Charlotte"s Movie Theaters Past and Present
This is the second half of a two-part article. The first half of this article can be found here.
Around the same time the Dilworth Theater opened, Charlotte, like many other cities in the South, was fractured by Jim Crow and segregation. As a result, many exclusively-African American communities developed. One such community was Biddleville, located along Beatties Ford Road. It is Charlotte's oldest black neighborhood.
In a time when blacks were subject to discriminatory laws and second-class status, Biddleville became a hub for culture, entertainment, and intellectualism. Originally built as the Pearl Theater in the late 1920s, the Grand Theater opened in 1937 and showed movies seven days a week, according to a research study on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmark Commission's website, written by Emily and Lara Ramsey. In other theaters, segregation relegated African Americans to different sections of the auditorium, usually less-preferred seating in the back or balcony. The Grand Theater was one of a handful of movie houses catering exclusively to African Americans, offering them a place to be entertained and socialize without scrutiny. The theater closed in 1967 after a decline in attendance. Biddleville remains one of Charlotte's most notable neighborhoods and is home to Johnson C. Smith University and Mount Carmel Baptist Church.
A few miles away and about a decade before the Grand Theater opened its doors, architects C.
C. Hook and R. E. Hall were hard at work constructing what was to become the Carolina Theater. In a study on the theater, author Dan Morrill notes the original location at N. Tryon St., the Carolina Theater opened in 1927 to audiences with its showing of A Kiss in a Taxi, starring Bebe Daniels. Owned by the Publix Theatre Chain, the same company that owned New York's Rialto and Paramount theaters, the Carolina Theater was part of the boom of ornate cinema palaces in the 1920s. After renovations in 1961, the theater hosted the Carolina's only Cinerama movie screen. It was a desired destination for Charlotte residents and even those outside of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region. Its showing of the Sound of Music in 1965 earned special recognition from 20th Century Fox for being the first theater to have attendance records that were higher than the population within the theater's surrounding community. Nearly 400,000 people came to see the movie in during its run between March 1965 and October 1966. Before it officially closed in 1978, the Carolina Theater saw many notable performers including Frank Sinatra, Elvis, Katharine Hepburn, Bob Hope, and Ethel Barrymore. Since then, several efforts have been made to retain the historical integrity of the Carolina Theater. The Carolina Theatre Preservation Society was formed in 1997 and has been dedicated to preserving and restoring the building. While the Carolina Theater may have served as one of Charlotte's early “movie palaces,” other theaters such as Regal Phillip's Place (located in South Park) and Regal Ballantyne Village theaters (off John J. Delaney Dr.) can be seen as contemporary models hosting stadium-style seating and, in some cases, offer more food and drink service than typical theater concession stands.
As Americans began their love affair with television, opulent “movie palaces” like the Carolina Theatre were less in demand. With Charlotteans moving away from the centralized downtown area, entertainment in these suburbanized areas had to adjust accordingly. Theaters downsized to accommodate a smaller audience and were often situated in or near shopping complexes. Before becoming the Regal Manor Twin Theater that we know, Lunsford mentions the original Manor opened in 1947 in the Eastover neighborhood along Providence Rd. The Manor was unlike any other in Charlotte: it was smaller with a more intimate setting and was right in the middle of a shopping complex, not just near one. The Manor helped serve the growing needs of the middle-class suburban population and presently still does. Of all the movie theaters in Charlotte, the Manor is one of the few theaters relatively unchanged from its original design.
Another movie house that still stands and remains one of Charlotte's great venues is the Neighborhood Theater, located in the North Davidson Arts District (NoDa). Before undergoing renovations and a series of new ownerships, the Neighborhood Theater used to be a church and, before that, the Astor Theater. The original theater had a classic feel, with balconies and a big lobby. In “Behind the Curtain at the Neighborhood Theater,” author Woody Mitchell writes that when the mill industries failed, so did the surrounding area for a time. The North Davidson area became a relatively seedy environment and the Astor Theater began to show x-rated films, eventually closing in the 1970s. After two decades of neglect and dilapidation, the building was finally bought in 1997 to become the hot spot we know it as today, having hosted such live performers at Taj Mahal and Michael Franti.
From streetcars to suburbs, Charlotte's movie houses tell a unique history about our city. The theaters mentioned make up only a fraction that have been and still are in Charlotte. Although we often think of theaters as a place solely for entertainment value, they do have a past all their own. They weren't conjured up on a whim or built overnight; theaters are the result of a public need largely determined by our cultural history. Had the railroad and textile industries not brought people to Charlotte, then Charlotte may never have become a booming industrial location back in the day. And without that, our favorite neighborhoods may not have developed due to a growing population. And without that, maybe we'd have never seen a show at the Neighborhood Theater or caught a flick at the Manor. I don't know about you, but I think that places like these and what brought them to Charlotte make our city pretty cool. This is the second half of a two-part article by About.com Charlotte intern Jacqueline Parker. The first half of this article can be found here.
Notes on Sources:
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission is a great resource for learning about the historical significance of some of the city's well-known places. Authors Dan Morrill, Emily & Lara Ramsey, and Thomas Hatchett offer tremendous insight to the notable buildings mentioned in this article.
The CinemaTreasures website provides an online guide to the world's movie theaters. It includes venues that are no longer in operation and some that are still standing.
DocSouth offers a wealth of information on the South. Their collections on different aspects of Southern living and history are great resources for anyone wanting to learn more about the region.
Brandon Lunsford's, Charlotte Then and Now, should be on the bookshelf of every Charlotte resident. The book is an excellent read and provides a great deal of information on our city's past and present history.
