The Yeadon Theater, prior to its closing in 2000 and its demolition in 2006, was a landmark destination for generations of children and adults. The theater holds a corner of many people’s hearts who attended the theater a few times or all through their childhood.  

With the opening of the theater in 1937, it was one of the last Art Moderne movie houses in the Philadelphia designed by John Eberson, a Ukrainian American who designed over 500 theaters in his lifetime. One of the theaters “claims to fame,” was the admission price of $1.00. For a dollar you would watch a few cartoons to start, followed by a second run movie. The movie going strategy at the time for many a family was when first run movies came out, you would wait a few weeks and it would eventually come to the Yeadon. “We’ll wait until it comes to the Yeadon.” Jaws opens up to crowds of theater goers at the more expensive county theaters, wait a few weeks and you can see it for a dollar at the Yeadon Theater. But, there were exceptions!  Don’t expect any R rated movies at the Yeadon Theater, for that you would need to go elsewhere.  

Some memory's are seared into a persons mind like that of Mrs. Friedman zipping up a childs  jacket prior to leaving the theater. Was this a by chance occurrence? No! Mrs. Friedman was about family and with her zipping up your jacket on cold winter days you felt her care as if you were a family member. Other memories still in the hearts of those who remember the theater include 5 cent sodas, a candy case full of candy, the ticket booth out front and the smell of popcorn lingering throughout the lobby.  

As with many beloved places the Yeadon Theater eventually closed in the year 2000, Mrs. Friedman died at the age of 98 in 2005 and sadly the theater was demolished in 2006. Although there were efforts to restore the theater none of them were able to gain any traction leaving the theater to just memories.  .

First opened in 1937, the Yeadon Theater was a destination stop for Yeadon residents and those of the surrounding communities. Little did anyone know at the time that within a few years after the theater opened, the nation would be in the throws of a war of such magnitude it would be seen as World War II.  

As the nation mobilized for war in the in the early 1940s, many industries saw a transition from a peacetime production of goods and services to the production of goods that would support our nation’s war efforts. It was easy to see how a car manufacturer could transition from building civilian cars to military vehicles, or an airplane manufacturer of commercial planes could be  transitioned to combat aircraft. But how could a small suburban movie theater make its contribution to the war effort? It certainly could not transition its movie theater seats into aircraft cockpits or become a training facility for soldiers. 

So how did the Yeadon Theater make a small but vital contribution to winning the war? How could a movie theater have any impact in supporting our nation in a time of war? The Yeadon Theater did so by using its strategic location in the community and a place that everyone in Yeadon at the time would know about. The Yeadon Theater became an official U.S. War Bond issuing Agency for the United States government for the purchase and redemption of War Bonds.

Purchasing war bonds which later could be redeemed with interest, was a significant way that citizens could support the war efforts. The selling and purchasing of these bonds needed to be done in a facility that was publicly known, could be secured and would be able to handle the public walking in from the street. All elements which the Yeadon Theater fulfilled. Although the Yeadon Theater was only one issuing agent, collectively with hundreds of other locations throughout the country, the selling of these bonds played a significant role in the eventual winning of the war.

A successful business does not just happen. And the success of the Yeadon Theater was not by happenstance but through hard work and dedication. 

According to a newspaper article written by Sally A. Downey from the Philadelphia Inquirer on 10/31/05 on the passing of Mrs. Friedman,  she writes: 

Rhea Perelman Friedman, 98, the former owner of the Yeadon Theater who treated movie patrons like family, died Wednesday at Arden Court in Warminster.

Mrs. Friedman operated the Yeadon Theater from 1954 until she sold it in 1984. She furnished the lobby like a living room, with photo displays of her grandchildren, her daughter Janet Lazrow said, and, in motherly fashion, posted signs reminding moviegoers not to forget umbrellas, gloves and eyeglasses.

She served free cookies and coffee to adults and distributed Popsicles to children during Saturday matinees. When customers were stranded at the theater by bad weather, Lazrow said, her mother - who hated to drive - gave them a ride home. During the 30 years Mrs. Friedman operated the theater, admission was never more than a dollar - with discounts for children and senior citizens.

Mrs. Friedman's father, Louis, built the Delaware County cinema in 1937 and also owned two movie houses in Philadelphia. He got into the film business, Lazrow said, after Prohibition forced him to close the tavern he operated in Chester.

Mrs. Friedman grew up in Chester and West Philadelphia. She helped out in the family business until her marriage to Percy Friedman, who took over the Yeadon Theater while her brothers ran the movie theaters in Philadelphia. She stayed home to care for her children.

In 1954, Percy Friedman died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage, leaving Mrs. Friedman with the theater and three young children. She took over the movie theater's operations, and when her daughters were teenagers, they helped in the box office and cleaned up after matinees.

She worked six or seven days a week, her daughter said. In her free time, she enjoyed going to the opera and managed to take a vacation in Hawaii and a safari in Africa. She also made the time to visit her out-of-state grandchildren.

"Family was very important to her," Lazrow said.  In addition to her daughter, Mrs. Friedman is survived by two other daughters, Lynn Weinstein and Eileen Branda; eight grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.