Grand Theatre
608 Elk Avenue,
Elizabethton,
TN
37643
608 Elk Avenue,
Elizabethton,
TN
37643
2 people
favorited this theater
Part of the Birmingham, Alabama-based R.M. Kennedy circuit. The Grand Theatre was opened prior to 1926. It was renamed Betsy Theatre on January 14, 1951, but had closed by 1952. Today only the façade remains.
Contributed by
Jack Coursey
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
Some information on the “Grand” and “Betsy” Theaters in Elizabethton, Tennessee. During the years 1926 through 1929 Elizabethton experience a boom time when the Bemberg and Glanzstoff Rayon factories began operations there and several theaters were the result of that boom. The “Grand” was the first theater in Elizabethton and was located on south side of Elk Avenue about four buildings east of Sycamore Avenue. The “Grand” burned in late 1926 or early 1927 but was remodeled and re-opened in December of 1927. Sometime latter it was renamed the “Betsy†Theater, “Betsy” the nickname for Elizabeth Maclin Carter for whom Elizabethton was named in 1796. In the 1970’s a downtown renewal project turned the “Betsy” into a walkway to a parking lot leaving only the facade. The facade is visible today.
1942 photo added, courtesy of the AmeriCar The Beautiful Facebook page. Below is the Google Street View that shows the Grand structure has been hollowed out, with only the facade remaining.
https://www.google.com/maps/.348093,-82.214039,3a,75y,137.58h,87.5t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s53fvk4xkFAqTlZ3yW7MkCA!2e0
I have added a Google StreetView screen grab of the remaining facade, for clarity. The other old photographs do not really have a “clear” shot of the facade.
Yes, East TN was a “testing ground” for Urban Renewal in the 70s, and it really damaged several small towns in the area. Uniqueness was destroyed, buildings (historic) were demolished, etc. In Elizabethton, they built that horrible covered walkway for blocks on either side. There was smart talk to remove it a few years back, but “the public” likes it. For of prime example of a contrast, just cross the near-by state line into North Carolina, and find several towns – dozens – with vibrant downtowns, historically restored. The Tri-Cities of TN (Bristol, Kingsport, Johnson City) never recovered from those Urban Renewal fiascos.
Yes, The Grand Became The Betsy Theatre On January 14, 1951. This Comes Right After The Grand Theatre Had Been Leased From Former Ritz Theatre Operator F.E. Perryman By Owners And Operators Dr. B.K. Barker And S.W. Baker Of The Nearby Capitol On December 1, 1950.