Around the same time the Dilworth Theater opened, Charlotte, like many other cities in the South, was fractured by Jim Crow and segregation. As a result, many exclusively-African American communities developed. One such community was Biddleville, located along Beatties Ford Road. It is Charlotte's oldest black neighborhood.
In a time when blacks were subject to discriminatory laws and second-class status, Biddleville became a hub for culture, entertainment, and intellectualism. Originally built as the Pearl Theater in the late 1920s, the Grand Theater opened in 1937 and showed movies seven days a week, according to a research study on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmark Commission's website, written by Emily and Lara Ramsey. In other theaters, segregation relegated African Americans to different sections of the auditorium, usually less-preferred seating in the back or balcony. The Grand Theater was one of a handful of movie houses catering exclusively to African Americans, offering them a place to be entertained and socialize without scrutiny. The theater closed in 1967 after a decline in attendance. Biddleville remains one of Charlotte's most notable neighborhoods and is home to Johnson C. Smith University and Mount Carmel Baptist Church.
A few miles away and about a decade before the Grand Theater opened its doors, architects C.
C. Hook and R. E. Hall were hard at work constructing what was to become the Carolina Theater. In a study on the theater, author Dan Morrill notes the original location at N. Tryon St., the Carolina Theater opened in 1927 to audiences with its showing of A Kiss in a Taxi, starring Bebe Daniels. Owned by the Publix Theatre Chain, the same company that owned New York's Rialto and Paramount theaters, the Carolina Theater was part of the boom of ornate cinema palaces in the 1920s. After renovations in 1961, the theater hosted the Carolina's only Cinerama movie screen. It was a desired destination for Charlotte residents and even those outside of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region. Its showing of the Sound of Music in 1965 earned special recognition from 20th Century Fox for being the first theater to have attendance records that were higher than the population within the theater's surrounding community. Nearly 400,000 people came to see the movie in during its run between March 1965 and October 1966. Before it officially closed in 1978, the Carolina Theater saw many notable performers including Frank Sinatra, Elvis, Katharine Hepburn, Bob Hope, and Ethel Barrymore. Since then, several efforts have been made to retain the historical integrity of the Carolina Theater. The Carolina Theatre Preservation Society was formed in 1997 and has been dedicated to preserving and restoring the building. While the Carolina Theater may have served as one of Charlotte's early “movie palaces,” other theaters such as Regal Phillip's Place (located in South Park) and Regal Ballantyne Village theaters (off John J. Delaney Dr.) can be seen as contemporary models hosting stadium-style seating and, in some cases, offer more food and drink service than typical theater concession stands.
As Americans began their love affair with television, opulent “movie palaces” like the Carolina Theatre were less in demand. With Charlotteans moving away from the centralized downtown area, entertainment in these suburbanized areas had to adjust accordingly. Theaters downsized to accommodate a smaller audience and were often situated in or near shopping complexes. Before becoming the Regal Manor Twin Theater that we know, Lunsford mentions the original Manor opened in 1947 in the Eastover neighborhood along Providence Rd. The Manor was unlike any other in Charlotte: it was smaller with a more intimate setting and was right in the middle of a shopping complex, not just near one. The Manor helped serve the growing needs of the middle-class suburban population and presently still does. Of all the movie theaters in Charlotte, the Manor is one of the few theaters relatively unchanged from its original design.
Another movie house that still stands and remains one of Charlotte's great venues is the Neighborhood Theater, located in the North Davidson Arts District (NoDa). Before undergoing renovations and a series of new ownerships, the Neighborhood Theater used to be a church and, before that, the Astor Theater. The original theater had a classic feel, with balconies and a big lobby. In “Behind the Curtain at the Neighborhood Theater,” author Woody Mitchell writes that when the mill industries failed, so did the surrounding area for a time. The North Davidson area became a relatively seedy environment and the Astor Theater began to show x-rated films, eventually closing in the 1970s. After two decades of neglect and dilapidation, the building was finally bought in 1997 to become the hot spot we know it as today, having hosted such live performers at Taj Mahal and Michael Franti.
From streetcars to suburbs, Charlotte's movie houses tell a unique history about our city. The theaters mentioned make up only a fraction that have been and still are in Charlotte. Although we often think of theaters as a place solely for entertainment value, they do have a past all their own. They weren't conjured up on a whim or built overnight; theaters are the result of a public need largely determined by our cultural history. Had the railroad and textile industries not brought people to Charlotte, then Charlotte may never have become a booming industrial location back in the day. And without that, our favorite neighborhoods may not have developed due to a growing population. And without that, maybe we'd have never seen a show at the Neighborhood Theater or caught a flick at the Manor. I don't know about you, but I think that places like these and what brought them to Charlotte make our city pretty cool. This is the second half of a two-part article by About.com Charlotte intern Jacqueline Parker. The first half of this article can be found here.
Notes on Sources:
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission is a great resource for learning about the historical significance of some of the city's well-known places. Authors Dan Morrill, Emily & Lara Ramsey, and Thomas Hatchett offer tremendous insight to the notable buildings mentioned in this article.
The CinemaTreasures website provides an online guide to the world's movie theaters. It includes venues that are no longer in operation and some that are still standing.
DocSouth offers a wealth of information on the South. Their collections on different aspects of Southern living and history are great resources for anyone wanting to learn more about the region.
Brandon Lunsford's, Charlotte Then and Now, should be on the bookshelf of every Charlotte resident. The book is an excellent read and provides a great deal of information on our city's past and present history.
