New owners seek to restore Reeves Theater

posted by philbertgray on December 4, 2007 at 9:40 am

ELKIN, NC — The long dormant Reeves Theater is looking to restore and reopened after 20 years and much damage.

Elkin is working to bring back its art-deco Reeves Theater, a 1940s movie house with a facade in four shades of blue with orange trim. It once lit Main Street with a large neon sign, but since the mid-1980s, has stood dark. Water damage ruined most of the interior. And though a group of investors bought it in 1998, plans to restore it never materialized.

In 1941, Dr. W.B. Reeves, a local eye doctor, built the 700-seat theater. People walked past a soda shop inside before taking their seats to watch newsreels, Rita Hayworth movies and Donald Duck cartoons. Admission was 33 cents.

An article on the struggle to save and restore this theater can be found on the Winston-Salem Journal website along with 17 photos of the heavily damaged interior.

Comments (5)

rsalters (Ron Salters)
rsalters (Ron Salters) on December 4, 2007 at 1:16 pm

Where is the Reeves Theatre? This news story is headed “Elkin MA”, but there is no such town in Massachusetts.

NativeForestHiller
NativeForestHiller on December 5, 2007 at 4:19 am

Elkin, NC according to the press release. I wish the new owners all the very best in their restoration plans and beyond!!! What a miracle! Are there any photos of this gem?

ticktock11
ticktock11 on December 5, 2007 at 1:50 pm

Do follow the link above.

Such a handsome, restrained auditorium.

tube2005
tube2005 on December 9, 2007 at 1:46 am

i am looking for those old theatre sound equipment like speaker cabinet drivers amplifier i will paid good money and come to pick them up.773-339-9035

MiltonSmith
MiltonSmith on December 14, 2007 at 6:08 pm

Wow, that theatre honestly looks too far gone for restoration. It didn’t look like it was much to begin with.

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