Boasting an opulent Art Deco lobby, extravagant marquee and ticket booth and a 2,450 seat auditorium that featured a screen advertised as 'the largest in Philadelphia', the theater became well known among several others along Chestnut Street.

[1] In 1993, the theater hosted its final gala event - the world premiere of Jonathan Demme's Philadelphia, which he and film co-stars Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington attended.

The property was purchased from United Artists in 1998 by the Philadelphia development firm The Goldenberg Group and the theater continued showing films until its last day of operation on May 2, 2002.

The property was not demolished and was purchased by Clear Channel in 2005 with the intention of expanding the theater for live productions and shoring up the building's deteriorating facade and period features.

[4] Although the restorative work was begun and the rights to an adjacent parking lot had been obtained, Live Nation, an independent company that was spun off of Clear Channel's theater operations, exited the live theater business completely and work at the Boyd ceased in 2006.

[4] At a meeting of the Philadelphia Historical Commission on March 14, 2014, many members of the community for and against the preservation of the building provided testimony and input.

Preservationists put much of their faith in the commitment from an unnamed civic-minded foundation of funds to purchase the Boyd Theatre.

In 2017, Pearl Properties began construction for a 24 story, 183 unit apartment tower where the Boyd's auditorium had been.