It was built in 1915 and was originally intended for vaudeville, and has also been used for a live radio broadcast program named "Nocturne" with Roland Nuttrell playing the Wurlitzer Organ and Charles Purcell reading poetry from 1937 to 1957.
[3] Its design was "closely modeled on London's West End Theater, later known as the Rialto, with shared features like the interior's rich ornamental plaster work in a Louis XIV style.
[3] In addition to films and vaudeville, the theater was used for live radio;[7] in the late 1940s and early 1950s at 12:00am Roland Nuttrell and Charles Purcell produced a nightly live WCAO radio program at the Parkway entitled Nocturne, featuring poetry readings in a deep baritone voice by Charles Purcell, interspersed with melodic lullaby selections on the 2/8 Wurlitzer organ by Roland Nuttrell that were far more effective at putting a person to sleep than taking sleeping pills.
[3][9] In 2004 it was opened for one evening as part of an event called "Gotta Have Art" and the Baltimore Sun's Jacques Kelly described it as "a jewel-box design" and judged the plaster work only "about 10 percent damaged by neglect".
[10] The City of Baltimore included it in the Charles North Vision Plan and in 2009 contracted with developer Samuel Polakoff to convert it into a performance space at a cost of $12 million, but withdrew the rights in 2011.
However, unable to find enthusiasm or vision for including that salient and emblematic feature of classical movie houses in the current interpretation, this proposal would have to be abandoned.
[9] Current construction updates are as follows: The old flooring of the lobby, orchestra and stage areas have been removed and new flooring has been laid, the old deteriorated stage curtain has been removed and will be replaced with a brand new one after construction is completed, all the old seats on the balcony level have been removed and will be replaced with new wider comfortable seats that will have cup holders to accommodate patrons, the platforms on the balcony level has been deepened to create more legroom and better walking space between rows, the tea room on the second floor has been expanded twice its regular size to include a bar and lounge area, the building at 1 West North Avenue which formerly housed a pharmacy store and restaurant will be demolished and replaced by a new building which will house two smaller-sized 100-seat theatres and a small lounge in the foyer area which will be connected with the SNF Parkway..
The current status of the construction phase is nearly complete, the corner building that formerly housed a pharmacy and restaurant has been demolished and the new structure that will house the 2 smaller 100-seat theatres along with the lounge is nearing completion, the interior of the Parkway has been partially restored (new paint as well as the original paint can be seen on the walls and ceiling surrounding the dome), as well as the addition of a replicated 1915 marquee with a nicely clean facade illuminated by replicated light bulbs on top above the original name PARKWAY THEATRE carved into the building.
The other shorts presented that evening were Terence Nance's They Charge For the Sun, Jeannie Donohoe's Game, Matthew Salton's Richard Twice, and Nathan Truesdell's Balloonfest.
Other films screened that evening included David Lynch's Mulholland Drive, Jenny Gage's All This Panic, and Kristopher Avedisian's Donald Cried.
The performers included Deakin and Geologist of Animal Collective, Dan Deacon with Jessie Hughes and M. C. (Martin) Schmidt of Matmos, Asa Osborne of Lungfish and Zomes, Owen Gardner and Andrew Bernstein of Horse Lords, Steve Strohmeier, and Daniel Conrad.
Longtime director of programming Eric Allen Hatch, who began working for MdFF in 2007, departed as lead programmer of The Parkway in February, 2018, citing creative differences detailed in a Filmmaker article concerning the need for greater risk-taking and attention to diversity in independent-film festivals and alternative venues.