The Melba was opened in 1946. It was the last theater opened new in Downtown Birmingham, and the only one that was opened as a sound venue. All the others were built previous to that and were converted to sound.
A possibility for the theater three doors down is the Royal, which was along that area as well.
Sadly the Melba spent the last ten years of life playing mostly re-releases from the 1950s like HOUSE OF WAX in 3D (which I saw there as a pre-teen) and movies of the almost X-Rated Grindhouse genre (didnt se those.. LOL).
It began to cater also to the Urban African American community for being the first release house for the “Blacksploitation” movies like Shaft and the Superfly series.
The Melba was also popular during this era for the Chinese “Kung-Fu” type movies featuring Bruce Lee. While the Blacksploitation and Kungfu type movies were considered B-movies in the time, they are now recognized as a special genre of movie history and the Melba was chosen to be part of that.
Again a case of looking for clues for me as to which studio this theater was associated; as most were in the Golden Era. The Trianon appears at the time of the 1928 photo to have been associated with 20th Century Fox. Notice the FOX NEWS ad on the right hand corner of the marquee area.
Reading the above comment about the Ritz being bought by RKO, it occurs to me that it was probably the venue for the original version of King Kong. I dont know why, but it strikes me as interesting as a movie and theater buff to realize where well known movies played. Most people probably today remember Ritz for its Cinerama era that played those great spectacles, but I was born after that and what played there from the pre-cinerama “contract golden era” of Hollywood fascinates me more.
As the Ritz entered its last decade or so of existence, I saw three children’s movies there:
As a child, I saw Dr. Doolittle, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at the Ritz. Those are the only movies I remember seeing there, but Im sure there were more.
this picture is NOT the Rialto but it is the LYRIC Theater. Perhaps the Rialto predated the Lyric at this location and I cannot attest to that… but this is the building that was built as the Lyric Theater which is currently under an extensive restoration project.
I remember the Fairpark as a small child in the 1960’s. The screen was rebuilt after the 67 tornado and remained active until the mid 70’s. It was a terrible place to watch a drive in movie on Saturday Night in the summer. It sat next to the Alabama State Fairgrounds where there was (and remains) an auto racing track. The cars were so loud that they drowned out the speakers. Our family lived in WestEnd near where this was located, but preferred other drive-in venues in quieter parts of the city such as the Mustang in Centerpoint which also had a playground for us to play on till the movie started.
The Mustang remained functional until the late 1970’s. A Bruno’s Supermarket is now on the site where the Mustang once stood in Centerpoint. Can someone tell me some other Drive-ins in Birmingham? I remember that there was one near the late Eastwood mall next to the Motel Birmingham (or whatever that still in business motel is today). There was a drive-in in Fultondale; and one in the Pelham area around Cahaba Valley Road area of Hwy 31. Was there also one on or near Hwy 150 in Hoover or am I confusing it with the one near Cahaba Valley? One in Alabaster and one between Tarrant and Pinson called the Robinwood. It too closed in the mid- late 70’s as I recall. There was one in Midfield and I think it was later converted to a twin and remained functional until around 1980. I know there was one between Fairfield and Hueytown, but I think it was a XXX Drive In. It’s screen face away from the road.
The last I remember, the remnants of the sign at this one was still standing at its Warrior River Road site.
I moved from Birmingham in 2007. I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s going to the Alabama, Empire, Melba and Ritz. I saw many animated Disney movies at the Alabama. And I saw the original DR. DOOLITTLE there. Sitting near the front, the giant pink snail nearly blinded me with the brightness. I also saw the first HERBIE THE LOVE BUG movie there as a kid and they had the HERBIE CAR OUTSIDE when we came out. The last first run I saw there was the 70’s remake of King Kong…. what a waste of grand theater usage. When I was in High School in early 1980’s it was the site for the Cult Classic Rocky Horror Picture Show… every weekend it seemed.
My mother was a product of the Depression and WWII. She went to the Mickey Mouse Club at the Alabama every Saturday, and she has told me that the high back balcony of the Alabama was used by the Black community before desegregation.
Now living near Knoxville, the Tennessee (last surviving sister of the Alabama is still functional in much the same way as the Alabama is today) is used for classic festivals, live entertainment, etc.
