Grand Theatre
160 South Main Street,
Moultrie,
GA
31768
160 South Main Street,
Moultrie,
GA
31768
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This theater is puzzling me. A Grand Theatre is listed in the 1914-1915 American Motion Picture Directory. I’ve found the name Kathleen Theatre mentioned in multiple years, from 1903 to 1922. It was listed in the 1907 Cahn guide with 769 seats. A June, 1917 Manufacturers Record item said the Kathleen was being remodeled and enlarged! The Kathleen burned twice, in 1906 (Americus Times-Recorder, November 15) and again in 1922 (The Billboard, February 2.) The Grand is in the 1926 FDY with 350 seats. Stuff just isn’t matching up here. Why would a burned theater with over 750 seats be replaced by one with only 350?
A few years ago a couple came to me and asked me to tour a building they had bought. They bought property in Moultrie that was an office supply store and warehouse and they had discovered the warehouse appeared to have been a theatre. I went over and there was a large opening that had been cut in the wall between the office supply store and the warehouse. The building was stacked full of paper and office supplies. The floor was wood and had been placed over the original sloping floor. You could go down steps which led you to underneath the raised floor. The old orchestra pit was still there. A few more steps down led you to the basement, which was full of black water. The state was still intact. All of the lobby, restroom and stairs in front had been demolished, expcept for the box office. Another stairway had been built from the main floor to the front of the Balcony. The balcony was still intact and included the projection booth, which still contained the amplifier. From the outside of this building you would have never guessed it was once a theatre. I don’t know what the seating capacity was, but I don’t think it held 500. I glad the couple restored the theatre. It would have been nice to have seen it back as a theatre, but in this day and time, there is little room for small one screen theatres. Moultrie has a 6plex in operation.
The Grand was located next to Rhoden Stationery and Printing Co., 125 S. Main St. In fact, Rhoden’s used the theater building as a storage warehouse. I remember going in there as a child to look around and there is no way it could have held 500 people. The stage was still there and I believe the floor had already been leveled. The front of the bulding, however, still had a small lobby of a theater. Rhoden’s was always a blast to go in because it looked like they had not gotten any new stock since WWII.
The Grand has now undergone a sensitive restoration/adaptive re-use making it available as a retail space. However, other than leveling the floor and installing a central hvac system, the theatre is much as it was in its days of operation including a re-paint similar to former colors and the installation of reproduction wall sconces that are very similar to the originals. The building is currently for sale or lease.
The Grand Theatre is still listed in the Film Daily Yearbook;1950 edition with a seating capacity given as 500. Maybe it closed and re-opened for a while?