Carolina Theatre

lostmemory: Thanks for posting the article with photos from 1978. The CTPS (Carolina Theatre Preservation Society is presently trying to save this historical theatre in downtown Charlotte.

BTW, I just posted the above message at 11:15 a.m. and it reads 8:15 a.m. so the CT clock isn’t matching real time….don’t believe I’ve had this situation occur since becoming a CT member.

I can’t tell you how I sympathize and fully support the carolina theater preservation society’s mission. As a North Carolina native who now resides in NY I have seen many landmark and first run theaters close without any type of community support or protest. The fact is is that people in NY feel they’re fighting a losing battle when they wage a war against these corporations to keep these theaters open. What they fail to realize is that they’re losing a piece of americana when they let these theaters fall to closure, abandonment, and deterioration. I stand behind CTPS and vow to support them in whatever way I can to see this theater restored to it’s grandeur in my home state of NC. Be it fundraising events, donations, or whatever charity starts at home and then spreads abroad.

BTW, does everyone like the new CT format? I’m not sure as I have to ‘maximize’ the link to read the messages, etc. though the print is larger for us older members!

Yes, the name Charles Christian Hook is a prominent name in Charlotte architectural history. Oneof his most beautiful buildings is a fire station on S. Laurel near downtown Charlotte.

“Today the theatre is a shell of its former self. Its lobby and retail area were torn down in the ’80s after a fire that was confined to the stage; however, smoke spread throughout the theatre.” This quote taken from the above website.

The Carolina did not burn down. The lobby area doesn’t exist, but the reason isn’t due to fire. “Although the corner retail section of the property was demolished many years ago, the original entry facade is intact and the theatre itself, known as an "atmospheric theatre” is intact. The interior is reminiscent of the Spanish Renaissance style, with balconies and murals suggesting the illusion of an exotic, open-air Mediterranean garden patio.“ This quote is taken from the first Carolina Theatre Palace newsletter Volume 1, Issue 1 Feb. 2005. The Carolina Theatre Preservation Society (CTPS) founded in 1997 is a non-profit organization that has fought passionately for the preservation of the Carolina Theatre. An interesting fact is that the only premiere of "Gone With the Wind” was held at the Carolina in addition to the Atlanta premiere.

The exact quote from the Carolina Theatre Timeline (Oct 1988) is “City Fair opens but work is halted due to escalating cost. City Fair has already gutted the building removing almost all the decorative and ornate objects from the theatre. The stage area is rebuilt to accommodate the planned seating area for the restaurant. Carly Capital Co. who owns City Fair talks city into de-listing theatre from local historic register. The steel beams that were needed for the restaurant would not fit through the old lobby so it had to be torn down.” Now this is truly unbelieveable and almost made me faint when I read it! In Sept 1982 the Carolina was placed on the local Historic Register only to be “de-listed” in 1988 so it was on the list for a short 6 years!

Thomas: I can’t bring up the site you mentioned on June 2002 about the article that appeared in the Independent Tribune concerning the fund raiser for the Carolina. Perhaps you or Charlie C. can enlighten me about this and why there hasn’t been other fund raisers since then…..it’s time! I suppose the site isn’t available now because that fundraiser is old news, but a new fundraiser needs to be present news!

C.C. Hook is a prominent name in the history of Charlotte. I first came upon this name in connection with a beautiful fire station on S. Laurel Avenue. I went to the address and took a photo of this station and saw the brass plate on the wall with his name along with the year of construction. After speaking with the commander he told me that it had been one of the featured Dept. 56 stations and for good reason! While there they rec’d a call and the fire trucks rolled even though no men came down the brass poles that are still intact at the station! I know this isn’t theatre chat, so forgive me for getting off the main topic for a brief moment.

In an article published in the Theatre Historical Society of America quarterly magaizine ‘Marquee’ Vol 18 No 3 Third Quarter 1986>>>>>>> I quote;

‘Designed by R.E. Hall of New York and C.C. Hook of Charlotte, architects and engineers, the Carolina had 900 seats in the orchestra and 550 in the balcony. The design was generally Spanish Renaissance. The first note of this Spanish design came with the box office of wrought iron (In its press releases of the day Paramount-Publix heralded the Spanish design as one of most appropriate for Southern theatres.) the fixtures throughout the auditorium were also constructed from wrought iron as well as wood and leather. Spanish (and Italian) pottery, terra cotta jars, wrought iron lantern top torches old brass and copper jugs, reproductions of old paintings, mirrors and seemingly endless drapes made all parts of Charlotte’s Carolina a feast for the eyes.

Opened on 7th March 1927, this house became the centerpiece of the North Carolina operations of the Paramount-Publix chain. It served as such until the late 1960’s. It closed in 1978.'

From
‘Chronicling the Carolinas’ Theatres by Jim Lewallen and Douglas Gomery

Additional information;
The Carolina Theatre was equipped with a Barton theatre pipe organ which was opened by Faye Wilcox. In the 1950’s the organ was played by Clarence Etters who was musical director at radio station WBT & WBT-TV. After that the organ went silent.

I now have found on this site that R.E. Hall was the engineer for 2 theatres, Eastman Theatre in Rochester NY and Florida Theatre in Jacksonville FL, and was not the architect so the mystery still remains as to who was the architect for the Carolina Theatre?