Tryon Theatre
45 S. Trade Street,
Tryon,
NC
28782
45 S. Trade Street,
Tryon,
NC
28782
3 people
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Functions update: Classic films are also shown at rare occasions.
The Tyron Theatre opened its doors on August 8, 1932 with “Tarzan The Ape Man” along with an unnamed Mickey Mouse cartoon and a Fox Movietone Newsreel. It was a replacement of another theater called the Community Theatre (formerly the Strand) which closed around the same time as the Tyron Theatre opening.
Yep, fully renovated and updated in 2018. The photo above is from before the renovations. More recent photos behind the PHOTO tab. Historic interior and auditorium layout and one-screen format was maintained. All new seating and elec/plumbing systems. Balcony provides casual sitting with sofas and captains chairs. Dolby 7.1 and laser projection. It’s like a beautifully restored car that starts every time you turn the key and is a joy to drive. www.tryontheatre.com
This is a Erle Stillwell designed Theatre.One of a few left.
I need to go by there one day,get off the interstate and i am there.
From the caption of a small, blurry photo in the November 9, 1940, issue of Boxoffice Magazine: “A view of the Tryon in Tryon, NC., a mountain resort. When the old Tryon burned, C.W. Nessmith and Associates determined to erect a new house that would bring to this remote resort a theatre citizens would boast of. They succeeded beyond their expectations, apparently, for patronage is excellent.”
There’s no indication of when the earlier Tryon burned, or if it was in a different location, but the theater in the blurry photo is definitely the same building in the 1981 photo linked in Chuck’s comment above. Boxoffice contains no earlier mentions of the Tryon Theatre that I can find.
This is a funky movie theater that is a great asset for a tiny little mountain town. The auditorium is completely plain with no decoration at all beyond the water stains on the plaster ceiling and walls. The exterior has a nice deco look that helps give this charming community a vibrant feeling. Movies still play daily with great art house programming mixed with mainstream Hollywood fare. The auditorium has a balcony whose only entrance is outside right by the ticket window. This is the only theater I’ve encountered that still allows cigarette smoking in the balcony. Even though it’s 2006 this is North Carolina.