Carolina Theater
222 1st Avenue NW,
Hickory,
NC
28601
222 1st Avenue NW,
Hickory,
NC
28601
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The Carolina Theatre opened its doors as a 881-seat single-screener on Christmas Eve 1934 with Jeanette MacDonald in “The Merry Widow” along with the technicolor Merrie Melodie “Pop Goes Your Heart” and a newsreel, featuring sound installations by Western Electric.
Prior to the main show after the shorts and ceremonies, there is also a gala live show entitled “Varieties on Parade” which featured a half-dozen of acts. It was originally owned by John F. Miller and his localized Hickory Amusement Company, who took center stage on the grand opening ceremony.
Information about the Carolina as of 1934 goes as follows: The original marquee is rectangle-shaped with three sides of changeable letters, and the box office is located at the center of the entrance foyer which featured a silent ticket machine and money changer. The mezzanine floor features a ladies powder room at one side and Miller’s office on the other side. Also in the room is a drinking fountain, a Western Union clock, and a public telephone for the convenience of the patrons. According to Miller, he replied that the 881 seats were spring cushioned that was manufactured by the American Seating Company and were installed 32 inches apart to give the patron ample room for comfort. The aisles featured deep rich red carpeting, and features both heating and ventilating systems.
The original auditorium features stage equipment that was designed, furnished, and installed by the Lee Lash Studio of New York, the same studio that was furnished the equipped at Radio City. The curtains are heavy velour and trimmed with gold and has a large letter “C” in gold on each curtain. When drawn apart, the main house curtain reveals a valance if deep magenta with gold fringe. Those are draped on each side of the stage in crinkled gold velour, as well as an amber sateen cyclorama with a parting gold curtain which is used in front of the screen with presentation picture programs alongside short subjects. All those curtains are controlled from the projection room by an auto-drape machine, the same being used at Radio City. The border curtains and the drapes over the main grills at each main exit are of velour and deep magenta combination. Directly beneath the stage is a poster art studio and seven large steam heated dressing rooms with running water in each. The basement also houses the heating plant and the main electrical panels and switches. However, the dimmer banks sed for fading stage lights and effects in and out are operated from the large control panel which is located on the stage. The entirety of the stage equipment, including its Western Electric wide-range speakers, are counter-balanced so that they may be raised into the grid and drop almost instantly in order to present stage attractions. A modern steel pin-rall is also installed to handle special drops and scenic effects.
The original cabinets and the main projection room is fireproof with Super-Simplex 35mm projection, featuring installations of high intensity Peerless Magnarc lamps that furnished a powerful light beam rated at 60 amperes which will reflect the picture of the screen, and a large Hertner generator furnishing the direct current to the lamp house thus assuring a steady, even projected picture on the screen at all times. Lastly, other equipments the theater had inside the booth include ventilation, fire-shutter equipment, large spotlight, effect machine which carries color wheels, irises, dissolves, and other lighting effects for stage presentations, and sound-proofed equipment that was controlled under competent operators.
It was twinned in either the late-1970s or early-1980s.
Okay, first things first… the Carolina is a special place in my life, though not necessarily always in the most positive way. I worked there in the early nineties as an assistant manager while going to school at the nearby college. It also marks the only time in my life that I was ever fired from a job.
It was a fascinating place full of history: a great place to wander around and check out every little nook and cranny. It was also frustrating – you could tell how grand the place must have been in its earlier incarnations before the balcony was converted to a second auditorium (not for the handicapped, mind you, unless they figured out how to install an elevator over the years). Behind the permanently installed main screen was a full stage complete with fly system, making you wonder why they would permanently block it off. Speaking of history, it wasn’t all pleasant history, as the bathroom up in the upstairs projector booth sported “Blacks Only” painted on the door. Don’t know if it’s been removed since, or left for historical context.
So aside from that, you couldn’t help but want the place to go back in time and undo some of the changes. What was left was still an interesting place in a town that at the time was lacking. I’ve only driven through Hickory twice in the last 23 years since graduation (nowhere near the theater), so I know the town has changed dramatically for the better. I’ve seen the Carolina’s website and the rennovations that have been done since I last saw it. I have to commend the new owners – one was the manager when I was there – on their commitment to keeping the theater a valued location in the city (and for removing that awful facade out front above the marquis).
Although it wasn’t entirely unexpected, it was sad to hear of Lacy’s passing – she was an institution even when I was there and a super sweet lady.
As for the firing, all I can say all these years later is that I didn’t do it (take money missing from the ticket window on two occasions when I was managing). After moping about it for weeks, and having two professors instruct me to snap out of it, I doubled-down on my school work and had a major grade improvement in my last year of college. So I guess it was positive after all.
The NRHP Registration Form for the Harris Arcade mentions the Carolina Theatre, saying that it was designed by Charlotte architect M. R. Marsh. Marion Rossiter Marsh also designed the Plaza Theatre in Charlotte. His firm was in operation from 1922 to 1964.
Some architectural detail. He needs a rhinoplasty:
http://tinyurl.com/yzvr5u7
Any vintage photos of this theatre dating back to when it first opened?
LACY PAULINE STARNES longtime little lady at the box office, died past week at age of 90+. The CAROLINA THEATER OF HICKORY has lost a member of the family., The marquee is dimmer tonight due to the passing of this loving lady. She worked in theater business for over 64 years., 34 years being with the Carolina and the Colonial Theater Group of Valdese NC