My notes from a Greenville city directory published in the early 1950s confirm 218 N. Main Street as the address of the Paris Theater.
Outer space enthusiasts and sf fans fondly remember the Paris as the theater that brought George Pal’s “Destination Moon” to Greenville during the week of 16-21 October 1950. This followed its 20 June premiere at New York’s Hayden Planetarium for a VIP audience. It had gone into national release during August.
In addition to this movie that launched the 1950s science fiction cycle (and maybe even NASA), the Paris Theater’s offerings during 1950 included Walt Disney’s live-action period film “Treasure Island,” the year’s Oscar winner for best picture “All About Eve,” and a return engagement (?) of Laurence Olivier’s 1948 film version of “Hamlet.” This sampling suggests that in its heyday the Paris was a respectable alternative to the Carolina and the Fox.
My memory tends to transpose the locations of the Paris and Center theaters, but the directory street addresses indicate that the Center stood on the northern side of the Paris with only one street address separating them. I believe I am correct in remembering that the Center had the square marquee and the Paris had the triangular marquee.
The Center Theater was located at 222 N. Main Street, just two doors down from the Paris Theater. It accommodated live stage shows as well as films, and as late as the early 1950s a ticket would sometimes admit you to a performance by a Grand Ole Opry star as well as the day’s feature. Typically this would tie in with a morning event at Mary’s Record Shop, 630 S. Main Street, where the touring country music artist would promote his records. According to my notes from the Greenville News, Hank Williams appeared on stage at the Center Theater on 11 October 1950. At the time, he was an increasingly popular musician, but perhaps no one anticipated the pop culture phenomenon he would eventually become.
My notes from a Greenville city directory published in the early 1950s confirm 218 N. Main Street as the address of the Paris Theater.
Outer space enthusiasts and sf fans fondly remember the Paris as the theater that brought George Pal’s “Destination Moon” to Greenville during the week of 16-21 October 1950. This followed its 20 June premiere at New York’s Hayden Planetarium for a VIP audience. It had gone into national release during August.
In addition to this movie that launched the 1950s science fiction cycle (and maybe even NASA), the Paris Theater’s offerings during 1950 included Walt Disney’s live-action period film “Treasure Island,” the year’s Oscar winner for best picture “All About Eve,” and a return engagement (?) of Laurence Olivier’s 1948 film version of “Hamlet.” This sampling suggests that in its heyday the Paris was a respectable alternative to the Carolina and the Fox.
My memory tends to transpose the locations of the Paris and Center theaters, but the directory street addresses indicate that the Center stood on the northern side of the Paris with only one street address separating them. I believe I am correct in remembering that the Center had the square marquee and the Paris had the triangular marquee.
The Center Theater was located at 222 N. Main Street, just two doors down from the Paris Theater. It accommodated live stage shows as well as films, and as late as the early 1950s a ticket would sometimes admit you to a performance by a Grand Ole Opry star as well as the day’s feature. Typically this would tie in with a morning event at Mary’s Record Shop, 630 S. Main Street, where the touring country music artist would promote his records. According to my notes from the Greenville News, Hank Williams appeared on stage at the Center Theater on 11 October 1950. At the time, he was an increasingly popular musician, but perhaps no one anticipated the pop culture phenomenon he would eventually become.