The Pearl Theater at Avenue North in Philadelphia

Atmosphere
The Pearl Theater at Avenue North is located on the campus of Temple University in North Philadelphia. I visited this theater to watch Sex and The City: The Movie after slight hesitation. Just after its grand opening, the Pearl Theater at Avenue North was evacuated after a nearby shooting in the neighborhood. A Philadelphia Weekly blog reported that this incident may not have been related to the movie theater. The shooting still led to additional rests after chaos erupted following the evacuation according to the blog.

Pearl Theater at Avenue North is the only movie theater that has been open in this neighborhood since the 1960s as listed by Cinema Treasures. This venue has two floors, one of which is merely a lead way to the second level where most concessions and theaters are located. The seats at this Philadelphia movie theater were not as comfortable as other movie houses in the city. However, they are designed as stadium seating and make it possible for all audience members to view the movie screen with ease.

Prices
Tickets are $6 when purchased online but costumers also have to pay an extra $1 fee, bringing the total to $7. However, it appears that this $7 price is for showtimes throughout the day. The charges are different when paying at this theater. My ticket cost $9.50 for a late night show at The Pearl Theater at Avenue North. That is not a bad price, as I have paid more than $10 at other Philadelphia movie theaters.

Amenities
The Pearl Theater has seven screens and there are modest parking opportunities around the theater and Temple University's campus. I was not impressed when visiting the website for this Philadelphia movie theater. The Pearl's website has a solid page with three buttons, which is too simplistic for movie goers who want to find out more information. One button links to the daily show times and online ticketing while the second link allows customers to view future schedules later in the month. The final and last button links to a search feature that displays all events for specific movies. The least they could do is list an address with directions on this website.

Service
My experience with customer service working in the Pearl Theater at Avenue North was adequate. The staff did offer any information about the theater unless prompted. They provide the bare minimum level of service and nothing more than expected. This is not surprising since the staff more than likely consists of young adults and college kids who live near or attend local colleges. The Pearl Theater at Avenue North has a lot of bells and whistles with a nice design but could be better if the staff matched it's level of glamour.

Historical References:

PW Blogs

Cinema Treasures