The Lyric is just a legend to me. It was gone before I was born.
By the 1970’s the other downtown theaters were basicly B run theaters… showing Chinese KungFu movies, Blacksploitation films, etc; along with occasional classic re- releases. There were the African American theaters like the Carver… that are still used as African American Cultural Centers
Can anybody tell me about other theaters in Birmingham… I know about the Homewood.. (Homewood Cycle and Hobby through my lifetime; but there were also theaters on Southside, East Lake and West End at one time. I think the Southside theater was the Jupiter. It was still operational in 1990s as a XXX venue but I think it too is gone. And I think the East Lake theater is still also operational as a XXX venue. But what about West End? I think I remember a defunct theater near Princeton Hospital. There were other neighborhood theaters scattered around town I am sure. Ensley and Hueytown are noted in this website.
There was an ABC theater in Roebuck Shopping Center. It was also originally a widescreen theater. It also showed alot of First run Disney movies. It was converted to a church in the 1980’s. I am not sure what is in the site now. Several twin and quad theaters came and went throughout the city between 1970 and 2000…not worth noting too much… they were pretty cookie cutter.
And the Eastwood Mall Theater… built in the mid 1960’s was originally a cinemascope venue and had super plush rocking chair seats. It converted to a twin (think proto-multiplex) somewhere around 1980. The last fullscreen show I saw there was Raiders of the Lost Ark. It closed a few years ago and was demolished along with Eastwood Mall and replaced with a Walmart in 2006 or 07. The Eastwood was not particularly elegant in any form or fashion, but it was unique in that it was one of the first IN-mall theaters in the country, and it was NOT A twin or multiplex. A similar theater was built in Jackson, Tennessee at the Old Hickory Mall a few years later.
Old Hickory Mall Cinema has been closed for about 15 years. It was changed to a video store in the mid 90’s.
Also there were theaters in Downtown Jackson, TN. Ritz and Paramount. These closed in the mid-1980’s. I went on my second date with my wife at the Paramount in 1984. We had driven down from college in McKenzie.
The Melba was opened in 1946. It was the last theater opened new in Downtown Birmingham, and the only one that was opened as a sound venue. All the others were built previous to that and were converted to sound. A possibility for the theater three doors down is the Royal, which was along that area as well. Sadly the Melba spent the last ten years of life playing mostly re-releases from the 1950s like HOUSE OF WAX in 3D (which I saw there as a pre-teen) and movies of the almost X-Rated Grindhouse genre (didnt se those.. LOL).
It began to cater also to the Urban African American community for being the first release house for the “Blacksploitation” movies like Shaft and the Superfly series.
The Melba was also popular during this era for the Chinese “Kung-Fu” type movies featuring Bruce Lee. While the Blacksploitation and Kungfu type movies were considered B-movies in the time, they are now recognized as a special genre of movie history and the Melba was chosen to be part of that.
Again a case of looking for clues for me as to which studio this theater was associated; as most were in the Golden Era. The Trianon appears at the time of the 1928 photo to have been associated with 20th Century Fox. Notice the FOX NEWS ad on the right hand corner of the marquee area.
Reading the above comment about the Ritz being bought by RKO, it occurs to me that it was probably the venue for the original version of King Kong. I dont know why, but it strikes me as interesting as a movie and theater buff to realize where well known movies played. Most people probably today remember Ritz for its Cinerama era that played those great spectacles, but I was born after that and what played there from the pre-cinerama “contract golden era” of Hollywood fascinates me more. As the Ritz entered its last decade or so of existence, I saw three children’s movies there: As a child, I saw Dr. Doolittle, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at the Ritz. Those are the only movies I remember seeing there, but Im sure there were more.
this picture is NOT the Rialto but it is the LYRIC Theater. Perhaps the Rialto predated the Lyric at this location and I cannot attest to that… but this is the building that was built as the Lyric Theater which is currently under an extensive restoration project.
I think this was a XXX venue during the late 70’s.
