Joseph A. Barcelona Enterprises opened the Avenue Theatre in September of 1938. The operator of the Tivoli and Istrouma theaters equipped this house with Super Simplex projection. Robert H. Goodman’s architectural plan was a streamline moderne concept using Superock panels to speed up construction.
Barcelona would add the Regina Theatre in 1942 before subleasing - effective on January 3, 1943 - the Avenue, Tivoli, and Istrouma theaters to Jefferson J. Rebstock and Roy E. Pfeiffer of Rebstock-Pfeiffer Theaters. Those theaters would not make it to the end of the subleasing’s 10-year agreements.
RKO, Loew’s, Paramount and 20th-Fox filed separate percentage fraud suits in Federal Court against Rebstock-Pfeiffer which were likely settled out of court. But (or, perhaps, because of that) Rebstock-Pfeiffer would soon split. They ended their subleasing agreement with Barcelona effective February 4, 1951 and the Avenue and Tivoli were returned to Barcelona Enterprises. Pfeiffer bought out the Istrouma Theatre for $85k.
Barcelona continued operation of the Avenue Theatre for less than two months. He closed the Avenue and reopened the Tivoli in March of 1951. The Avenue became the Calvary Assembly of God church in 1952. It has since been demolished.
The Dalton Theatre was a Post-War suburban multiuse building that had spots for four commercial interests. The first three after the Dalton Theatre were the Dalton Grocery, the Dalton Pharmacy and the Dalton Laundromat. The Dalton had opened - the theatre - on May 27, 1948 with “The Noose Hangs High.”
The Capitol Ave. Theatre opened in 1951. In April of 1956, it installed widescreen projection to present CinemaScope films. Its last ad was December 26, 1956 with “The Last Hunt.” It was old to the archdiocese which converted it into a church. It stood until 2010 and was demolished for a new St. Paul The Apostle Catholic Church opening in 2011. It might help to change the address from 3912 Capitol Avenue to 3912 Gus Young Avenue as the street name changed confounding a subset of mapping systems.
The City of Baton Rouge approved the $40,000 Lincoln Theatre project proposed by Reverend Albert L. Chatman in December of 1949. The architect on the project was A. Hays Town. The Lincoln was flanked by the Lincoln Barber and the Lincoln Pharmacy, the de facto secondary concessionaire of the Lincoln at launch. It also housed an African American real estate office of Guidry-Kennedy Real Estate and an African American insurance broker. For a period of time, the venue was co-owned with the nearby Hotel Lincoln, one of the City’s two African American owned and operated hotels. The Lincoln Theatre appears to have opened on August 25, 1950 with Alan Ladd as “Captain Carey U.S.A.” The Southside venue was programmed for African American audiences.
The theatre also staged live shows. Lionel Hampton played the Lincoln on March 1, 1952 and returned at least once. Bijou Entertainment Circuit took on the programming duties at the venue in its formative years. Programmatically, the Lincoln hit its stride in the late 1960s and early 1970s playing a heavy mix of Blaxploitation films with some exploitation titles interspersed. The theatre advertised with extremely large ads in the newspaper ranging from half page to double-truck spreads. Star appearances at the theater to promote film openers were not uncommon. The theatre also upgraded its projection to widescreen and stereo.
For a period of time, the venue was co-owned with the nearby Hotel Lincoln which had opened August 21, 1955. By the 1980s, the theatres were desegregated and folks preferred cinemas with multiple screens, free parking, and comfortable seating. So the Lincoln Theatre was done. But in 2018, restoration efforts began in earnest at the Theatre.
Capitol Theatres Inc. and R. Frank Cangelosi built this suburban house adjacent to the LSU campus. Robert H. Goodman created the streamline moderne, low budget theatre. It would be in the Gordon C. Ogden portfolio. Saenger Theatres caught wind of this and quickly got a plan together to build the Varisty Theatre. The race was on… and the Chimes Theatre won. It launched September 16, 1937 with “Pennies from Heaven.”
Ogden would add the Ogden Theatre and the Gordon Theatre to the City. And the Chimes scuffled heading into the 1950s. The Chimes had closed for winter breaks at LSU and then closed for the entire LSU summer break scheduling a reopening on September 13, 1953. That date past and then on September 27, 1953, the theater ran an advertorial saying they weren’t reopening due to the federal tax on entertainment. With television and the cost of installing stereo sound and 3D, they didn’t think they could reopen at that time but might in the future. They elected not to with the theatre closing permanently in 1953.
