Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

The Dunbar Theatre

Photographed by Don Morfe, March 11, 2015

1. The Dunbar Theatre Marker

Inscription. Erected here by Black bankers, this theater was home to the Lafayette Players, popular vaudeville entertainers. Later bought by white interests and renamed the Lincoln, it hosted major Black performers from the 1920s into the 1940s.

Erected 1991 by Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment. In addition, it is included in the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) series list.

Location. Marker has been reported missing. It was located near 39° 56.669′ N, 75° 9.924′ W. Marker was in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia County. It was in Rittenhouse Square. It was on South Broad Street just south of Lombard Street. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: Philadelphia PA 19147, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker was in Southeast Pennsylvania. It was also in the American Northeast

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it was in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

New Netherland,

and one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: Ambient Air Monitoring Site (a few steps from this marker); Billie Holiday (within shouting distance of this marker); Gertrude E. H. Bustill Mossell (within shouting distance of this marker); On this block in 1927

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(about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church (about 500 feet away); Frank Furness (about 500 feet away); The Hooters (about 500 feet away); Jody Gerson (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Philadelphia.

Photographed by Don Morfe, March 11, 2015

2. The Dunbar Theatre Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on January 28, 2024. It was originally submitted on March 16, 2015, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 775 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 16, 2015, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.