Many of the GCC theatres opened in Texas during the late 1970s and early 1980s were far superior to the ones they dumped on the Atlanta market during the same time period.
Theatres akin to those at the Houston Galleria had amenities such as wide screen auditoriums (with the exception of the Perimeter Mall, the early GCC Atlanta theatres had screens which were almost square), comfortable seating and great sound systems. GCC introduced this top of the line model to Georgia when it premiered the Merchants Walk VIII in 1989.
There are currently no motion picture theatres or former motion picture theatres in downtown Nashville. All have been demolished. All of the theatres which use to make up the theatre district are listed in cinematreasues and include the Bijou, Alhambra, Capitol, Central, Elite, Crescent, Crystal, Dixie, Fifth Avenue, Knickerbocker, Paramount, Princess, Rex, Rialto, Ritz, Strand, Tennessee and the Vendome. I do not believe that there was ever more that five in operation at one time. Most of these, such as the Elite/Princess/Crescent/Loews were all the same theatre, just different names at different times on the marquee.
To Nashville’s credit, it came through in not only saving, but also sustaining the Belcourt Theatre.
Patsy: Unfortunately Nashville did not preserve any of its historical theatres. Ironically one of the city’s icons, the Belle Meade Theatre, is currently being gutted and will soon be part of a grocery store. Allegedly the shell of the theatre will remain intact and the neon marquee will illuminate the night sky as in days of yore.
You can take a virtual tour of the Memphis Orpheum by going to the theatre’s Web site (http://www.orpheum-memphis.com/) then clicking on Virtual Tour in the menu on the left.
I hold out a glimmer of hope for jewel boxes such as the Garden Hills. Although “Pride and Prejudice†and “A Prairie Home Companion†were assigned to the smallest auditoriums of the multiplexes during there run here, both films frequently played to full or near capacity houses during the premium priced evening screenings. I think with the success of these and other out of the mainstream films such as “Thank You For Smokingâ€, there might be a niche for theatres like the Garden Hillls.
There are some excellent photos of the exterior of the Inglewood Theatre at the Metro Archives in Green Hills. The theatre, at least on the outside, bore no resemblance to either the Belle Meade or the Melrose. Rather, it was more of that futuristic googly design that was popular in the 1950s through the early 1960s, very unique and very exciting!
Just about all of the 2006 links appear to be operable as of today. Click on the words with the blue font (such as “This†and “Hereâ€) and they should take you right to the photos. Here is a night photo of the theatre made in 2005. Here is a rare photo of the original Orpheum Theatre (circa 18889-1925) which existed on the same site of the current Orpheum.
A majority of the African American theatres in Atlanta were part of the Bailey’s Theatre circuit and included:
The Ashby at 925 MLK Jr Dr
The Eighty-One at 81 Decatur St
The Harlem at 531 McDaniel St
The Lincoln at 407 Mitchell St
The Royal 323 Auburn Ave NE
The Strand 51 Decatur St
The following theatres were later acquired by the Bailey circuit and catered to mixed audiences:
The Empire at 42 Georgia Ave
The Grove at 1576 DL Hollwell Pkwy
The Temple at 456 Cherokee Ave
A majority of the theatres in the early 1920s were the one reel hand cranked nickelodeons with relatively short life spans.
According to the Anniston City Directory, the Cameo was also known as the Theato/Theotorium between 1913 and 1924, and the Rialto between 1925 and 1939. Although the original building still stands, there is little evidence of it ever being a theatre.
The complete address for the Calhoun is 1218 Noble Street, Anniston, AL 36201. The theatre is still standing, albeit just barely. It appears that some efforts were started to restore the theatre but were never completed. Starting here and going through here are photos of the Calhoun as of September 22, 2006.
Here are a couple of photos by Seth Gaines.
Check out the Franklin Cinema in Franklin, TN. Great little venue slated to close in December unless a new owner is found.
How many screens did the theatre initially have?
Many of the GCC theatres opened in Texas during the late 1970s and early 1980s were far superior to the ones they dumped on the Atlanta market during the same time period.
Theatres akin to those at the Houston Galleria had amenities such as wide screen auditoriums (with the exception of the Perimeter Mall, the early GCC Atlanta theatres had screens which were almost square), comfortable seating and great sound systems. GCC introduced this top of the line model to Georgia when it premiered the Merchants Walk VIII in 1989.
