Santander Performing Arts Center

The Santander Performing Arts Center is downtown Reading's historic 1,700-seat theater, a block off Penn Street at 136 North 6th. The building opened in the 1870s as a market with a Masonic Temple on its upper floors, became the Academy of Music in 1886, and was bought by the Rajah Shriners in 1917 for vaudeville, motion pictures and live appearances; the auditorium was rebuilt in 1921 after a fire destroyed most of the facility. It is the only downtown movie palace of its kind in Reading to survive, and now pairs that room with a modern professional sound system and engineered acoustics. Today it is home to the Reading Symphony Orchestra and the Broadway on 6th Street series, and it books national touring comedy and concerts alongside them — Tom Segura, Jo Koy, Joe Gatto & Drew Lynch, Henry Cho, Chelsea Handler, the Impractical Jokers and Bored Teachers have all played here, as have Bluey, Blippi, Get The Led Out, Almost Queen and Joe Bonamassa. Shows are all-ages unless the artist sets a limit, the venue is cashless, and tickets go through Ticketmaster or the box office at the neighbouring Santander Arena.