6300 Frankford Ave.

Showtime: A neighborhood revitalization group has big plans for the Devon Theater, located across Frankford from Joe Mallamaci's pizzeria. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Can the old "Dirty Devon" bring new life to Mayfair?

By Mike Newall

The Devon Theatre on Frankford Avenue was one of the last single-screen movie houses erected in Philadelphia. Built in 1946, it had a grand marquee and flair. It was a source of pride and entertainment for the middle-class neighborhood of Mayfair, a Northeast community situated between Roosevelt Boulevard and I-95. But soon multiscreen theaters became the rage, and in the late 1960s, the sagging Devon became the "Dirty Devon," an adult theater.

After years of protest from locals, the porn flicks were finally pulled in 1978. For two decades, the Devon struggled as a second-run movie-house. In 1999, a Mayfair film buff leased the Devon and featured classics like Gone With the Wind and Rocky. But he, too, went bust. So for the last four years, the historic Devon Theatre has stood boarded up and idle, an eyesore.

Life on the 6300 block went on, though. Next door, John Andrews took advantage of the new showroom he put in his plumbing store. A few doors down, John Bramall and his wife Andrea, owners of Danny D's Television Repair shop, celebrated the birth of a child and were happy that business was holding up. And across the street at Tony's Place, a neighborhood institution and home of the "Original" Tomato Pie, the lines were as long as ever.

But the normal routine was interrupted this past June when the Mayfair Community Development Corporation, a neighborhood revitalization organization, purchased the Devon with plans to transform it into a state-of-the-art, 500-seat performing arts center similar to the Keswick Theatre in Glenside or the Riverside Theatre in Bristol. It will open sometime next fall.

"We want to make the Devon an entertainment destination spot where people want to come down to Frankford Avenue to have a meal at Tony's or Chickie's and Pete's and then catch a show at the Devon," says Tom Forkin, MCDC vice president. With the support of powerful state Rep. John Perzel and City Councilwoman Joan Krajewski, Forkin and other Mayfair residents formed the MCDC in 2001 after initial signs of blight — most notably, abandoned or deteriorating properties — began to appear in Mayfair.

"Things weren't out of control by any stretch," says Forkin. "But if you let little problems go, they become bigger problems."

So far, with financial backing from the state, the MCDC has revitalized nearly two dozen deteriorating Mayfair homes, spruced up blighted areas along Frankford Avenue, and broke ground for a 24,000-square-foot community center to be located near Mayfair Elementary. The renovation of the Devon will be a challenge, however.

On a recent weekday tour, sunlight crept through the theater's glass lobby doors, across weathered carpet, a cobwebbed concession stand and rows of worn, pushed-up seats. The ceiling has severe water damage. It smelled like a damp basement.

"We have work to do," admits Forkin, surveying the dusty insides of the Devon. "But when we're finished, this place will be transformed."

The MCDC also purchased the six storefronts connected to the Devon with plans to install a coffee/dessert shop and maybe a bookstore and a children's dance studio. The current tenants, including Andrews and Bramall, were relocated further up Frankford Avenue. "It's tough," says Bramall. "I was at the same spot for 13 years. I was happy there. I didn't wanna move."

Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Business will continue to boom at Tony's, though. It always has.

Tony's has been part of the Mayfair neighborhood since 1951 when the Mallamaci brothers, Tony and Dominic, moved their fledgling barroom pizza operation out of South Philly and into an unassuming beige brick building at the corner of Frankford and Barnett. In the beginning, to attract business the brothers would stand on the Frankford Avenue sidewalk and pass out free slices of their thin-crust, cheeseless tomato sauce pie.

Over the years, Tony's has developed into a neighborhood institution. One recent Saturday evening, horseracing played on the television above the beer cooler. The barroom was full.

Bobby, the postman, nurses a beer and remembers sneaking into the Dirty Devon as a kid. "Deep Throat," he says. "I had a fake I.D. and everything."

The "chairman of the board," Charlie Garuffe, made the rounds. Charlie owns an auto body shop on Torresdale Avenue. His first job was rolling pizza dough at Tony's. He's the bar's longest-running customer, been around for fifty years. As a show of gratitude, Charlie's name has been emblazoned into the back of a barstool.

"It's only fair," cracks Charlie, a dapper man with slicked gray hair. "You spend fifty years in a joint you deserve a barstool."

Bill Quann has worked the wood here for 27 years. He smokes Marlboro Lights and resembles a slender Jackie Gleason. "I owe the owner money," he says, warming up one of his favorite punch lines. "Job security."

The owner is Joe Mallamaci, Dominic's son, and he's run Tony's since 1976. Joe is a compact man with gray stubble and dark eyes. He's beloved by employees and customers alike.

He is making plans to add an extra dining room to coincide with the Devon's reopening.

"Mayfair is a great neighborhood," says Joe. "And the theater will only make it better."