Our History
Schwaber Company History
2010: The Cecilia Schwaber Trust dissolves, and Schwaber Holdings is formed. 2011: Schwaber Holdings hires Mark Renbaum as its CEO, working with the board 2013: Pikes Village is developed, anchored by Sherwin Williams and Leslie’s Pools. 2014: 6300 York Road is renamed Gittings Marketplace, and expands with…Read More
2004: Schwaber passes to its third generation of leadership as Rick and Mark Wagonheim and Dr. Jeffrey Gaber form a Board of Directors to work alongside existing Trustees. 2005: Yorkridge Shopping Center is redeveloped, anchored by a new 88,000 SF Kohl’s Department Store. 2006: 6300 York Road is…Read More
1981: Mr. Schwaber passes away, and the Schwaber interests are managed by the Cecilia Schwaber Trusts. 1982: Schwaber exits the movie theater business upon Mr. Schwaber’s death. Yorkridge 1 and Yorkridge 2 is leased to JF Theatres. 1983: Yorkridge 1 and Yorkridge 2 is converted into a four-screen…Read More
1971: Schwaber Companies moves to Pikesville from North and Pennsylvania Avenues. Schwaber acquires a small retail strip in Pikesville, which is home to the Suburban House restaurant. 1973: Opens MiniFlick I and II, a neighborhood movie theater in the heart of Pikesville, with two, twin, 150 seat auditoriums, offering its patrons an “intimate”…Read More
1961: Purchases Foxleigh Nursing Home in Reisterstown, Maryland, and builds an assisted living business that eventually goes public on the American Stock Exchange. 1961: Purchases 22 acres in Owings Mills and opens The Valley Drive-In Movie Theater, which later becomes Valley Centre Shopping Center. 1962-64: Yorkridge Shopping Center…Read More
1956: “Boots” Wagonheim spearheads the acquisition of The Parkway, and re-brands it as an art-house theater called “The 5-West”. 1957: Develops 6 acres at (6300) York Road and Gittings Avenue, a neighborhood community strip center anchored by A&P Grocery Store. The shopping center is redeveloped nearly 50 years later,…Read More
Early 1950’s: Milton Schwaber’s son-in-law, Howard “Boots” Wagonheim rebrands Schwaber Theaters as “The World Fare Cinemas”, and opens Baltimore’s first art-house cinemas featuring first-run foreign films while serving coffee, cappuccino and biscotti (instead of Coke and Popcorn). Wagonheim expands Schwaber’s art-house presence by transforming The Homewood into The Playhouse (1951)…Read More
Library of Congress, Motion Picture Division, LaFalce Exploitation Collection, Box G51 1940s: Schwaber expands into the film exhibition business by building a chain of neighborhood movie theaters, starting with the Apex Movie Theater (1942); Homewood Movie Theater (1946); Paramount Movie Theater (1947); and the Metropolitan Movie Theatre (aka…Read More