The Monte Sano neighborhood was part of a major post-World War II housing and industrial boom in North Baton Rouge as folks got more mobile with automobile ownership. E.G. Boehringer created Monte Sano Theatre, Inc. as he built a post-War suburban movie house, the Monte Sano, opening on January 11, 1947 with “Two Guys from Milwaukee.” The Monte Sano was a second-run, popular price house… but not too popular with audiences. The theatre was sold to S.J. Campisi and John J. D'Antoni who rechristened it the Ann Theatre on February 26, 1953 as the Ann Theatre with “Million Dollar Mermaid.” (Van Sant Wallace filled in for Mayor Webb in giving the reopening remarks.)
Strategic urban renewal in the 1960s designed to both speed traffic and to decimate the City’s African American neighborhoods severed places like Old South and Valley Park. Those projects reshaped many neighborhoods including Monte Sano as population shifts are brisk. The Ann Theatre closed as the combination of westerns and live Hillbilly music wasn’t cutting it any longer in the Monte Sano neighborhood. In 1968, the Ann Theatre reopened and became of the South’s most prominent African American-centered theatres spotlighting Blaxploitation film throughout the late 1960s and 1970s.
The Ann aggressively marketed Blaxploitation films and some chopsocky titles through full page ads and sporadic star appearances. A road show of the film, “Black is Beautiful” played a month on what was advertised as a “road show engagement.” Marriage licenses were checked for all under 18-married couples by police officers to ensure admission (!). “Wattstax” ‘southern premiere’ was there. “Cleopatra Jones” played for a month. Rosiland Cash, star of “Melinda”, appeared at that film’s opening. But when the desegregated suburban theatres and multiplexes offering multiple titles, free parking and more comfortable seating came along, they unseated the Ann Theatre. It closed in the 1980s and was converted to other retail purposes.
Acme Amusement and Development Company opened the Temple Theatre in the Odd Fellows Building on October 17, 1925. It featured a $3,000 Reproduco Pipe Organ Piano combo unit and opened with Florence Video in “Welcome Stranger” as its opening film supported by four short subjects. The venue added sound in 1929 to remain viable. The venue was open to African American patrons only barring a major crossover artist.
The programming was a combination of films and live performers. Some notable live moments: “The Queen of Moaners” Clara Smith gave two shows for her live appearance - one for African Americans and one for White patrons on January 17, 1928. “The Uncrowned Queen of the Blues” Ida Cox appeared numerous times including February 28 and March 1, 1928, March 9, 1929, February 28, 1932 and March 5, 1932. Ma Rainey appeared there on February 2, 1929. On the Temple Rooftop Garden were Duke Ellington November 29, 1937 and Louis Armstrong on September 30, 1938.
The Temple received a streamline moderne makeover in the 1930s and was remodeled again in 1956 bringing both air conditioning and widescreen projection to the Temple. But during the 1956 process, the Temple Rooftop Garden hosted some of its most luminary performers . They included B.B. King on August 6 and August 31, Little Richard on August 20, Fats Domino on October 3, and Muddy Waters on October 24, 1956.
In the 1970s, it became legendary for blaxploitation film exhibition. But by the 1980s, it was over as suburban theaters were integrated and provided multiple screens with comfortable seating and free parking.
The August 25, 1936 fire reshaped downtown when the Batesville Panolian newspaper dating back to 1881 blaze took down the Batesville Theatre, and the Farmers' Grocery Store. It reopened as the Batesville Theatre again thanks to the local merchants who rebuilt in place. The theatre survived long enough to become the Eureka Theatre and then the Eureka Cinema on Nov. 23, 1973. Local officials brought obscenity charges against the Eureka Theatre for animated adult feature, “Fritz, the Cat.” A specious charge.
The original Trace Theatre (#1) was in the Opera House (#2) that burned down in October 1944. The Opera House (#1) had burned down in the late 19th Century taking with it Masonic Lodge #3 - third oldest in Mississippi. The Trace was rebuilt by the Odd Fellows to have a fraternal lodge opening in 1899.
As Opera Houses faded unable to make money in smaller towns, movie theaters offered an alternative to live programming. And that’s what happened as the Opera House turned to motion pictures. It then was taken over by the Abraham family which ran the Trace Theatre for decades. But the fire of October 28, 1944 ended a great track record.
The War Production Board approved a new theatre and the architectural plans of by Jackson, Mississippi architect E.G. Malvaney. It opened in 1946 and was operated by Mrs. Jake Abraham. The Abrahams closed up in late 1967. The Trace Theatre was burned in April of 1968 and reports stated that it was likely a response to the Martin Luther King assassination. The building was not properly buttoned up and suffered a lot of damage.
