Bayview Theatre
101 W. Bayview Avenue,
Biloxi,
MS
39530
101 W. Bayview Avenue,
Biloxi,
MS
39530
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Additional Info
Architects: John T. Collins
Firms: Collins & Collins
Previous Names: Bayview Playhouse
Nearby Theaters
The Bayview Theatre, a second run house, was located on Bayview Avenue facing Biloxi Bay and surrounded by huge oak trees. It opened on November 30, 1946 with Vivian Leigh in “Caesar and Cleopatra”. It was closed by the mid-1950’s. The last movie I remember playing there was the 1954 feature “Trouble In The Glen”.
The theatre sat boarded up for years. In about 1959 it was converted to a bowling alley called the Bayview Bowling Alley. I remember that they kept the balcony and you could go up and watch the bowlers. The building was destroyed by a fire in December 1964. Today the site is the parking lot for the Boomtown Casino.
Contributed by
Wayne Saucier
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
The actual address for the Bayview Theatre was 101 West Bayview Avenue. In 1954, the theatre was known as the Bayview Playhouse.
The Bay View Theatre opened on November 30, 1946 with “Caesar and Cleopatra” with Vivian Leigh and Claude Rains. The building was designed by the firm of Collins and Collins at a cost of over $60,000 dollars. The building was 50 feet by 100 feet and cooled by a 40 ton air conditioning unit. It closed around 1959 and converted to Bay View Bowling, which opened on January 19, 1960. It burned down in December of 1964.
The Bayview Theatre launched on November 30, 1946 with Vivian Leigh in “Caesar and Cleopatra.”
Grand opening ad:
Bay View Amusement Center opening 30 Nov 1946, Sat Sun Herald (Biloxi, Mississippi) Newspapers.com
A courtesy ad with the grand opening ad posted by rivest266 reveals that the Bay View Amusement Center was designed by the Biloxi architectural firm Collins & Collins. Principals were architect John T. Collins and Engineer William J. Collins Jr. An item in the July 28, 1956 issue of Motion Picture Herald said that the Bayview Theatre, owned by E. V. Landraiche, was up for sale. Landraiche also owned and operated the Buck Theatre and Beach Drive-In at Biloxi and the Carver Theatre at Prichard, Alabama.