I remember the Fairpark as a small child in the 1960’s. The screen was rebuilt after the 67 tornado and remained active until the mid 70’s. It was a terrible place to watch a drive in movie on Saturday Night in the summer. It sat next to the Alabama State Fairgrounds where there was (and remains) an auto racing track. The cars were so loud that they drowned out the speakers. Our family lived in WestEnd near where this was located, but preferred other drive-in venues in quieter parts of the city such as the Mustang in Centerpoint which also had a playground for us to play on till the movie started.
The Mustang remained functional until the late 1970’s. A Bruno’s Supermarket is now on the site where the Mustang once stood in Centerpoint. Can someone tell me some other Drive-ins in Birmingham? I remember that there was one near the late Eastwood mall next to the Motel Birmingham (or whatever that still in business motel is today). There was a drive-in in Fultondale; and one in the Pelham area around Cahaba Valley Road area of Hwy 31. Was there also one on or near Hwy 150 in Hoover or am I confusing it with the one near Cahaba Valley? One in Alabaster and one between Tarrant and Pinson called the Robinwood. It too closed in the mid- late 70’s as I recall. There was one in Midfield and I think it was later converted to a twin and remained functional until around 1980. I know there was one between Fairfield and Hueytown, but I think it was a XXX Drive In. It’s screen face away from the road.
The last I remember, the remnants of the sign at this one was still standing at its Warrior River Road site.
I moved from Birmingham in 2007. I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s going to the Alabama, Empire, Melba and Ritz. I saw many animated Disney movies at the Alabama. And I saw the original DR. DOOLITTLE there. Sitting near the front, the giant pink snail nearly blinded me with the brightness. I also saw the first HERBIE THE LOVE BUG movie there as a kid and they had the HERBIE CAR OUTSIDE when we came out. The last first run I saw there was the 70’s remake of King Kong…. what a waste of grand theater usage. When I was in High School in early 1980’s it was the site for the Cult Classic Rocky Horror Picture Show… every weekend it seemed.
My mother was a product of the Depression and WWII. She went to the Mickey Mouse Club at the Alabama every Saturday, and she has told me that the high back balcony of the Alabama was used by the Black community before desegregation.
Now living near Knoxville, the Tennessee (last surviving sister of the Alabama is still functional in much the same way as the Alabama is today) is used for classic festivals, live entertainment, etc.
The Lyric is just a legend to me. It was gone before I was born.
By the 1970’s the other downtown theaters were basicly B run theaters… showing Chinese KungFu movies, Blacksploitation films, etc; along with occasional classic re- releases. There were the African American theaters like the Carver… that are still used as African American Cultural Centers
Can anybody tell me about other theaters in Birmingham… I know about the Homewood.. (Homewood Cycle and Hobby through my lifetime; but there were also theaters on Southside, East Lake and West End at one time. I think the Southside theater was the Jupiter. It was still operational in 1990s as a XXX venue but I think it too is gone. And I think the East Lake theater is still also operational as a XXX venue. But what about West End? I think I remember a defunct theater near Princeton Hospital. There were other neighborhood theaters scattered around town I am sure. Ensley and Hueytown are noted in this website.
There was an ABC theater in Roebuck Shopping Center. It was also originally a widescreen theater. It also showed alot of First run Disney movies. It was converted to a church in the 1980’s. I am not sure what is in the site now. Several twin and quad theaters came and went throughout the city between 1970 and 2000…not worth noting too much… they were pretty cookie cutter.
And the Eastwood Mall Theater… built in the mid 1960’s was originally a cinemascope venue and had super plush rocking chair seats. It converted to a twin (think proto-multiplex) somewhere around 1980. The last fullscreen show I saw there was Raiders of the Lost Ark. It closed a few years ago and was demolished along with Eastwood Mall and replaced with a Walmart in 2006 or 07. The Eastwood was not particularly elegant in any form or fashion, but it was unique in that it was one of the first IN-mall theaters in the country, and it was NOT A twin or multiplex. A similar theater was built in Jackson, Tennessee at the Old Hickory Mall a few years later.
Addendum: I think the Old Hickory was part of teh Malco chain.
Old Hickory Mall Cinema has been closed for about 15 years. It was changed to a video store in the mid 90’s.
Also there were theaters in Downtown Jackson, TN. Ritz and Paramount. These closed in the mid-1980’s. I went on my second date with my wife at the Paramount in 1984. We had driven down from college in McKenzie.