The Trace Theatre didn’t bring much money but apparently was viewed for a very short-lived playhouse in 1981 and 1982. It then returned to vacancy and has since lost everything except its side walls. It is definitely in ruins today.
On the drafting table, this was known as Buck’s Theatre and was taking the place of the legendary Brown’s Picture Tent - a photography studio and summertime movie venue. As the Buck’s Theatre project started, E.W. Brown didn’t give up, however, moving his Tent to new digs two blocks away at Washington Street between Broadway and Theobold. The project was still under the temporary Buck’s Theatre title even as the sound was being installed in March of 1937; but at the 11th hour, it opened as the Delta Theatre on April 5, 1937 with Anne Shirley as “M'Liss.”
Paramount dropped the theatre on April 14, 1950 with “Back Street” and “Give Out, Sisters.” Weeks later, 1Mr. and Mrs. S.J. Azar of the Harlem Theatre took over the venue independently almost undoubtedly on a subleasing agreement. They went all in with Lash LaRue not only on the screen for “Son of Billy, The Kid” but also with Lash on stage, in person on November 3, 1950 as the Azar Theater relaunched. It discontinued advertising in 1952 - likely at the opt out of its 15 year leasing agreement.
In March of 1953, McCullar Electric (later McCullar Appliance & Furniture) moved into the space followed by a children’s clothing store. It looks like it was demolished in 1977 which times out with a 25-year, post-theatrical leasing agreement.
Jackson Mall Cinema in North Jackson was a suburban luxury era venue that took advantage of its shopping mall’s huge, free parking lot to drive a new breed of moviegoer seeking luxury seating, high technology including ultra widescreen projection, and other amenities. Evans M. Terry was cinema’s architect.
The Jackson Mall construction kickoff happened on March 27, 1969 and would have 39 stores anchored by a Woolco, a JCPenney and a Gayfer’s store along with its own mall cinema. The Jackson Mall celebrated its grand opening on July 16, 1970… but many of the stores had opened months earlier. The Jackson Mall Cinema opened Jun 11, 1970 with “Paint Your Wagon.” But the Mall was a bust once the Metrocenter and Northpark siphoned away its customers.
The little mall that couldn’t lost all three anchors: Woolco to bankruptcy, Penney’s to exiting on November 2, 1985. and Gayfer’s in November of 1986. This gave all the interior folks the opportunity to break leases or take opt outs 15-years in. And boy did they. Ogden Perry had already left the greyscale mall - a term akin to a dead mall with more than half of the center vacant - on May 1, 1983 with Bruce Li in “Dynamo.”
The venue hosted sporadic events until landing “Star Attractions” which reopened there on September 6, 1985 with a double feature of “Beverly Hills Cop” and “Vicious Black Dragon Killer” for $2. The money wasn’t pouring in because “Star Attractions” then closed on September 22, 1985 with a double feature of “Evil Dead” and “Alone in the Dark.” On March 7, 1986 the shuttered cinema was reopened for a one day, force sheriff sale to recoup overdue property taxes from the Jackson Mall for that year… and 1985… and 1984… and 1983.
For reasons that aren’t particular clear, an operation called United Cinemas of America reopened the venue as the Discount Cinemas at Jackson Mall. It reopened as a discount, sub-run dollar house on February 7, 1987 with “Soul Man” and “Three Amigos.” In the Summer, youths - a number of whom were in gangs - were coming to the venue but not really for the films. Obviously, the Mall wasn’t in a position to provide full-time security as it was all but broke so the cinema did what any normal cinema would do. They hired a security firm who walked a trained doberman up and down the aisles to scare the patrons to silence. And that made the national news for all of the wrong reasons. How United made it in the dead mall for an unfathomable six months is fairly astonishing. Thankfully, it was all over - closing August 2, 1987 with “The Witches of Eastwick.”
Except, yes, someone else decided to give it a go. The venue was renamed the Repertory Theatre in July of 1989 with vintage films beginning with “West Side Story” and worked in live plays. They lasted until April 28, 1991 and some sporadic live events in 1993 and 1994 as the Jackson Mall Cinema. In 1995, the entire mall was converted into a medical facility.
The original Alamo Theatre dated back to 1912 in Jackson, Mississippi. It added sound to remain commercially viable and served as the primary movie house for African American residents. The Alamo had received an upgrade operating as the New Alamo Theatre under operator Arthur Lehman in the 1920s with Lehman adding sound to remain viable.
During the Depression, Lehman built the new Booker-T Theatre in 1937 opening in 1938. During the War, Dentist and civic leader Dr. A.H. McCoy built the first African American owned theater in Jackson opening in 1944 as the Ritz.
