Ritz Theatre
106 Broad Street,
Bainbridge,
GA
39817
106 Broad Street,
Bainbridge,
GA
39817
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The Ritz Theatre was Bainbridge’s main source of entertainment for many years. It was operated by the Martin Theatres chain and opened on December 11, 1933. On its site is currently a bank building.
Contributed by
Irv Lipscomb
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
This theatre was actually a secondary theatre to the Martin, Bainbridge’s main movie house. Ritz Theatre is still painted on the back of the building that housed that theatre. The Martin Theatre was demolished in the 1970s. The Martin’s site is where the bank building is currently located.
The April 23, 1949, issue of Boxoffice said that the Martin Circuit was converting a Coca-Cola bottling plant into a theater. Would that have been the Martin Theatre? The architect was Rufus E. Bland, who was Martin’s in-house architect for over a quarter of a century at least.
The November 13, 1948, issue of Boxoffice said that the new Martin house in Bainbridge would have 1,414 seats. There must have been delays in construction, as the March 3, 1951, issue of Boxoffice, when a photo of it appeared on the cover of the magazine’s Modern Theatre section, referred to it as “recently opened.”
Boxoffice has something to say about the Ritz, too, but it’s a bit puzzling. The January 21, 1939, issue of the magazine said that the Ritz was celebrating its fifth anniversary. The 1930s picture Lost Memory linked to shows not only a much older-looking building, but a marquee that looks like it was installed no later than the 1920s. Maybe the Ritz was only celebrating its fifth anniversary under Martin operation. It must have been one of the many existing theaters the circuit acquired over the years.
Irv’s right. Here’s a Street View with an old painted sign for the Ritz:
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Looks like it says Flint River Store. Makes sense, since the Flint River runs through town.
Here are my shots from January 2011. It’s hard to believe that this place was once a theater.
The Ritz Theatre was in Bainbridge, Georgia, before the Martin Theater.
The Ritz could seat approximately 1200 people. Opening night program was a movie plus “Harry Shannon’s Revue” (on stage).
The Ritz theatre still stands as a retail store. It was once the Diana Shops. The stage doors remain in the rear with the sign RITZ painted above them.