Gay Theatre
3811 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue,
Knoxville,
TN
37914
3811 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue,
Knoxville,
TN
37914
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Sentimental and beautiful recollections, JohnBanner above. I feel that way about my neck of the woods in NJ. It’s wonderful that we can recall all those names from yesteryear – and they were so important at the time of our lives. People were more respectful with each other back then. They were golden times but we did not know it.
Happy name.
This opened as Gay (Burlington) on August 17th, 1931. Ad posted.
Below are the photos of the Gay Theatre in 1956 and then 1994 noted above. The original links both appear to be broken:
http://flic.kr/p/9qaCti
http://flic.kr/p/9qaCrk
I have a KNOXVILLE Newspaper Sept 24 1967,Movie ads No GAY THEATRE listed so it was Closed then.If tthat even helps.
The whole RESTORE KNOXVILLE website seems to be down. Hopefully it’s just temporary. I’ll let you know when and if it comes back up.
Bob, the link doesn’t work – at least for me. Can you check your end?
At the link below is a photo of the Gay Theatre in 1956:
View link
I have a few photos of the exterior of the theater from 1994 – Will post one when that part of the site allows. Anyone want copy email me. ,,,Another Burlington Boy… The Gay was a machine shop in its last days – at least the back part.
At some point in the late 50’s/early 60’s the Gay was turned into a bowling alley. My brother was a pin-setter there when he was in his early teens. One day while rummaging around back,my younger brother and I found the old wooden frames that once held the posters and lobby cards out front. WE took what we could carry home and had some fun playing theater.
I miss Burlington. It was a thriving place when I was young. It is an overlooked gem that has been largly forgotten by Knoxville’s past two millionaire mayors,because it is East,not West. A smart developer could do wonders with it today.
By the way,Bob,,the IGA was Cox & Wright’s…operated by Jack Cox and Fred Wright,two of the finest men who ever lived. If not for their kindness, I,as a baby,would have gone hungry many times. They didn’t give credit,but Jack would always let mu mom have formula and stuff for us kids til payday.
There is still a Cox& Wright in Rutledge Tn,still owned by the family as far as I know. Come to think of it,Burlington had more than its fair share of good men..Blaine Farmer at the hardware store, Dr Greenlee at the drug store…Mr Keaton (Jewelry store) Mr and Mrs Pass ( dime store)…there were no bad people in Burlington in those days.
You can take the boy out of Burlington,but you can’t take Burlington out of the Boy.
In the 70’s, I lived in East Knoxville,and used to go by this little theatre quite often. There was a little IGA Supermarket still open in what had been the business district of Burlington that I often shopped at that was very close by the theatre building. I think the bar there was still open at the time. I am sad the building is gone. I would like to learn more about it’s history.
Bob Brown
The Gay Theatre (3811 McCalla Ave) was located in one of Knoxville’s most interesting suburb – a genuine small-scale 2nd downtown several miles east of the actual city center. The area, Burlington, stands near the city’s large “street car park” and was home to a large blue-collar population. Unfortunately, the neighborhood declined and practically every business and church closed or moved away. The Gay stood in the row of shabby, one-and-two-story storefronts and weed-strewn empty lots until the late 1990’s.
The Gay was a long narrow hall, barely 25 feet wide and over 150 long. The height at the street was less than 20 feet. The auditorium floor sloped down away from the lobby, conveniently following the contour of the land. There was a tiny triangle-shaped, neon-edged marquee and a little vertical sign of budget Art Deco design. When I saw it, the floor had been leveled (with wood) and the building had been used as a bar. That business too had long gone – along with the roof.
At the time, being a dreamer, I had kept my fingers crossed that I would one day be able to buy and renovate the hall – possibly piggy-backing a new roof-top loft/living space above the auditorium. Silly dreams maybe, but it kept me smiling while in architecture school dealing with the Bauhaus and Frank Gehry.
It was with real sadness that one Sunday morning I drove past the theatre and found the front had collapsed into the street. MLK Boulevard was closed and the block roped off. The marquee and vertical sign were still visible, under several tons of brick. The roof was sagging and the side walls bulging outward. That afternoon, bulldozers pushed down the remains. By the end of the week, there was no indication that a theatre had ever been there.
Efforts are underway to revitalize Burlington, but to date, very little has been achieved.
For the sake of clarity, we can easily make this theatre page the Rivoli/Burlington/Gay Theatre, 3811 McCalla Avenue and retain the Gay/Strand Theatre, 415 S. Gay Street to its own page, adding aka Gay Theatre.
The Film Daily Yearbook;1950 edition lists the Gay Theatre, 3811 McCalla Avenue with a seating capacity of 300.
Listed as the Gay Theatre in two earlier editions of F.D.Y. that I have(1941 and 1943) with a seating capacity of 278.
The Gay theatre that was on McCalla Ave originally opened as the Rivoli Theatre. It later was renamed the Burlington and then the Gay.
The Gay Theatre on this page was at 415 S. Gay Street. In 1917 it was remodeled and became the Strand.
I believe that this theatre was located at 3811 McCalla (currently Martin Luther King Jr Ave).