After the War, Lehman felt it was time for a new, New Alamo Theatre and it got a new, streamline moderne venue as drawn in 1948 by Jones & Haas Architects with Jack Corgan listed as the Associate Architect (sketch in photos).
The older New Alamo was renamed on January 21, 1949 as the Amite Theatre. The newer New Alamo Theatre launched on January 26, 1949 (ad in photos) with an open house and The Sammy Green Show on Stage as its entertainment. During the TV era, the Ritz closed in 1954, the Booker-T closed in 1956 followed by the Amite Theatre leaving the Alamo as the lone African American movie house. It thrived in the Blaxploitation era but enthusiasm waned in the late 1970s.
The Ritz closed in 1983 and the pink and blue building was boarded up as a target of post-theatrical incidents. That boarding up proved invaluable because its condition was relatively good and it was targeted for restoration in 1992. State funds of $1.5 million later in the 1990s allowed it to fully refresh to its reopening in 1997 as an events center. It continues as a vibrant entertainment hub in the 2020s.
Ed L. Kuykendall opened the original Princess Theatre in downtown Columbus on October 24, 1911 with silent films and live music. In 1923, Kuykendall decided that a new $100,000 brick theatre was needed and Charles G. Davis of New Orleans was the architect. The Princess Theatre had a soft launch in December of 1923 with its formal opening on February 25, 1924. Mississippi Governor Henry Lewis Whitfield gave the opening speech.
Business was so brisk that in late 1924, the venue was renamed as the New Princess Theatre and the former venue was listed as the Princess Theatre (old) and reopened on November 21, 1924 carrying second run westerns on Friday and Saturday operation. The New Princess added sound to remain viable back to its Princess nameplate. The Princess also converted to widescreen projection. Today, it operates as a live venue with reparatory films in the 2020s retaining its 1920s' moniker of the New Princess Theatre.
The Alamo Theatre opened in 1912. It transitioned to sound to remain viable. It received a streamline moderne makeover becoming the New Alamo. A newer post-War New Alamo Theatre was built in 1948 opening in January of 1949. On January 21, 1949, the older New Alamo was renamed as the Amite Theatre. It last just short of ten years. It transitioned to a controversial bar called The Dump. It then transitioned to Bill’s Disco until being destroyed by fire December 16, 1983. The remnants were demolished in 1984.
The War Production Board authorized the plan of civic leader and dentist Dr. A.H. McCoy to build the Ritz Theatre in the existing Bob’s Pastry Bakery in 1943. The Ritz’s architect was E.G. Malvaney.
Upon opening on March 20, 1944 with “Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man.” It was reported that it was one of just six theatres operated and managed by an African American and, like the others, it was operated for African American patrons. The existing Booker T. and the New Alamo on Amite - replaced by the Alamo Theatre opening in 1949 - were the other Jackson theaters with the same policy.
At its ten-year anniversary in March of 1954, The Ritz was equipped with widescreen to present CinemaScope titles. And that didn’t last too long as the theatre was soon closed and offered for sale. It looks like it became a supermarket and was later demolished.
Paramount-Richards ran this venue for the Gulf Shipbuilding Company which supported the cost of building this movie house. Architects were Knight, Barrow, and Lentz
Architect Samuel G. Wiener created the post-War Broadmoor suburban shopping concept with its streamline moderne theaters and matching six streamline retail stores. It opened with Deanna Durbin in “I’ll Be Yours” on May 28th, 1947. The venue switched to widescreen to present CinemaScope titles in 1954.
Gulf States “temporarily” closed the venue following the November 30, 1975 of “Johnny Firecloud.” When asked in 1976 the date of reopening, the circuit said cryptically, “Nevermoor.” After a short period of time as a church and longer as vacant, the venue was demolished in 2001.
Lumberton’s Apex Theatre #2 was a new-build, $40,000 facility to replace the original location. The post-War structure was austere and designed by Hearon and McCleskey Architects. It opened January 23, 1951 by L.J. Brun. 350 seats were on the main floor with a 120-seat balcony for African American patrons. A cry room was furnished. It was in the M.A. Pigford Building - a familiar name as one of the town’s first commercial buildings was the W.W. Pigford Building.
The theatre had two major refreshes: the first brought a new screen in December of 1963 which is assumed to be a widescreen transition for presenting CinemaScope titles. It closed briefly twice - the second time for a major refresh that it re-emerged with on October 16, 1982 with its new look that it carried to closure.
Joseph A. Barcelona Enterprises opened the Avenue Theatre in September of 1938. The operator of the Tivoli and Istrouma theaters equipped this house with Super Simplex projection. Robert H. Goodman’s architectural plan was a streamline moderne concept using Superock panels to speed up construction.
