20th & Market

20th and Market. On this block in 1928. , The gala opening of the Mastbaum Theatre took place on February 28, 1929, and featured an orchestra, chorale ensemble, and ballet troupe to accompany the world premiere of the Warner Brothers movie Sonny Boy. The lavish theater could seat 4,717 people and boasted multiple lobbies, balconies, tapestries, statues, and crystal chandeliers, to the tune of $5.5 million. As the suburbs expanded, the movie industry changed with distributors seeking more flexibility, leading to the introduction of the multiplex. Television also diversified entertainment options making large palaces like the Mastbaum obsolete. It was demolished in 1958, and the site remained vacant for almost 20 years until the Commerce Square office towers, designed by I.M. Pei, were built in 1987 and 1992., In 1928 , President: Calvin Coolidge (R) , Mayor: Harry Arista Mackay (R) , Philadelphia population: 1,823,779, Money matters ,

Average annual salary for a public school teacher: $1,433 , Loaf of bread: 5¢ , Eggs: 57¢/dozen , Coffee: 46¢/pound , Sugar: 6¢/pound¢ , Tea: 68¢/pound , Waffle iron: $9.75 , Camera: $80 , Hoover vacuum cleaner: $75 , Alarm clock: $3.25 , Toothbrush: 50¢ , Annual subscription to the Wall Street Journal: $15 , Baseball glove: $3

, Events , April 4, Maya Angelou, American poet and novelist was born., June 2, Velveeta Cheese was created by Kraft Foods, June 17, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. She was a passenger in a plane piloted by Wilmer Stultz., July 6, The first all-talking motion picture, Lights of New York, was shown in New York., December 7, Noam Chomsky, famous American linguist, was born., The breakfast cereal Rice Krispies was introduced by the Kellogg Company., Peanut butter cracker sandwich packets began selling under the name PAB by National Biscuit Company for 5¢ each., Presidential candidate Herbert Hoover called for "a chicken in every pot and two cars in every garage."