Industry	Entertainment
Founder	Jack Fruchtman Sr.
Area served	Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area
Services	Movie theaters
Owner	Jack Fruchtman Sr.

History

JF Theatres was founded and owned by Jack Fruchtman Sr., an office manager and chief accountant at the Washington, D.C. office of Paramount Pictures. Fruchtman was born on Manhattan's Lower East Side, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants. Fruchtman's wife Goluem K. Bragg and their son Jack Fruchtman, Jr. were also involved in the family business.^[2] Publicity for JF Theatres was managed by Herbert A. Schwartz.^[3][4] In 1956, Paramount chairman of the board Adolph Zukor selected Fruchtman's New Theater as one of the first cinemas to screen Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments. Following white flight to the suburbs in the 1960s, movie attendance fell at JF Theatres. An avowed liberal, Fruchtman began to cater to Black audiences. During the 1960s and 1970s, Fruchtman helped make Baltimore a major market for blaxploitation films.^[5]

The Royal Theatre in Baltimore, then owned by JF Theatres, was damaged during the Baltimore riot of 1968.^[6] Physical damage to facilities owned by JF Theatres was generally minimal. However, according to the film historian Robert Headley, the "psychic damage to the theater going public was terrible" and a wave of cinemas closed in the following decade.^[1]

Former JF Theatres facilities

• AMC Lexington Park 6, Lexington Park, Maryland^[7]
• Charles Theatre, Baltimore^[7]
• NextAct Cinema at the Pikes, Pikesville, Maryland^[7]

Demolished structures

• Avalon Theatre, Baltimore^[8]
• Columbia Palace 9, Columbia, Maryland^[9]
• Loews Northpoint Plaza 4, Baltimore^[10]
• Mayfair Theatre, Baltimore^[11]
• Royal Theatre, Baltimore
• Sun Valley 6 of Pasadena, Maryland^[12]

See also

• Jews in the history of American film

References

1. "Lost City: The Regent Theater". Maryland Center for History and Culture. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
2. "JMM Biographical Vertical Files -- Summaries" (PDF). Jewish Museum of Maryland. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
3. Box Office, Volume 78. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University. p. 4.
4. "Herbert A. Schwartz, artist". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
5. "Jack Fruchtman Sr., 86, theater owner". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
6. "buildings damaged during riots.pdf" (PDF). University of Baltimore. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
7. "Movie Theaters Previously Operated by JF Theatres". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
8. "Avalon Theatre". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
9. "Columbia Palace 9". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
10. "Loews Northpoint Plaza 4". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
11. "Then and Now: the Mayfair Theatre on Fire". Maryland Center for History and Culture. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
12. "New Sun Valley 6 Offers A Discounted Theater Experience". Pasadena Voice. Retrieved 2023-02-22.