Barcelona would add the Regina Theatre in 1942 before subleasing - effective on January 3, 1943 - the Avenue, Tivoli, and Istrouma theaters to Jefferson J. Rebstock and Roy E. Pfeiffer of Rebstock-Pfeiffer Theaters. Those theaters would not make it to the end of the subleasing’s 10-year agreements.
RKO, Loew’s, Paramount and 20th-Fox filed separate percentage fraud suits in Federal Court against Rebstock-Pfeiffer which were likely settled out of court. But (or, perhaps, because of that) Rebstock-Pfeiffer would soon split. They ended their subleasing agreement with Barcelona effective February 4, 1951 and the Avenue and Tivoli were returned to Barcelona Enterprises. Pfeiffer bought out the Istrouma Theatre for $85k.
Barcelona continued operation of the Avenue Theatre for less than two months. He closed the Avenue and reopened the Tivoli in March of 1951. The Avenue became the Calvary Assembly of God church in 1952. It has since been demolished.
The Gordon opened July 3, 1951 with Excuse My Dust.
The Dalton Theatre was a Post-War suburban multiuse building that had spots for four commercial interests. The first three after the Dalton Theatre were the Dalton Grocery, the Dalton Pharmacy and the Dalton Laundromat. The Dalton had opened - the theatre - on May 27, 1948 with “The Noose Hangs High.”
The Capitol Ave. Theatre opened in 1951. In April of 1956, it installed widescreen projection to present CinemaScope films. Its last ad was December 26, 1956 with “The Last Hunt.” It was old to the archdiocese which converted it into a church. It stood until 2010 and was demolished for a new St. Paul The Apostle Catholic Church opening in 2011. It might help to change the address from 3912 Capitol Avenue to 3912 Gus Young Avenue as the street name changed confounding a subset of mapping systems.
The City of Baton Rouge approved the $40,000 Lincoln Theatre project proposed by Reverend Albert L. Chatman in December of 1949. The architect on the project was A. Hays Town. The Lincoln was flanked by the Lincoln Barber and the Lincoln Pharmacy, the de facto secondary concessionaire of the Lincoln at launch. It also housed an African American real estate office of Guidry-Kennedy Real Estate and an African American insurance broker. For a period of time, the venue was co-owned with the nearby Hotel Lincoln, one of the City’s two African American owned and operated hotels. The Lincoln Theatre appears to have opened on August 25, 1950 with Alan Ladd as “Captain Carey U.S.A.” The Southside venue was programmed for African American audiences.
The theatre also staged live shows. Lionel Hampton played the Lincoln on March 1, 1952 and returned at least once. Bijou Entertainment Circuit took on the programming duties at the venue in its formative years. Programmatically, the Lincoln hit its stride in the late 1960s and early 1970s playing a heavy mix of Blaxploitation films with some exploitation titles interspersed. The theatre advertised with extremely large ads in the newspaper ranging from half page to double-truck spreads. Star appearances at the theater to promote film openers were not uncommon. The theatre also upgraded its projection to widescreen and stereo.
For a period of time, the venue was co-owned with the nearby Hotel Lincoln which had opened August 21, 1955. By the 1980s, the theatres were desegregated and folks preferred cinemas with multiple screens, free parking, and comfortable seating. So the Lincoln Theatre was done. But in 2018, restoration efforts began in earnest at the Theatre.
Capitol Theatres Inc. and R. Frank Cangelosi built this suburban house adjacent to the LSU campus. Robert H. Goodman created the streamline moderne, low budget theatre. It would be in the Gordon C. Ogden portfolio. Saenger Theatres caught wind of this and quickly got a plan together to build the Varisty Theatre. The race was on… and the Chimes Theatre won. It launched September 16, 1937 with “Pennies from Heaven.”
Ogden would add the Ogden Theatre and the Gordon Theatre to the City. And the Chimes scuffled heading into the 1950s. The Chimes had closed for winter breaks at LSU and then closed for the entire LSU summer break scheduling a reopening on September 13, 1953. That date past and then on September 27, 1953, the theater ran an advertorial saying they weren’t reopening due to the federal tax on entertainment. With television and the cost of installing stereo sound and 3D, they didn’t think they could reopen at that time but might in the future. They elected not to with the theatre closing permanently in 1953.
