Continuing with the most recent Kensington, New Kensington PA. There may be newer Kensingtons, but we have not been informed of them.

The view above is the same as the view below. It seems wider. Even then, it seems, the town did not incessantly bustle.

If you remember last week’s installment, it boiled down to two things: lots of incredibly well-preserved 30s - 40s facades, and fire damage.

So: now it’s incredibly well-preserved mid-century modern facades?

Yes!

And, yes!

I feel bad for the building on the left, but it’s nothing compared to what they put the one on the right through. THAT DOOR

One hundred and twenty years old, and it has to live like this.

My gosh, that’s pretty. Too bad it’s now a vape store that used a knockoff of the Saks logo.

Is there any one home?:

Someone’s upstairs, it seems. And we’re looking at another lot lost to fire or time.

The wood decor never ages well in any sense of the word.

The ghost was revealed when the Paramount theater was demolished.

Why it was demolished, I can’t say, but there’s never a good reason.

Two fine metal facades, one of which is doing its best Rock-‘Em-Sock-‘Em Robot face

Detail:

Hey, wait - was this a theater? Why yes. Cinematreasures:

The New Dattola Theatre was opened in 1942. It was still open in 1952 (listed as the New Dattola Theatre), but had closed by 1955. It later reopened as the Dattola Theatre and by the 1970’s it went over to screening X-Rated adult movies. Closed again it briefly reopened as the Kensington Theatre screening old movies in double bill programs.

Many nice interior pictures, here.

I’d say mid-Seventies. You saw a lot of this in big cities. It meant class and modernity. Now it looks blunt and dull.

Also from the same Annie-Hall era: the brick arch.

Man, this town has everything. I mean, it has nothing, but the nothing’s in a lot of everything.

It wasn’t that old when it was sealed up. I think this is another obscured by the Paramount theater, and revealed by its destruction.

I’m starting to lose track of what was where, and I’m not sure it matters. All you need to know is that there was signs, new buildings covered them up, then the new buildings aged and went down, and nothing took their place.

Telephone company?

Something was ripped off the side, and from the looks of it, with no particular finesse.

Of course, the gummint building is well-maintained . . .

And of course to cap off this unusual excursion, it’s Egyptian.

But wait. There’s more.

You wonder if the closing of the theater was the psychological start of the decline.

It was once the Circle.

If you wish to shed a tear for the town, click here.