Miracle Theater
325 Hay Street,
Fayetteville,
NC
28301
325 Hay Street,
Fayetteville,
NC
28301
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The Miracle Theater was the showplace of the South held it’s grand opening on Tuesday August 14, 1956 with the premiere attraction of “The Eddy Duchin Story” starring Tyrone Power and Kim Novak. This modern 1,500 seat motion picture theater was one of the largest theaters in all of Fayetteville and Cumberland County and Eastern North Carolina that features full stereophonic sound with a four channel sound system. The Miracle Theater was very unique in terms of it’s modern design and was Fayetteville’s largest theater and the biggest in all of downtown and the surrounding areas.
The Miracle Theater upon it’s grand opening had three projectors instead of the usual two for quality viewing that was capable of showing films in the 35mm and 70mm formats with it’s astounding widescreen auditorium. The main lounge of the Miracle Theater was carpeted and furnished with the latest modern design. The stage part was draped with two curtains, one of which rises was designed in rust plush, and the screen curtain opening to the side was of turquoise plush. It was also equipped with a streamlined snack bar, a lounge room, a smoking section, and a reserved section for other activities. There was a also a balcony section that seated 670 while the front section of the cinema seated 830 bringing the total of 1,500 seats.
The Miracle Theater was one of 19 theatres in North Carolina that was owned and operated under H.B. Meiselman Theatres of Charlotte. A lot of great blockbuster movies played at the Miracle Theater and it was that way until the 1970’s when the cinema went to becoming a second-run theatre showing grindhouse films and the like. By the 1980’s, the Miracle Theater became a discount movie house showing second-run films until it’s closing in 1982. It has been demolished.
Contributed by
raysson
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
From the August 13,1956 edition of the Fayetteville Observer: At the height of it’s grand opening the initial performances of “The Eddy Duchin Story” were open to the public with a special section reserved for invited guests.
Daily Performances after the grand opening begin at 11:00am and will have continuous showings throughout.
Each Saturday,a special “Kids Show” will be featured at 9:00am that will have chapter serials and color cartoons.
There is a special section at the time of it’s opening that was reserved for minorities. The colored entrance is on the Franklin Street Side of the arcade where separate rest rooms,lounge,and concession stand are provided in regard to the Jim Crow laws at the time. This policy was taken down by 1964 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
The Miracle was one of 19 theatres under H.B, Meiselman who also operated the Fox, Raleigh Road, and the Flamingo Drive-In Theatres.
This was also under during the mid-1960’s and throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s under Charlotte-based Eastern Federal Corporation.
MY FAIR LADY was one of the exclusive engagement showing that played at the Miracle on June 1,1966.
A lot of the Warner Brothers product got first-run billing at this theatre.
THE EXORCIST played here first-run in 1974.
By the mid-1970’s,this theater went from showing first-run features to second-run films and “B” movies in order to keep afloat(most of them grindhouse, kung-fu, and blaxploitation films,and the occasional “XXX” rated midnight showings on Friday and Saturday nights). It remained that way until the theater’s closing in 1982. It has since been demolished.
Described in this 1956 trade article: boxoffice
I am so grateful for this information. I have done so much research on the Miracle Theatre and it’s almost like it didn’t even exist. I was born in Fayetteville in 1959 and remember The Miracle as the premiere theatre. I remember the scolloped curtain rising. I saw Mary Poppins there in 1964 when I was 4 years old and again at a re-release. Most other films I saw were at The Colony. I remember The Colony at that time had a smell…and the carpets were hard from years of walking and snacks being spilled. The Miracle was always pristine. I had forgotten the shops by the side. Thank you, Tinseltoes, for the photo trip down memory lane! I do remember standing outside that box office on the street and walking down that long hall to the theatre.
Rear view of The Miracle: http://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/bh2193pnc001
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