Miracle Theater
325 Hay Street,
Fayetteville,
NC
28301
325 Hay Street,
Fayetteville,
NC
28301
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Strangely enough, the Miracle was listed in the 1961-76 editions of the International Motion Picture Almanac as a drive-in theater. At least the IMPA got that 1500 capacity correct, even though it was seats, not cars.
The Beatles' “A HARD DAY’S NIGHT” played here first-run at Fayetteville’s Miracle Theatre on August 20,1964.
Don’t forget…WFLB radio was also housed in this building.
Cha I grew up in Fayetteville, NC too….I always remember the long walk to the lobby of the Miracle theatre….Huge theatre with a balcony…..Two films in particular come to mind in 1972 (we were 14, my cousin and I took the bus downtown) that we saw….“The Poseidon Adventure and Kansas City Bomber”…Both first run….It grieves me to see they demolished all the downtown theatres!!….Miracle, Colony, Carolina, Broadway, Towne….Classic Americana gone!!…They did a nice job of cleaning downtown up, but they should have kept the theatres for historical value….Those were the days when we took the bus downtown and ate at the Woolworth counter where my Aunt worked!!…America at a better and more innocent time…..
By 1979,it became a grindhouse discount dollar house showing mostly “B” movies, kung-fu, and blaxploitation flicks with the occasional late night “XXX” rated skin flick
Not only did “MARY POPPINS” played here but also had the Fayetteville showing of “THE SOUND OF MUSIC” too was given the first-run billing at the Miracle.
Other movies that played here were “AMERICAN GRAFFITI”, “THE STING” among them were first-run at the Miracle.
The Boxoffice article Tinseltoes linked to earlier says that the Miracle Theatre was designed by the architectural firm of Wooten, Wooten & Crosby.
Gotta love grindhouse
Rear view of The Miracle: http://d.lib.ncsu.edu/collections/catalog/bh2193pnc001
I am so grateful for this information. I have done so much research on the Miracle Theatre and it’s almost like it didn’t even exist. I was born in Fayetteville in 1959 and remember The Miracle as the premiere theatre. I remember the scolloped curtain rising. I saw Mary Poppins there in 1964 when I was 4 years old and again at a re-release. Most other films I saw were at The Colony. I remember The Colony at that time had a smell…and the carpets were hard from years of walking and snacks being spilled. The Miracle was always pristine. I had forgotten the shops by the side. Thank you, Tinseltoes, for the photo trip down memory lane! I do remember standing outside that box office on the street and walking down that long hall to the theatre.
By the mid-1970’s,this theater went from showing first-run features to second-run films and “B” movies in order to keep afloat(most of them grindhouse, kung-fu, and blaxploitation films,and the occasional “XXX” rated midnight showings on Friday and Saturday nights). It remained that way until the theater’s closing in 1982. It has since been demolished.
THE EXORCIST played here first-run in 1974.
MY FAIR LADY was one of the exclusive engagement showing that played at the Miracle on June 1,1966.
A lot of the Warner Brothers product got first-run billing at this theatre.
This was also under during the mid-1960’s and throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s under Charlotte-based Eastern Federal Corporation.
From the August 13,1956 edition of the Fayetteville Observer: At the height of it’s grand opening the initial performances of “The Eddy Duchin Story” were open to the public with a special section reserved for invited guests.
Daily Performances after the grand opening begin at 11:00am and will have continuous showings throughout.
Each Saturday,a special “Kids Show” will be featured at 9:00am that will have chapter serials and color cartoons.
There is a special section at the time of it’s opening that was reserved for minorities. The colored entrance is on the Franklin Street Side of the arcade where separate rest rooms,lounge,and concession stand are provided in regard to the Jim Crow laws at the time. This policy was taken down by 1964 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
The Miracle was one of 19 theatres under H.B, Meiselman who also operated the Fox, Raleigh Road, and the Flamingo Drive-In Theatres.