Gem Theatre
140 West Main Street,
Kingsport,
TN
37660
140 West Main Street,
Kingsport,
TN
37660
1 person
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The Strand Theatre was Kingsport’s first movie theatre. It was built in the late-1910’s or early-1920’s and showed silent pictures with a piano accompaniment and an occasional band. By the 1950’s, now renamed Gem Theatre, it had deteriorated to a second or third run theatre where drunks passed their days.
Closed as a movie theatre in the early-1960’s, it later hosted country music shows on Saturday evenings into the 1970’s. The shows were broadcast on the cable TV system. The building was later gutted by fire.
Contributed by
Jack Coursey, Bruce Gentry
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
Here is an ad from the Kingsport Times on 6/20/37:
GEM THEATRE Monday and Tuesday
A PICTURE ALL SHOULD SEE!
BRET HARTE'S
‘OUTCASTS of POKER FLATS'
â€" with â€"
PRESTON FOSTER – JEAN MUIR
CARDS – THAT DEAL OUT T0 MEN AND WOMENâ€"
LOVE …
WEALTH …
ROMANCE…
RUIN …
Admission 10c and 15c
Any Time
The DKA Gallery is located in the former Gem theater This is their website. They have a few current interior photos on their site.
This website gives a build date of 1915 for the Gem Theater.
This location was also the site of the Strand/Nu-Strand 1925-1935.
The Gem Theater is listed in 1955 with 391 seats.
This theater opened as the Strand, but was never called the Nu-Strand. When the Nu-Strand Theatre opened on Broad Street in 1925, the original Strand on Main Street became the Gem.
This aerial photo, ca.1916, shows the original Strand/Gem Theatre at center.