There are currently no motion picture theatres or former motion picture theatres in downtown Nashville. All have been demolished. All of the theatres which use to make up the theatre district are listed in cinematreasues and include the Bijou, Alhambra, Capitol, Central, Elite, Crescent, Crystal, Dixie, Fifth Avenue, Knickerbocker, Paramount, Princess, Rex, Rialto, Ritz, Strand, Tennessee and the Vendome. I do not believe that there was ever more that five in operation at one time. Most of these, such as the Elite/Princess/Crescent/Loews were all the same theatre, just different names at different times on the marquee.
To Nashville’s credit, it came through in not only saving, but also sustaining the Belcourt Theatre.
Here is a October 2006 photos of what remains of the Campus.
Here is a November 2006 photos of what remains of the Co Ed.
Patsy: Unfortunately Nashville did not preserve any of its historical theatres. Ironically one of the city’s icons, the Belle Meade Theatre, is currently being gutted and will soon be part of a grocery store. Allegedly the shell of the theatre will remain intact and the neon marquee will illuminate the night sky as in days of yore.
You can take a virtual tour of the Memphis Orpheum by going to the theatre’s Web site (http://www.orpheum-memphis.com/) then clicking on Virtual Tour in the menu on the left.
I hold out a glimmer of hope for jewel boxes such as the Garden Hills. Although “Pride and Prejudice†and “A Prairie Home Companion†were assigned to the smallest auditoriums of the multiplexes during there run here, both films frequently played to full or near capacity houses during the premium priced evening screenings. I think with the success of these and other out of the mainstream films such as “Thank You For Smokingâ€, there might be a niche for theatres like the Garden Hillls.
Here is an archive photo of the theatre. No record as to the date of the photo or the street address of the theatre.
There are some excellent photos of the exterior of the Inglewood Theatre at the Metro Archives in Green Hills. The theatre, at least on the outside, bore no resemblance to either the Belle Meade or the Melrose. Rather, it was more of that futuristic googly design that was popular in the 1950s through the early 1960s, very unique and very exciting!
Here is a 2005 photo of the former cinema.
Just about all of the 2006 links appear to be operable as of today. Click on the words with the blue font (such as “This†and “Hereâ€) and they should take you right to the photos. Here is a night photo of the theatre made in 2005.
Here is a rare photo of the original Orpheum Theatre (circa 18889-1925) which existed on the same site of the current Orpheum.
Here is a photo from September 2006 of the building which once was the theatre. This is a photo of the building when it was the Cameo Theatre.
Here through here are six photos from September 2006 of what remains of the former Lyric/Ritz Theatre.
Here through here are photos from September 2006 of the Plaza. The theatre closed sometime earlier this year.
A majority of the African American theatres in Atlanta were part of the Bailey’s Theatre circuit and included:
The Ashby at 925 MLK Jr Dr
The Eighty-One at 81 Decatur St
The Harlem at 531 McDaniel St
The Lincoln at 407 Mitchell St
The Royal 323 Auburn Ave NE
The Strand 51 Decatur St
The following theatres were later acquired by the Bailey circuit and catered to mixed audiences:
The Empire at 42 Georgia Ave
The Grove at 1576 DL Hollwell Pkwy
The Temple at 456 Cherokee Ave
A majority of the theatres in the early 1920s were the one reel hand cranked nickelodeons with relatively short life spans.
Here is a vintage photo of the Cahoun Theatre in its prime.
Here and here are a couple of vintage photos of the Noble Theatre.
Here is a vintage photo of the Theato Theatre.
Here is a vintage photo of the Wells Theatre.
According to the Anniston City Directory, the Cameo was also known as the Theato/Theotorium between 1913 and 1924, and the Rialto between 1925 and 1939. Although the original building still stands, there is little evidence of it ever being a theatre.
Here are a couple of photos from the Sam Malone collection of the theatre when it was know as the Atlanta.
The complete address for the Calhoun is 1218 Noble Street, Anniston, AL 36201. The theatre is still standing, albeit just barely. It appears that some efforts were started to restore the theatre but were never completed. Starting here and going through here are photos of the Calhoun as of September 22, 2006.
You’re OK longislandmovies. The fault lies with Atlantans who have elected to patronize the multiplexs rather the shrines.