From the Delaware County Daily Times
By Pete Bannan | Pbannan@Mainlinemedianews.com | The Delaware County Daily Times
UPDATED: February 9, 2025 at 2:19 PM EST
The future of the Tower Theater, which is owned by Live Nation and has been closed since a 2022 Van Gogh exhibit, was the topic of conversation at the recent Upper Darby Council meeting.
The theater, which was opened in the 1920s by Upper Darby real estate titan John H. McClatchy, was originally a movie palace and also hosted vaudeville performances.
By the early ’70s the theater had become a liability and was closed by a fire until a rock promoter Rick Green rehabilitated the theater and opened it in 1972 as a 3,300-seat concert hall.
From then on, the facility became a rock hall legend, hosting thousands of concerts including The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, as well as being the site of Upper Darby High School graduations.
In 2018 the theater was named as one of the 10 best music venues in America by Rolling Stone magazine.
In August 2019 the iconic tower sign had to be taken down after engineers declared the steel structure unsafe.
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At the council meeting, Mayor Ed Brown invited Rita LaRue, director of Community & Economic Development for the township to speak on the issue.
LaRue said the township has been in touch with the theater’s owner, Live Nation, for the past few years.
She said before the “Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience” exhibit, which ran from September 2021 to February 2022, the township was in discussion for a partnership or acquisition to keep the facility open.
After that exhibit, the company decided to close the theater for a while to ascertain the status of other properties in the area, LaRue said.
LeRue speaks about monthly with Live Nation about the possibility of a partnership, or an acquisition and their plans.
LaRue said in April the Urban Land Institute will come to Upper Darby to hold a technical assistance panel with part of the discussion about the theater.
The program titled “Destination Downtown Upper Darby” will bring in experts from across the region and the nation to look at ways the township can capitalize on the Tower as well as bringing in more restaurants, more entertainment and more public spaces in that area to get funding and create partnerships, LaRue said.
“Hopefully, more to come in the next couple of months,” LaRue said.
Live Nation has not replied to a request for comments on the future of the theater.
In other business, Brown said attendance at the recent earned Income tax town meetings had been well attended. That plan will be voted on in the coming weeks.
Council President Hafiz Tunis reminded residents that there were be two township budget meetings the week of Feb. 10 and a special meeting Feb. 13.
Chief Administrative Officer Crandall Jones reviewed the three-year contract agreement the township reached with Transport Workers Union. It includes 3.25% pay increases in 2025 and 2026 and a 3.75% in 2027.
The union agreed there will no longer be rollover on comp time year to year and employees paying into medical coverage will go from 3.5% the first year increasing to 6% in the final year.
The council will vote on the contract on Feb. 19.
Brown also honored two members of volunteer boards: James Mullen for his service on the planning commission and Charmaine Butler for her service on the Environmental Advisory Committee.