Manor Twin Theater
609 Providence Road,
Charlotte,
NC
28207
609 Providence Road,
Charlotte,
NC
28207
6 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 36 comments found
I have the original ads to the movies that played at the MANOR that were reserved seat engagements in North Carolina. If you need to see them e-mail at ….all of these are newspaper ad scans from the Charlotte Observer and other media sources.
THE RESERVED SEAT ENGAGEMENTS THAT PLAYED AT THE MANOR:
“Around the World In 80 Days”
“Sleeping Beauty”
“Exodus”
“The Sand Pebbles”
“Funny Girl”
“The Agony and the Ecstasy”
“Tora! Tora! Tora!”
THE EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENT SHOWINGS AT THE MANOR THEATRE
“The Sting”
“Grease”
Jay Morong and Chuck1231: When the MANOR THEATRE opened in 1947,it was a single screen theatre with a seating capacity of 700. When this theatre was a single screener it was the showcase for a round of reserved seat engagement presentations among them North Carolina premieres like “Around The World in 80 Days”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “The Sand Pebbles”, “Funny Girl”,“The Agony and the Ecstasy” among others. It was also got the exclusive engagement showings like “The Sting” too. It was still a single screener by 1978 when it’s run of “Grease” broke all Charlotte attendance records. It wasn’t until 1979 when this theatre was split into two sections becoming the MANOR TWIN THEATRES. When it became a twin cinema in 1979 both auditoriums had a seating capacity of 186 when brings the correct seating count to 372 seats in both auditoriums.
Jay, the 700 seat count I am sure was from when the theatre first opened.
The info at the top list the theater as having 700 seats. This is incorrect. The theater has two houses each with 186 seats. So the correct seat count for this theater is 372 seats.
It run of GREASE in 1978 broke all Charlotte movie attendance records when it played at the Manor. In 1978,the Manor was a 700 seat single screener. It’s run of GREASE broke the previous attendance record for a movie musical that was set years earlier by THE SOUND OF MUSIC.
When I lived in Charlotte from 1957-1975, the Manor was one of my favorite theaters. I saw many great films there. Once, my family went to see Dr. Strangelove, and we loved it – since it provided some much appreciated relief from the Cold War. Another film that I appreciated was On the Beach with Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and Fred Astaire – a film that focused on the tragedy of the Cold War and the terror of nuclear weapons. Those two films I experienced at the Manor shaped my attitude to war and nuclear weapons – both institutions that the world can certainly do without. The Manor was nestled into the heart of Myers Park near the sumptuous homes on Cherokee, a situation that permitted its movies to influence legions of impressionable minds.
Great inside stuff from jmorong. With Charlotte area pretty much limited to Adam Sandler and other Jackass fare, I was delighted to find that the Regal Manor Twin was showing good stuff. (I gorged after long starvation on “Good Night and Good Luck,” then went next door (within the Twin) to “Capote.” If not obscure or arty enough for critics, it was (is) the only place in town to find quality films. Where else in this area could you see “Tree of Life” (recent example). Sorry to hear about Ballantyne Village sale, wondered about it b/c they were a cut above others and had nice theater features. Our Town Cinema in Davidson is a big disappointment in this regard (film selection) though they had made some efforts showing classics, which we all say we would love to see again but then don’t go when theater runs them.
On the Marquee in 1974 “HARRY and TONTO”.
Thanks jmorong,Best of luck.I live in Augusta,but The Manor is a theatre Charlotte can not let go the way of your other great Theatres.Had a friend Manage theatres in Charlotte in the 70’s I remember seeing the Theatre alot,but we never went in,he was with Plitt.
Full disclosure … i currently work at the Manor. I have been working there since 2005 and love it. Yes the Theater has suffered a bit from the Sale to Regal because of the Film Selection that Regal brings in, but lets be honest … the Manor still brings a lot of GREAT films to Charlotte and does show plenty, plenty, plenty of amazing Foreign and Independent Films. Yes the occasional JUNO etc gets in there … but this still is very much an Arthouse Theatre (especially for Charlotte) Let’s face it, if the Manor gets torn down it will be because of Eastern Federal not Regal … It will close because they sold it to Regal in the first place … and bigger than that … they own the land and building and will not renew the lease so they can tear down the building and build a better one. Bottom line … you want the Manor to stay open? As an Art House theater? Then you need to support Regal! I can think of dozens upon dozens of GREAT Arthouse films that show at the theater and people do not come cause they want to stick it to Regal. Well you do that and you lose your Arthouse Theater!
