Ritz Theater
1323 Main Street,
Columbia,
SC
29201
1323 Main Street,
Columbia,
SC
29201
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The Ritz Theater was operating prior to 1941. It was closed in 1980, and the area has since been redeveloped.
Contributed by
Ken McIntyre
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
Here is a 1942 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/m4vzph
Opened as the Ideal Theatre in the early-1920’s, became the Ritz Theatre in 1928. As the Ideal seating was listed at 870 and as the Ritz it was listed at 727. Originall operated by Publix and then by Wilby Kinsey for Paramount.
Header needs an AKA Ideal Theatre and seating needs to be corrected.
I grew up 55 miles from Columbia, but the Ritz is the only Columbia theatre that I attended. I saw “The Bridges at Toko-ri” in the early 1950’s, and “The Hanging Tree” in 1959 as a high school senior. Between those two movies, the theatre had been given the “Skouras treatment” with new thickly padded seats, and light green curtains covering all the walls. I belive the admission in 1959 was 85 cents.
I was doing a search for Wilby Kinsey, as my father worked for him managing theaters in the southeast, mostly Florida. He managed the Ritz when I was a child, in the mid-1950s, before transferring to Florida. I have only the vaguest memory of it, as I was only 4 or 5 at the time. Still, it was nice to find this picture.