Bradley Theatre
1241 Broadway,
Columbus,
GA
31901
1241 Broadway,
Columbus,
GA
31901
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The Bradley Theatre had been open since 1940. Last used as a live theatre, by late-2010, it was closed, the owners are maintaining the empty building, but have no current plans for the use of it.
Contributed by
William Gabel
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Recent comments (view all 12 comments)
Read more about the effort to save the Bradley. It is a great story.
View link
The Bradley can be seen in the background of this photo, dated May of 1941, from the Library of Congress.
for sale 1.3 million
I was stationed at Fort Benning GA near Columbus for 2 months in early-1959. According to notes in my travel log, and in my memory, I saw “Auntie Mame” on screen at the Bradley Th. at a Sunday matinee on Jan. 26, 1959. It was a very nice theatre, clean and spacious, and there was a very good house there for the film. Glad to see that it’s still around. I also attended a couple of movies at a theatre in downtown Columbus which I can’t find here in C.T. My notes say that it was the Georgia Theatre and it was located on a side-street which I think led to a bridge which overlooked the Central of Georgia railroad station. I saw “Bridge on the River Kwai” there on a Sat. evening January 31, 1959. This theatre had maybe 1000 seats and was in excellent condition. There was a full house for the movie. I seem to recall that there was a steep incline in the lobby from the sidewalk to the rear of the auditorium. I also saw movies at the main post theatre at Fort Benning.
I was in Columbus on June 1, 2008 and the Bradley Theatre appears to be closed now. Photos here: View link
It does appear to be closed in the photos.
Here is some information from the Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce:
Bradley Theatre
1241 Broadway
Columbus GA 31901
706-321-9098
Box Office: 706-321-8425
Located in the Historic UPtown Columbus Landmark District, the Bradley Theatre was opened to the public by Paramount Pictures on July 2, 1940. Named after the founder of the Columbus-based W. C. Bradley Co., the theatre was designed in the grand tradition of the Golden Age of motion pictures utilizing neo classical and art deco architecture. The theatre possesses one of the most impressive stages and proscenium arches in the country. Currently, the theatre hosts concerts, theatre, corporate functions and a variety of special events. Tours by appointment only.
In October of 2008 I was allowed inside the Bradley Theatre. It is owned by the W.C. Bradley Company, the same company that built the theatre for Paramount Theatres in 1940. They purchased it in 1985 from Plitt theatres for $130,000.00. The building is valued at one million. The theatre is not being used, but is kept in repair by the Bradley Company. It is still a beautiful theatre. The box office has been removed and was probably destroyed around 1980. After it quit showing movies, the seats were removed from the main floor and it was terraced for tables on 4 levels. It was used as a teen center for a while and that pooped out. Fortunantley nothing was destroyed; however, the water fountain located in the tiled recess on the mezzaine level was replaced with a sink. A 2nd snack bar was installed in front of it. The balcony is in perfect condition with recent model seats. I was told that the balcony was split and 2 theatres were installed. I don’t know how they done this because nothing is damaged or altered. The lobby has walnut panels with floor to ceiling mirrors. There are 2 sets of 3 poster cases on each side. Nothing remains in the old projection booth. it appears to have been redone to accomadate digital or video projection. The Bradley company does not have any plans for it at this time, but they are keeping the utilities on and it has an alarm system. The marquee is beautiful and in excellent conditon. One unusual fine was that the poster cases located on the outside foyer have two sets of hinges. One set is for the poster case and the other set goes to a large section which contains the poster case. May have been closets to store marquee letters, etc.
Here is another photo of the Bradley.
Marquee has letters on each side saying clossed. In 1940 this was operated by Georgia Theatre Co., later by Wilby-Kincey and finally by ABC. The article stated that it closed in 2008.
Does anyone know what happened to large mirror that hung in the lobby of the theater? It was moved when i was a kid and hung in the stairwell of the original bradley museum but was moved back to the theater when it opened as a teen center in around 1987. I remember seeing it then. Last time i was in there probably around 2003, i noticed it was replaced by a regular mirror and a bar is in front of it. The original had a tree limb with birds and one was a snake bird i think they call it. Just always thought it was a cool mirror.