I am a Charlotte NC native, and have seen many great films “back in the day” at the Manor. In my opinion the theater has suffered from the sale to Regal Theaters. I have a hard time finding titles I want to see there these days. Several years ago I saw a re-release of “Touch of Evil” – the last great film noir there, and I really enjoyed it even though the film broke about 4 times! If the folks at Regal want to make good money at this theater they need to let us have our Art-House venue back ! In all my years of patronage I never saw the ghost. If the Manor gets torn down – it’s Regal’s fault!
The Manor was a great place to work in the mid-80s, as Charlotte’s only resource for art-house & foreign films. Mgmt. at The Manor around that time also had the pleasure of preparing co-op ads for submission to The Charlotte Observer. Boy, those were the days!
Having spent many nights working late at The Manor, I remember times when I felt a cold rush in the upstairs hallway. Once or twice after hours, I thought I saw a woman descending the staircase as I emerged from the office, but was never sure. Female employees spoke of ominous sounds in the area of the ladies powder room.
Several times I encountered “someone” in the projection booth; usually a sound of someone working or a figure in my peripheral vision, but I always dismissed it as my imagination.
It’s nice to know more about the history prior to my time there.
It looks like the Manor was twinned in 1984 according to the movie listings in the local paper from that era.
The grosses at this theater have been in a major decline all year.
The Manor is still hanging in there! Despite Regal adding another 5 Art-house screens (They took over the Ballantyne Village Cinema) and refusing to play any films that are released by IFC Films/HD Net Films or a whole host of Independent Distributors it seems they are still actively trying to operate this theater. I will say that most people can tell you that it is very clear that Regal is not going to take very many “risks” with Art films at this or any of their theaters. So for the time being it looks like THE ROAD, A SERIOUS MAN, THE YOUNG VICTORIA etc for films at this theater. Still it is good to know that the oldest running theater in Charlotte is still operational and hanging in there.
I want to make a list of my favorite films but the AFI top 100 and other lists do not include the Indie films I have seen at the Manor over the years.
I came to Charlotte in 1999 and would love to have access to a list of films shown at the Manor from that point on.
Is this a possibility?
What is the update on the fate of The Manor?
99 % what is played here is art.The PARK TERRACE did get SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE to my surprise.
Here is the Regal website for this theater. It looks like first run movies are being shown here.
…another sign the days of the Manor may be dwindling…Regal who runs the Manor Theatre recently acquired the Park Terrace Theatre in Charlotte from Consolidated Theatres, and plans to start running the Park Terrace as a CineArt theatre on August 15th, 2008. With so little Arthouse product out there, it is hard to imagine they will be able to fill 8 arthouse screens in the Charlotte area (2 at the Manor and 6 at Park Terrace). Heck Ballantyne has plenty of trouble filling 5 screens with “arthouse” stuff. So this may be another nail in the Manor’s coffin…
that rumor is and has been floating around since Regal took over the theater from Eastern Federal who ran the theater before them. Guess who the landlord is…Eastern Federal! So it is probably a safe bet that when the lease of the theater and all the other establishments are done in that plaza they will not be renewed and the building will be demolished and rebuilt. So the years of the Manor are probably sadly dwindling…
People tell me this art house (a huge grosser)days are limited.The landlord will take back the property when the lease is up with regal…..
The theater opened in 1947 (April i believe)…with the THE EGG AND I a Ma and Pa Kettle film starring Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert. The theater is (as far as I know) the longest continuous running movie theater in Charlotte, NC, surpassing 60 years last year…
Also this theater currently seats no more than 400 people. Not sure where the number of 700 seats comes from (maybe the old 1 screen number).
The theater only sells 186 tickets for each theater with maybe a few seats that go unsold…so there is no way there are more than 400 seats in the building.
I believe this theater was converted to two screens in the late seventies (1977/1978). I once heard a story (from a Box Office woman who works at the theater) that GREASE was either the last movie to play on one screen, or the first to play after the renovations. My hunch is it was the last to play in 1978 and then the theater closed for renovations and re-opened in 78/79…