Avon Theatre
619 Chelsea Avenue,
Memphis,
TN
38107
619 Chelsea Avenue,
Memphis,
TN
38107
1 person
favorited this theater
Listed in the 1936 Memphis Fire Marshall Report as the Avon Theatre. The theater appeared to still be in operation, sometimes as the Avon Theatre and sometimes as the Chelsea Theatre, throughout the late-1960’s and early-1970’s. If you have any additional information on this theatre, please update.
Contributed by
JackCoursey
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 12 comments)
Jack;There was another cinema on Chelsea Avenue but it was some distance away East along the Avenue. It’s not listed here on C.T. at the moment, here are the details that I have:
Hollywood Theatre, 2469 Chelsea Avenue, Memphis, TN. 38108 in the district of Hollywood. Seating capacity varies from 400 (in 1941 and 1943) to 725 seats in 1950.
I agree, we need someone with local knowledge to sort out the Avon Theatre……
Thanks! I went through masses of newspaper clippings at the Shelby County library and while I encountered articles on each of these cinemas, the only addresses I could find were either 619 Chelsea Ave or “…theatre on the corner of Chelsea and Thomasâ€, which appear to be one and the same. Still can’t get a current listing for the 619 Chelsea, so I assume this theater is no more. The Hollywood site is currently a furniture store.
Jack, The Hollywood theater site was torn down last year, against the protests of neighbors. The furniture store sits adjacent to where the theater once was.
Barry
The Hollywood was located at 2469 Chelsea Avenue. The structure that currently resides at 616 Chelsea is listed as being built around 1933 and is zoned commercial. I currently don’t know the status of this property or if any remnant of the Avon/Chelsea is still apparent.
I went on a search on Chelsea for the Avon Theatre. Take a look:
View link
View link
View link
Well dang! Thanks for checking it out.
A 1958 aerial view of this location can be fetched at Historic Aerials. The photo is a bit blurry, but you can make out a long, shed-like structure that stood behind the dry cleaning shop that is currently at 619 Chelsea.
It looked to be about 40 feet wide and about 120 feet long, and I think that it must have been the auditorium of the theater. The store building in front was much too small to have held a theater even of only 485 seats, let alone the 800 or so in later FDY’s. The dry cleaning shop or the adjacent storefront at 617,or both, could have held the entrance to the theater.
In modern satellite view you can see an indentation at the south end of the parking lot behind the shops, and in the 1958 view the old structure appears to extend into that space. I think maybe the building could have been expanded at the rear a time or two, which would account for changes in capacity.
Just posted is the building currently at 619 Chelsea. It could have been an entrance to the theatre. A photo exists of the Avon’s marquee. When I get to it that will show what the entry looked like. There are some marks on the front that could be evidence of a neon display. 12/15/2012
There were actually three theatres on Chelsea. The Hyde Park was not far from the Hollywood. Unfortunately, the only image I have seen so far was one right before demolition and that on videotape. There was evidence of a marquee and an entrance in a rather narrow building. It was an automotive repair shop in its last days.
vastor: the Hyde Park Theatre is listed in Eric Ledell Smith’s African American Theatre Buildings. It’s mentioned in a couple of books about African American music in Memphis, too, and apparently hosted frequent live performances.