Daniela Holt Voith, a Bryn Mawr College graduate and founding principal and director of design at Voith & Mactavish Architects, remembers seeing matinees at the Sedgwick Theater at 7137 Germantown Avenue as a child with her grandmother.

Now she is on a mission to restore the 1928 theater designed by architect William Harold Lee, writes Stacia Friedman for Hidden City.

The theater which initially closed in 1966 has since been used for different purposes including a storage facility and a cultural center. The massive screening room was gutted, and the condition of the building hasn’t improved over the years.

Since 2010 Quintessence Theater Group has been renting space in the building and holding performances in the lobby.

Voith said the restoration project is scheduled to start in the summer of 2024 and will occur in phases.

“Phase one includes restoration of the marquee, the storefronts, creating a service entrance, and upgrading the HVAC system. Phase two will make better use of the space that is available. The theater originally sat 1,200. As we move forward, we will be looking at the potential of that space.”

Voith has a particular passion for restoring old theaters. She designed renovation projects for Bryn Mawr Film Institute and County Theatre in Doylestown, and one of her next projects will be a small renovation at the Ambler Theater.

When it comes to renovating old theaters, she said, “The focus is on revitalizing their historic pizzazz.”

Read more about the unique set of challenges with restoring an almost 100-year-old building like the Sedgwick at Hidden City.

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