Melba Theatre
115 W. Main Street,
Batesville,
AR
72501
115 W. Main Street,
Batesville,
AR
72501
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The Melba Theatre opened in 1940, a Streamline Moderne style movie house on Batesville’s Main Street. The theatre features a large vertical sign flush to the facade and a triangular marquee, both spelling out the theater’s name in neon-lit letters.
Though the Melba Theatre closed in the early-1990s, it was renovated and reopened in 2000 and today functions both as a concert venue and movies on weekends. It has also been a host theater for the Ozark Foothills Film Festival.
Contributed by
Bryan
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Recent comments (view all 17 comments)
As I remember, the first CinemaScope film, “The Robe,” starring Richard Burton, played at the Landers, not the Melba, in 1953.
A more recent photo of the Melba Theater can be seen here.
This building dates back to 1875. It was renovated into a theater in 1939. Source.
Here is another photo of the Melba.
1962 photo of the Melba Theatre.
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1984 photo of the Melba Theatre.
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1985 night photo of the Melba Theatre.
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This is another 1984 photo.
Does anyone know if the theatre was renovated ater the heavy rain and ground settling causing a partial collapse of the theatre in 2006?
Chuck….It might have been renovated. The exterior looks good in this 2009 photo.
October 2009 photo of the Melba Theatre courtesy Vintage Rodeside.
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There was a photo of the Melba in Boxoffice, May 1958:
http://tinyurl.com/yemldz2