Rex at the Royal

The Royal Theatre, first known as “America’s Finest Colored Photoplay House”, prominently featured films from Black filmmakers and is noted as the birthplace of the Colored Motion Picture Operators Union. Later, the theatre’s focus shifted from showing films to hosting live music performances, but it always maintained a community-centered nucleus. The Royal, and its surrounding neighborhood, stood as defining elements of the Black experience in Philadelphia during the 20th century. Entries in the “Green Book” identified the South Street neighborhood and its locales as friendly and inclusive, which in turn drew African-Americans from near and far as travelers passed through Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Tribune, which is the oldest continuously published African-American newspaper in the US, is located just around the corner on 16th St. At the turn of the century, the City’s catering industry was largely controlled by Black chefs and companies – they were among the wealthiest Black citizens. One famous chef, H. Franklyn Hall, was one of Philadelphia’s best-known chefs and penned the cookbook, “300 Ways to Cook and Serve Shellfish”. This essential cooking literature served as an inspiring tenet for what became the REX at The Royal menu.