Belvedere Theatre
1346 Columbia Drive,
Decatur,
GA
30032
1346 Columbia Drive,
Decatur,
GA
30032
2 people
favorited this theater
Long before ending its days as a porn house, this theatre was a very family friendly movie house which opened on September 17, 1964 with Andy Williams in “I’d Rather be Rich”. It was twinned in the 1970’s and was later taken over by Eastern Federal Corporation. In 1986 it was taken over by the Chappell Cinemas chain.
The Belvedere Theatre is literally across the street and up the hill from the Cinema 16. The Belvedere Theatre was closed in Spring of 2009.
Contributed by
UAGirl
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Recent comments (view all 34 comments)
I seem to remember seeing E.T. and the Evil Dead there in 1982. Anyone remember seeing those, or am I thinking of the wrong place?
I definitely remember my Dad buying the Evil Dead tickets for me and my brother because we were too young. That movie, silly at it was, scared the hell out of us.
Here is how the Belvedere looks now.
www.flickr.com/photos/jfb57/4739882827/in/photostream/
I’m afraid this theater may have burned down today:
View link
The article doesn’t specifically mention the theater, but then again, as J.B. above has shown, the theater didn’t even have a sign any more.
If it’s gone, what a shame…but then again, maybe good riddance and start fresh, considering the history.
It’s pretty crazy that J.B. just posted today saying “Here is how the Belvedere looks now” about 5 minutes after the call came in to the fire department (according to the article).
I’m not saying, but I’m saying!
I took the picture on Easter Sunday and have just figured out how to load it on my computer and post it.
Here is the damage to the strip center. The theater did not burn down but probably sustained smoke and water damage.
www.flickr.com/photos/jfb57/4752285707/?addedcomment=1#comment72157624401106496
We sometimes work for the landlord and we’ve heard from him that the theater hasn’t received much, if any, damage as a direct result of the fire. It sounds like everything to the left of the burnt out space suffered most of the smoke damage. I guess there’s an ongoing arson investigation, and until that’s resolved no work can be done to clear the site or repair the adjacent buildings which could be trouble.
This opened in 1964. No ad found.
Currently the location of a boarded up strip mall. I assume the original theater was demolished.
The building is still there back behind the Autozone and former A&P at the back of the strip center. https://goo.gl/maps/sCf7W9saP6PPdjy78 The burnt out space is the portion demolished in the middle of the strip. The taller boxes out back were the old theaters. There’s a private strip club in the ‘boarded up’ spaces to the right of the theater. Not sure if they took over the theater too or not.
The Belvedere Theatre opened its doors on September 17, 1964 with Andy Williams in “I’d Rather Be Rich”.
Twinned in the 1970s, the Eastern Federal Corporation chain operated the Belvedere Theatre throughout much of the late-1970s and into the first half of the 1980s. This lasted until 1986 when it became part of the Chappell Cinemas chain, and would eventually become a $1 discount house. Also, during its Eastern Federal run, its policy switched from first-run to second-run in the early-1980s.
The Belvedere closed as a second-run discount house on August 21, 1988 with “Red Heat” at Screen 1 and “Bad Dreams” at Screen 2.
Once abandoned for a couple of years, the Belvedere then reopened its doors in 1990 as an adult house, and lasted until its closure in the Spring of 2009.