Carolina Theatre
108 E. Franklin Street,
Chapel Hill,
NC
27514
108 E. Franklin Street,
Chapel Hill,
NC
27514
2 people
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The Carolina Theatre originally opened October 15, 1942, replacing an earlier 1927 built Carolina Theatre, which became the Village Theatre. The New Carolina Theatre had 1,145 seats, while the old Carolina theatre had 850 seats.
In 1971, it was split into two screens, keeping the original lobby entrance. One screen was the ‘Blue’ auditorium, the other was named the ‘White’ auditorium. It remained that way until the 1990’s, when the building closed and was relocated as a single screen theatre that played arthouse features and independent films. The last movie to play at the Carolina Theatre was the documentary feature “The March of the Penguins”. The theatre closed its doors for good in July 2005, and its lobby was converted into a Gap store.
Contributed by
Tammy Conner, Raymond
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Recent comments (view all 18 comments)
Where it was formerly “The Gap” and was at one time a local bank at that intersection of East Franklin Street and Columbia Street.
Who remembers at one time there was a Texaco Gas Station at the corner next door to the theatre?
A Walgreens Drug Store will be built on East Franklin Street where the once Gap Store was and formerly The Carolina Theatre.
1981 photo of the Carolina Theatre.
View link
Apparently, this is not the Carolina Theatre that opened in 1927. Boxoffice Magazine of October 17, 1942, has this item, datelined Chapel Hill: “The new Carolina, seatng 1,145, was opened here October 15 by the Wilby-Kincey circuit, which also operates the Pick and Village locally. The latter was known as the Carolina before the new unit opened.”
The 1941 edition of Film Daily Yearbook has the original Carolina Theatre listed with a seating capacity of 850. Operated by Paramount Pictures Inc., through their subsidiary H.F. Kincey.
The old theatre is still listed in the 1943 edition of FDY, even though the new Carolina Theatre had opened. The new Carolina Theatre is not listed.
History of this Carolina Theatre and a photo at this link.
View link
Please do look at the link above for the history of the theatre. In The Charlotte Observer, August 18, 1961, page 1, Section B: Headline: Theatre Will Admit UNC Negro Pupils; “Carolina Theater here adopted a policy of limited desegregation Thursday. The policy applied only to Negro students at the University of North Carolina…Theatre officials said they believe it to be the first in the South to adopt a policy of integration.” But the docsouth link above will reveal that this ‘limited desegregation’ wasn’t the real thing and therefore the theatre was still picketed.
thanks Pat.
I remember seeing “E.T.” on the Blue Side,and on the White Side showed “Star Trek II:The Wrath of Khan” on June 11, 1982 when the Carolina was a twin cinema with its original lobby entrance.
The only STAR WARS film that ever played at the Carolina was THE RETURN OF THE JEDI that opened to capacity crowds on May 25, 1983.
As far as the STAR TREK movies went,only the Carolina had “STAR TREK:THE MOTION PICTURE”, “STAR TREK II:THE WRATH OF KHAN”,“STAR TREK III:THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK”. These were the only STAR TREK films that ever played here at the Carolina Theatre in Chapel Hill.