Belmont Theatre
2100 Blakemore Avenue,
Nashville,
TN
37212
2100 Blakemore Avenue,
Nashville,
TN
37212
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The Belmont Theatre opened on August 25, 1925. On opening night the Beasley Smith Orchestra gave an innaugural concert. Crescent Theatres took over operations in 1960. It was closed and demolished in 1962.
Contributed by
Chuck Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
Joe Holman was the architect.
The Belmont was an incredible place. It stood at 21st Avenue South and Blakemeore in Hillsboro Village. It’s architecture was Spanish / Moorish. As I recall, it’s lobby was rather small. The auditorium had rwo balconies. When a movie started, one set of curtains parted, another set raised up, then a third set parted. It was very theatrical.
I imagine it was Nashville’s first ‘suburban’ theater, located a couple of miles south of downtown. At the time of its construction in 1925, the area around Vanderbilt Univeristy was a real estate ‘hot spot’.
I’ve always been saddened by its demolition in the early 1960s. It was replaced by a hideously ugly office building.
I think this was the first theater built by the Sudekem brothers, who later went on to control the movie theater businesss in Nashville.
There is a story that the Sudekum brothers designed the Belcourt on the sand in Florida while on vacation. As the theater wennt up, they realized that they had forgotten the projection booth. Surely this isn’t true, but, for whatever reason, way up on the back wall of the theater there was a room that projected out from the otherwise blank facade. This was the projection booth.
Chuck are you sure it was Crescent that took over operations? I ask because this was the Sudekum Brothers' company, and they built the place. Was it Martin who took over the venue? It was Martin who bought Cresent Amusement.
Leon Coles, Nashville organist, was employed as the Belmont organist on December 20th, 1925, with Arthur Henkel directing the orchestra. The theatre closed on March 15th, 1961.
“When a movie started, one set of curtains parted, another set raised up, then a third set parted. It was very theatrical.” Sounds very nice and truly one worth saving with 1350 seats!
Sadly, it has been 50 years now since the Belmont Theatre closed on March 15th, 1961.
Belmont sounds a lot like Augusta’s Modjeska with its Moorish style.wish there was a picture.
There was a comment that the Belmont opened with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. That orchestra didn’t exist until much later. A photo at the opening shows the marquee having the Beasley Smith orchestra played on opening night. Leon Cole could have played the organ but there was no organ in the floor as there was at the Paramount. I was the projectionist at the Belmont in 1946 and for several years afterward.