Sharum Theater
222 W. Main Street,
Walnut Ridge,
AR
72476
222 W. Main Street,
Walnut Ridge,
AR
72476
No one has favorited this theater yet
Additional Info
Previous Names: Swan Theater
Nearby Theaters
The Sharum Theater was owned and operated by J.J. Sharum in the early-1930’s.
Contributed by
Ken McIntyre
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 7 comments)
Listed in the 1941 & 1943 editions of Film Daily Yearbook as the Sharon Theater, with a seating capacity of 300.
Thanks for digging up the address. This photo of the Sharum, such as it is, was recently sold on eBay. Depending on the date the photo was taken, I’m wondering if the building is actually still standing, asopposed to demolished:
http://tinyurl.com/2vpr5j
Unfortunately the photo wasn’t dated, but it seems contemporary. I agree that the the status is most likely closed instead of closed/demolished.
I agree.
The name of the theater is indeed the Sharum Theater. It has been closed since I would guess the late 70’s. However, the owner of the theater bought it in the 80s and hired some people to do renovation work, but the people didn’t complete it and stole some stuff from it.
However there’s a “Downtown Walnut Ridge” organization that is trying to revitalize the downtown area, and it seems the theater will be one of their projects. I can only hope, at least. Here are two bits of info:
Article (from 2008):
View link
Minutes from the organization, stating that cleanup has begun on the theater:
View link
Looking at the modern Street View from the map link, the entire facade from about 10 feet on up looks totally different than the 1984 picture. At some point the marquee has to be replaced to make it look like a theater once again.
By 2016, the original doors and remains of the ticket booth were gone. I have no idea why they wasted money applying the cheap and tacky dryvit remodel. Messing with the façade should have been the last priority.