The Monte Sano neighborhood was part of a major post-World War II housing and industrial boom in North Baton Rouge as folks got more mobile with automobile ownership. E.G. Boehringer created Monte Sano Theatre, Inc. as he built a post-War suburban movie house, the Monte Sano, opening on January 11, 1947 with “Two Guys from Milwaukee.” The Monte Sano was a second-run, popular price house… but not too popular with audiences. The theatre was sold to S.J. Campisi and John J. D'Antoni who rechristened it the Ann Theatre on February 26, 1953 as the Ann Theatre with “Million Dollar Mermaid.” (Van Sant Wallace filled in for Mayor Webb in giving the reopening remarks.)
Strategic urban renewal in the 1960s designed to both speed traffic and to decimate the City’s African American neighborhoods severed places like Old South and Valley Park. Those projects reshaped many neighborhoods including Monte Sano as population shifts are brisk. The Ann Theatre closed as the combination of westerns and live Hillbilly music wasn’t cutting it any longer in the Monte Sano neighborhood. In 1968, the Ann Theatre reopened and became of the South’s most prominent African American-centered theatres spotlighting Blaxploitation film throughout the late 1960s and 1970s.
The Ann aggressively marketed Blaxploitation films and some chopsocky titles through full page ads and sporadic star appearances. A road show of the film, “Black is Beautiful” played a month on what was advertised as a “road show engagement.” Marriage licenses were checked for all under 18-married couples by police officers to ensure admission (!). “Wattstax” ‘southern premiere’ was there. “Cleopatra Jones” played for a month. Rosiland Cash, star of “Melinda”, appeared at that film’s opening. But when the desegregated suburban theatres and multiplexes offering multiple titles, free parking and more comfortable seating came along, they unseated the Ann Theatre. It closed in the 1980s and was converted to other retail purposes.
One of the South’s most vibrant and important blaxploitation theaters in the 1970s
Acme Amusement and Development Company opened the Temple Theatre in the Odd Fellows Building on October 17, 1925. It featured a $3,000 Reproduco Pipe Organ Piano combo unit and opened with Florence Video in “Welcome Stranger” as its opening film supported by four short subjects. The venue added sound in 1929 to remain viable. The venue was open to African American patrons only barring a major crossover artist.
The programming was a combination of films and live performers. Some notable live moments: “The Queen of Moaners” Clara Smith gave two shows for her live appearance - one for African Americans and one for White patrons on January 17, 1928. “The Uncrowned Queen of the Blues” Ida Cox appeared numerous times including February 28 and March 1, 1928, March 9, 1929, February 28, 1932 and March 5, 1932. Ma Rainey appeared there on February 2, 1929. On the Temple Rooftop Garden were Duke Ellington November 29, 1937 and Louis Armstrong on September 30, 1938.
The Temple received a streamline moderne makeover in the 1930s and was remodeled again in 1956 bringing both air conditioning and widescreen projection to the Temple. But during the 1956 process, the Temple Rooftop Garden hosted some of its most luminary performers . They included B.B. King on August 6 and August 31, Little Richard on August 20, Fats Domino on October 3, and Muddy Waters on October 24, 1956.
In the 1970s, it became legendary for blaxploitation film exhibition. But by the 1980s, it was over as suburban theaters were integrated and provided multiple screens with comfortable seating and free parking.
The August 25, 1936 fire reshaped downtown when the Batesville Panolian newspaper dating back to 1881 blaze took down the Batesville Theatre, and the Farmers' Grocery Store. It reopened as the Batesville Theatre again thanks to the local merchants who rebuilt in place. The theatre survived long enough to become the Eureka Theatre and then the Eureka Cinema on Nov. 23, 1973. Local officials brought obscenity charges against the Eureka Theatre for animated adult feature, “Fritz, the Cat.” A specious charge.
The original Trace Theatre (#1) was in the Opera House (#2) that burned down in October 1944. The Opera House (#1) had burned down in the late 19th Century taking with it Masonic Lodge #3 - third oldest in Mississippi. The Trace was rebuilt by the Odd Fellows to have a fraternal lodge opening in 1899.
As Opera Houses faded unable to make money in smaller towns, movie theaters offered an alternative to live programming. And that’s what happened as the Opera House turned to motion pictures. It then was taken over by the Abraham family which ran the Trace Theatre for decades. But the fire of October 28, 1944 ended a great track record.
The War Production Board approved a new theatre and the architectural plans of by Jackson, Mississippi architect E.G. Malvaney. It opened in 1946 and was operated by Mrs. Jake Abraham. The Abrahams closed up in late 1967. The Trace Theatre was burned in April of 1968 and reports stated that it was likely a response to the Martin Luther King assassination. The building was not properly buttoned up and suffered a lot of damage.
The Trace Theatre didn’t bring much money but apparently was viewed for a very short-lived playhouse in 1981 and 1982. It then returned to vacancy and has since lost everything except its side walls. It is definitely in ruins today.
