'Heart-breaking' demolition of historic Boyd Theater dismays supporters

Demolition began Saturday on the historic Boyd Theater, with wrecking crews tearing down the part of the L-shaped building that lines Sansom Street.

"The theater was a precious resource that can't really be replaced," said harpist and composer Saul Davis Zlatkovski, who lives across Chestnut Street from the front of the theater.

Zlatkovski, who led early fights to save the theater from demolition, said he retreated to his bedroom to avoid the upsetting sounds of the building being torn down.

"It is heartbreaking," said Howard Haas, president of the Friends of the Boyd. "Friends of the Boyd waged a 13-year battle to save the Boyd. Philadelphia will no longer have any premiere movie palaces remaining."

Fans of the 1928 Art Deco movie palace have been working for decades to save the theater - and last year struck a deal to protect the Chestnut Street exterior, the foyer, and lobby. The agreement did not save the lavish auditorium.

"This is exactly what the Historical Commission approved when they granted [previous owners and developers] a hardship exemption last year," Benjamin Leech, advocacy director for the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, wrote in an e-mail.

"This is why it was so aggravating to hear those plans described as just a 'gutting' or 'renovation.' This is the image that everyone fighting to save the Boyd had in the back of their minds," he wrote.

"It's only going to get worse, once they break through into the auditorium," he said.

On Feb. 25, the city issued a permit allowing "partial demolition of certain portions of the rear vacant building (former theater)."

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'Heart-breaking' demolition of historic Boyd Theater dismays supporters