Sammy T's Music Hall
116 Washington Street SE,
Huntsville,
AL
35801
116 Washington Street SE,
Huntsville,
AL
35801
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The Tony Theatre opened on Thursday, May 26, 1960. The address changed three times over the years, from 114, to 112, to 116 Washington Street. There was an open house from 7 to 9 on Wednesday May 25, 1960, where admission was free and people were free to tour the theatre and see the projection equipment in action while cartoons and short subjects were continuously played. An RCA engineer was on hand to answer questions about the projection and sound.
The theatre advertised that it had, at that time, Alabama’s largest indoor screen. It also claimed in its ads to have the first traveling-message sign in Hunstville and the first one to be used in the nation for theatre attraction. Other features of the theatre were four-color hand-painted screen curtains, four track stereo sound, and staggered seating vision. The first movie shown at the Tony was “Wild River”.
The theatre became the Martin Theatre on September 19, 1962. The theatre’s last day of business as a movie theatre was August 23, 1982.
It now operates as live performance venue, named Sammy T’s Music Hall.
Contributed by
Charles Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
A 1986 photograph of the closed Martin Theatre:
View link
A larger view of the Martin Theater in Huntsville.
Don….The link to the larger view isn’t working. It is asking for a password. You can probably view it but I can’t.
Sorry lost. I have all my photos marked public. It seems to depend on one’s particular server to access the larger views.
Don…
The Aztec style emblem on the Martin marquee actually spells “Martin”
Thanks to Jack Coursey for info.
Don…
The Martin Theater is now “Sammy T’s Music Hall” and hosts live bands several times weekly. The building has removed all the theater seating and turned the screen area into a medium sized stage.
http://www.sammytsplace.com/
Here are two 1983 photos:
1983 Photo
1983 Photo
1985 Photo
The entry for James Franklin Scalf in the 1962 edition of the AIA’s American Architects Directory lists the Tony Theatre at Huntsville as one of his projects.
The Martin was across the street from the Lyric. It was not fancy, but it did have the biggest screen in Huntsville until the Madison and the Cinerama opened. In 1966, the admission for first run was $1.00. It was a good place to watch a movie, and it booked some good ones; I especially remember “Patton.”