The venue at 334 South has had a few since the turn of the 20th century. It was Crystal Palace and New Palace Theatre in the 1940s. In the ’50s, actors Anne and Logan Ramsey turned it into Theatre of the Living Arts, a repertory house whose reputation was furthered in the ’60s by director Andre Gregory. It became a movie theater; Ray Murray started projecting films there in 1972 and managed the place until he and his partners took over in 1981 and re-christened it the TLA. In 1987, Electric Factory Concerts got the property and Murray’s TLA Entertainment leased them the name for free as long as it stayed a theater.

There’s history in names. You can celebrate history.

“But you can’t let it weigh you down,” says Larry Magid, Electric Factory’s major domo.

Magid’s turning the TLA into the Fillmore Philadelphia at the TLA.

It really does roll right off the tongue, doesn’t it?
CP: Meet Me In The CBGB Deck At The Fillmore Philadelphia At The TLA In Philadelphia
Previously: Because “Whisky Dix” Was Already Taken

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 26th, 2007 at 2:28 pm.