Demolished Match 2018.
On the drafting table, this was known as Buck’s Theatre and was taking the place of the legendary Brown’s Picture Tent - a photography studio and summertime movie venue. As the Buck’s Theatre project started, E.W. Brown didn’t give up, however, moving his Tent to new digs two blocks away at Washington Street between Broadway and Theobold. The project was still under the temporary Buck’s Theatre title even as the sound was being installed in March of 1937; but at the 11th hour, it opened as the Delta Theatre on April 5, 1937 with Anne Shirley as “M'Liss.”
Paramount dropped the theatre on April 14, 1950 with “Back Street” and “Give Out, Sisters.” Weeks later, 1Mr. and Mrs. S.J. Azar of the Harlem Theatre took over the venue independently almost undoubtedly on a subleasing agreement. They went all in with Lash LaRue not only on the screen for “Son of Billy, The Kid” but also with Lash on stage, in person on November 3, 1950 as the Azar Theater relaunched. It discontinued advertising in 1952 - likely at the opt out of its 15 year leasing agreement.
In March of 1953, McCullar Electric (later McCullar Appliance & Furniture) moved into the space followed by a children’s clothing store. It looks like it was demolished in 1977 which times out with a 25-year, post-theatrical leasing agreement.
Jackson Mall Cinema in North Jackson was a suburban luxury era venue that took advantage of its shopping mall’s huge, free parking lot to drive a new breed of moviegoer seeking luxury seating, high technology including ultra widescreen projection, and other amenities. Evans M. Terry was cinema’s architect.
The Jackson Mall construction kickoff happened on March 27, 1969 and would have 39 stores anchored by a Woolco, a JCPenney and a Gayfer’s store along with its own mall cinema. The Jackson Mall celebrated its grand opening on July 16, 1970… but many of the stores had opened months earlier. The Jackson Mall Cinema opened Jun 11, 1970 with “Paint Your Wagon.” But the Mall was a bust once the Metrocenter and Northpark siphoned away its customers.
The little mall that couldn’t lost all three anchors: Woolco to bankruptcy, Penney’s to exiting on November 2, 1985. and Gayfer’s in November of 1986. This gave all the interior folks the opportunity to break leases or take opt outs 15-years in. And boy did they. Ogden Perry had already left the greyscale mall - a term akin to a dead mall with more than half of the center vacant - on May 1, 1983 with Bruce Li in “Dynamo.”
The venue hosted sporadic events until landing “Star Attractions” which reopened there on September 6, 1985 with a double feature of “Beverly Hills Cop” and “Vicious Black Dragon Killer” for $2. The money wasn’t pouring in because “Star Attractions” then closed on September 22, 1985 with a double feature of “Evil Dead” and “Alone in the Dark.” On March 7, 1986 the shuttered cinema was reopened for a one day, force sheriff sale to recoup overdue property taxes from the Jackson Mall for that year… and 1985… and 1984… and 1983.
For reasons that aren’t particular clear, an operation called United Cinemas of America reopened the venue as the Discount Cinemas at Jackson Mall. It reopened as a discount, sub-run dollar house on February 7, 1987 with “Soul Man” and “Three Amigos.” In the Summer, youths - a number of whom were in gangs - were coming to the venue but not really for the films. Obviously, the Mall wasn’t in a position to provide full-time security as it was all but broke so the cinema did what any normal cinema would do. They hired a security firm who walked a trained doberman up and down the aisles to scare the patrons to silence. And that made the national news for all of the wrong reasons. How United made it in the dead mall for an unfathomable six months is fairly astonishing. Thankfully, it was all over - closing August 2, 1987 with “The Witches of Eastwick.”
Except, yes, someone else decided to give it a go. The venue was renamed the Repertory Theatre in July of 1989 with vintage films beginning with “West Side Story” and worked in live plays. They lasted until April 28, 1991 and some sporadic live events in 1993 and 1994 as the Jackson Mall Cinema. In 1995, the entire mall was converted into a medical facility.
Architect of the theatre containing the 75' Vistarama panoramic screen was Charles L. Barlow.
The original Alamo Theatre dated back to 1912 in Jackson, Mississippi. It added sound to remain commercially viable and served as the primary movie house for African American residents. The Alamo had received an upgrade operating as the New Alamo Theatre under operator Arthur Lehman in the 1920s with Lehman adding sound to remain viable.
During the Depression, Lehman built the new Booker-T Theatre in 1937 opening in 1938. During the War, Dentist and civic leader Dr. A.H. McCoy built the first African American owned theater in Jackson opening in 1944 as the Ritz.
