10th Street Theatre

The 10th Street Art was just a storefront among the strip of stores that lined Peachtree Street between 10th and 12th Streets which was converted into a theatre. I am pretty sure that it was in the soft core porn business from day one. Directly across the street was its companion, the Metro Art. Both of these locations were 35MM and used Union operators. The Union local had pretty much quit working the 16MM hardcore locations because of the ever present threat of legal trouble. The Metro Art was noteworthy to a slight degree as the site of the year long booking of Russ Meyer's "Vixen" during the late-1960's.

This strip of Peachtree, from 8th Street to 14th, became famous, and infamous, during the late-1960's as the center of the counter culture / Woodstock generation / hippies, and became almost impassable at night as thousands of people came to either gather there or see the sights. By 1970, the fad had passed and the area had become a rundown crime and drug infested strip. Some effort was made to revive the area in 1971 with the construction of the Colony Square office complex at 14th Street, and the reopening of the old Peachtree Art Theatre at 13th under the name of Weis Cinema. (The Peachtree Art Theatre was a true art theatre in the accepted definition of the term as opposed to the "porno" type of theatre which almost always included the word "Art" in their name.) The Peachtree Art has a page on this site and is probably most famous for being the destination of Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With The Wind, the night she was struck and killed by a taxi while walking across Peachtree Street in front of the theatre.

It took another 25 years for this area to truly turn around, but today it is the hottest spot in the downtown development market. The Peachtree Art / Weis Cinema was demolished and a Bell South office tower now sits on the site. The strip of storefronts containing the 10th Street Art was torn down and the Atlanta branch of the Federal Reserve Bank now occupies that spot. The building that housed the Metro has seen many different versions of clubs and restaurants, but the last time I was by there it was still standing. This whole area is now a jungle of high rise buildings and construction cranes, so I am sure that it is only a matter of time until this site is gone as well if it has not already.

As for the 10th Street Theatre that is the subject of this page, I never saw it. However, even after its conversion to the House of Eng, it still looked like a movie theatre from the street.

The Tenth Street Theatre opened on September 27, 1926 with the film, "Cohens and Kellys" and was billed as the "finest suburban theatre in the south". The theatre was constructed and operated under the direction of W.K. Jenkins, Arthur Lucus, and R.H. Wilby, with Alpha Fowler as its director.
Of the several theatres this group operated, The Palace, West End, and the Empire, all of which had a Spanish theme. The Tenth Street was the most elaborate. With its tile roofed tower and canopied balconies (which where lighted at night) on the corner of the building to the Moorish arches that framed the two retail spaces, the theatre was quite an imposing sight for someone headed west on 10th street going toward Peachtree.

The theatre seat about 550, newspapers report that a fine concert pipe organ was installed (however type and size has not been determined). The interior was Moorish in design with two small balconies on either side of the stage. The most notable feature in the lobby was the green and red tile fountain. The tiles were funished by the Eubanks Mantel and Tile Company Atlanta)

The demise of the theatre ultimately came due to its location. As one crossed Peachtree heading west on 1Oth drivers had to make a sharp dog leg to continue on 10th which then became a narrow street running down beside the theatre. If drivers were not careful they could end up in the lobby of the theatre. In the mid fifites it was decided to widened the section of 10th street from Peachtree to Northside drive. THe theatre was demolished, and 1oth street was straighten out and now runs were the theatre once stood.

THe House of Eng. later was in the building that was next to the theatre but now is on the corner of 10th and Peachtree.

To clarify the statement about the House of Eng. What I meant was that when the theatre was torn down, the building that the House of Eng would occupy was now the corner building. The House of Eng building has been since demolished, and the space has been left open to afford a better view of the Margret Mitchell apartment or what she labeled "the Dump".

On a recent visit to the Atlanta History Center, I found a later photograph of the the 10th Street Theater. The shot was taken what looks like in the late 40's. The theater exterior had been remodeled somewhat along more modern lines. The Spanish sytle was now gone, so to was the tower on the corner of the building.

The 10th Street Theater can be seen in this photo.

From previous post regarding the "Tenth Street Art Theatre":
The original Tenth Street Theatre was at 990 Peachtree Street, NE. It stood in front of the apartment house where Margaret Mitchell and her husband lived for a number of years, and where she wrote GONE WITH THE WIND. If you visit the restored apartment house that is now a memorial to her, you'll find a framed picture of the Tenth Street Theatre on display. Margaret Mitchell was a movie buff and this theatre was a real favorite of her's because of the air conditioning in the summer, as well as its convenience.

The theatre was built circa 1926. The exterior was in a faux Spanish style with red stucco and a tile edged roof. My best guess is that it had about 500 seats. The theater ceased operation around 1956/57 to the best of my recollection. A few years later the space was converted to a chinese restaurant called House of Eng, that occupied the location throughout most of the 1960's.

With the development of the drug culture in the 1970's, this neighborhood deteriorated badly. As nearly as I can recall, I believe the theatre was demolished sometime in the 1970's or possibly the early 1980's.

My dad used to take me to see westerns at the Tenth Street Theatre back in the 1950's.

That's quite a photo, Lost Memory! Or should I refer to you as "Recovered Memory"?! As I recall, when the theatre closed and was converted to The House of Eng, they restored a bit of the original look of the building. By the way, House of Eng was a pretty good Chinese restaurant. They also operated a Polynesian style restaurant downtown called Trader Eng's (think Trader Vic).

You may be correct about the demolition of the theater. Since I have not lived in Atlanta in many years, my memory may be faulty.

I have just finished an article in the Atlanta Chapter ATOS July 2009 newsletter in which I have a photo of the Tenth Street theater after it opened, The article also has information on the Madison, Empire, West End, and the Buckhead.
The photo posted by Lost Memory is after the removal of all the Spanish decorations.
Just google in Atlanta Chapter ATOS and go to the JUly 2009 newsletter.