Martin Theatre

The E.M. MacDaniel Building was built to house multiple business in 1939 with a theater in the center at 941 Starling. The delayed project opened on September 11, 1941 as the Starling Theatre, a streamlined movie house playing sub-run discount films. F.W. Carper opened the Starling with “Here Comes Mr. Jordan.” It was managed by John L. Garst of Martinsville’s National and Roxy theaters also owned by Carper’s circuit. The building also had Reed’s Confectionery that served as the de facto concession stand and was the original home of Gilbert’s Beauty Salon.

The Starling booth was equipped with E7 Simplex projectors with 4-Star Simplex sound. The stage was installed by Novelty Scenic of New York and the seats were designed by Heywood-Wakefield. But Wartime worker shortages were cited as the end of the road as the Starling closed with “Lady, Let’s Dance” on December 10, 1944.

The theater came back to life after the War when Bernard Depkin opened the former Starling as the Bee Dee (Bernard Depkin’s nickname) Theatre. The Bee Dee launched on April 24, 1947 with “The Best Years Of Our Lives.” At that time, Depkin operated the Rives Theatre as as manager an co-owner.

In October of 1948, W. Pritchett took on the venue and renamed it as the Martin Theatre. Pritchett moved it to a double-feature, discount sub-run movie house. Opening titles as the Martin were on October 29, 1949 were June Allyson in “Good News” and Randolph Scott in “Trial Street.” Martinsville Theatre Management (MTM) Circuit closed the Martin some 35 years later on July 3, 1985 with “The Goonies” as the theatre needed major repairs.

Reopened as Martin on June 29th, 1949, after the installation of a new HVAC system. Martin Theatre reopening 26 Jun 1949, Sun Martinsville Bulletin (Martinsville, Virginia) Newspapers.com