After the War, Lehman felt it was time for a new, New Alamo Theatre and it got a new, streamline moderne venue as drawn in 1948 by Jones & Haas Architects with Jack Corgan listed as the Associate Architect (sketch in photos).
The older New Alamo was renamed on January 21, 1949 as the Amite Theatre. The newer New Alamo Theatre launched on January 26, 1949 (ad in photos) with an open house and The Sammy Green Show on Stage as its entertainment. During the TV era, the Ritz closed in 1954, the Booker-T closed in 1956 followed by the Amite Theatre leaving the Alamo as the lone African American movie house. It thrived in the Blaxploitation era but enthusiasm waned in the late 1970s.
The Ritz closed in 1983 and the pink and blue building was boarded up as a target of post-theatrical incidents. That boarding up proved invaluable because its condition was relatively good and it was targeted for restoration in 1992. State funds of $1.5 million later in the 1990s allowed it to fully refresh to its reopening in 1997 as an events center. It continues as a vibrant entertainment hub in the 2020s.
Ed L. Kuykendall opened the original Princess Theatre in downtown Columbus on October 24, 1911 with silent films and live music. In 1923, Kuykendall decided that a new $100,000 brick theatre was needed and Charles G. Davis of New Orleans was the architect. The Princess Theatre had a soft launch in December of 1923 with its formal opening on February 25, 1924. Mississippi Governor Henry Lewis Whitfield gave the opening speech.
Business was so brisk that in late 1924, the venue was renamed as the New Princess Theatre and the former venue was listed as the Princess Theatre (old) and reopened on November 21, 1924 carrying second run westerns on Friday and Saturday operation. The New Princess added sound to remain viable back to its Princess nameplate. The Princess also converted to widescreen projection. Today, it operates as a live venue with reparatory films in the 2020s retaining its 1920s' moniker of the New Princess Theatre.
The Alamo Theatre opened in 1912. It transitioned to sound to remain viable. It received a streamline moderne makeover becoming the New Alamo. A newer post-War New Alamo Theatre was built in 1948 opening in January of 1949. On January 21, 1949, the older New Alamo was renamed as the Amite Theatre. It last just short of ten years. It transitioned to a controversial bar called The Dump. It then transitioned to Bill’s Disco until being destroyed by fire December 16, 1983. The remnants were demolished in 1984.
The War Production Board authorized the plan of civic leader and dentist Dr. A.H. McCoy to build the Ritz Theatre in the existing Bob’s Pastry Bakery in 1943. The Ritz’s architect was E.G. Malvaney.
Upon opening on March 20, 1944 with “Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man.” It was reported that it was one of just six theatres operated and managed by an African American and, like the others, it was operated for African American patrons. The existing Booker T. and the New Alamo on Amite - replaced by the Alamo Theatre opening in 1949 - were the other Jackson theaters with the same policy.
At its ten-year anniversary in March of 1954, The Ritz was equipped with widescreen to present CinemaScope titles. And that didn’t last too long as the theatre was soon closed and offered for sale. It looks like it became a supermarket and was later demolished.
Paramount-Richards ran this venue for the Gulf Shipbuilding Company which supported the cost of building this movie house. Architects were Knight, Barrow, and Lentz
Architects (1938 remodel as Pix) Knight, Barrow & Lentz.
Architect Samuel G. Wiener created the post-War Broadmoor suburban shopping concept with its streamline moderne theaters and matching six streamline retail stores. It opened with Deanna Durbin in “I’ll Be Yours” on May 28th, 1947. The venue switched to widescreen to present CinemaScope titles in 1954.
Gulf States “temporarily” closed the venue following the November 30, 1975 of “Johnny Firecloud.” When asked in 1976 the date of reopening, the circuit said cryptically, “Nevermoor.” After a short period of time as a church and longer as vacant, the venue was demolished in 2001.
Architectural firm: Diboll-Kessels & Associates
Architect: Max J. Heinberg
Lumberton’s Apex Theatre #2 was a new-build, $40,000 facility to replace the original location. The post-War structure was austere and designed by Hearon and McCleskey Architects. It opened January 23, 1951 by L.J. Brun. 350 seats were on the main floor with a 120-seat balcony for African American patrons. A cry room was furnished. It was in the M.A. Pigford Building - a familiar name as one of the town’s first commercial buildings was the W.W. Pigford Building.
The theatre had two major refreshes: the first brought a new screen in December of 1963 which is assumed to be a widescreen transition for presenting CinemaScope titles. It closed briefly twice - the second time for a major refresh that it re-emerged with on October 16, 1982 with its new look that it carried to closure.