Decatur Theatre

527 N. McDonough Street,
Decatur, GA 30030

Unfavorite No one has favorited this theater yet

Showing 1 - 25 of 38 comments

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on January 27, 2022 at 2:04 am

The Decatur Theatre was being operated by Storey Theatres in 1953, when the January 17 issue of Boxoffice said “Fred Storey of Storey Theatres is closing the DeKalb Theatre in Decatur, GA., and has installed a Synchro-Screen in the Decatur Theatre.”

WHITEFIELD
WHITEFIELD on July 20, 2020 at 7:20 pm

Stan when it was demolished it was a Church of some kind, do you remember the name of the Church. Looking for photo of that.

StanMalone
StanMalone on January 29, 2019 at 2:43 pm

Picture of the site of the Decatur Theater as it appears today added to the photo section. I do not know when this location closed, but it was demolished in January 1976. I recall seeing the demo in progress from a courtroom in what was then the new DeKalb County Courthouse.

rechols
rechols on November 13, 2010 at 6:02 am

Saw Woody Allen’s “What’s Up, Tiger Lilly?” at the Decatur in 1966.
Funny how one remembers odd tidbits, isn’t it?

WHITEFIELD
WHITEFIELD on November 7, 2010 at 9:33 am

Here is one from the 1960's
View link

WHITEFIELD
WHITEFIELD on September 19, 2010 at 9:25 am

Here is another picture of The Decatur Theatre’s Grand Opening in 1940.
http://bighugelabs.com/onblack.php?id=5002320823

StanMalone
StanMalone on May 26, 2009 at 3:14 pm

Newspaper ad from 1964 along with a write up on “A Hard Days Night.”

View link

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on February 5, 2009 at 7:03 pm

You did a nice job on the website. Too bad this theater is now a parking lot.

WHITEFIELD
WHITEFIELD on August 13, 2008 at 11:42 pm

I have just started a site dedicated to The Decatur Theatre.
Any stories or photos are welcome.
http://the-decatur-theatre.blogspot.com/

WHITEFIELD
WHITEFIELD on August 10, 2007 at 10:46 pm

Here is a photo.
photo by: Charles Pugh
tinted by: Dennis Whitefield
View link

WHITEFIELD
WHITEFIELD on July 11, 2007 at 7:33 pm

I remember going to see this Double Feature at The Decatur Theatre.
View link

WHITEFIELD
WHITEFIELD on June 21, 2007 at 8:45 pm

Here is a Storey Theatres ad.
showing The Decatur Theatre.
View link

WHITEFIELD
WHITEFIELD on June 2, 2007 at 10:09 am

NOW SHOWING at THE DECATUR THEATRE
View link

WHITEFIELD
WHITEFIELD on May 31, 2007 at 5:27 pm

Here is a photo taken from the Old Court House steps looking towards The Decatur Theatre. you can see the stores on both sides of the street. Neat photo.
View link

WHITEFIELD
WHITEFIELD on May 26, 2007 at 3:35 pm

Here is a black & white photo from the Special Collections Dept. Pullen Library, Georgia State University, I gave it a color tint.
View link

WHITEFIELD
WHITEFIELD on May 24, 2007 at 8:14 pm

Here is a Decatur Theatre flyer. circa 1966
View link

Michael Furlinger
Michael Furlinger on May 22, 2007 at 7:05 pm

SO LITTLE INFO ON ATLANTA THEATERS ON THIS SITE ………..

WHITEFIELD
WHITEFIELD on May 22, 2007 at 5:10 pm

Here is the photo I promised. circa 1965
photo by: Charles Pugh
tinted by: Dennis Whitefield
View link

DBH
DBH on March 23, 2006 at 7:08 am

I attended Decatur Boys High (just down McDonough Street from the Decatur Theater) 1944-1948. Boys High fraternities and Decatur Girls High sororities often sponsord midnight movies at the Decatur Theater to raise funds for various events. Tickets cost fifty cents and the shows were well attended.

Don K.
Don K. on June 22, 2005 at 5:52 pm

From THE LOS ANGELES TIMES June 22, 2005

Re: Merger of AMC and Loew’s Theaters

“I think the exhibition business is at a crossroads,” said Paul del Rossi, former chief executive of General Cinemas, which filed for bankruptcy protection four years ago before being bought by AMC. “The major players in the exhibition business are now controlled by venture capitalists, and they have different long-term views than traditional theater owners.”

Although the industry isn’t facing the dire situation it did in the 1990s, when a glut of theaters forced several exhibitors to file for bankruptcy protection, business has slowed for the big companies, helping to fuel the current consolidation wave. AMC, for example, reported a $10.7-million loss last year.

Other recent deals include last week’s acquisition by Canadian theater chain Cineplex Galaxy of Viacom Inc.’s Famous Players, a move that gives the consolidated company 60% of the Canadian market. Century Theatres in Northern California this year was reported to have hired an investment bank to find a buyer.

Consolidation benefits theater chains by lowering their administrative and supply costs, and also by potentially giving larger chains more leverage to negotiate better “film terms” with the studios. Currently, studios keep 60% to 70% of a movie’s first-weekend gross. With the DVD release timeframe shrinking from six months to as little as three months for most movies, mergers also could put theaters in a better position to push for DVDs to be released later.

John Fithian, president of the National Assn. of Theatre Owners, a trade organization that represents the majority of U.S. exhibitors, said the exhibition industry was fundamentally sound but currently in a bad cycle.

“We are not having a great year, but we have been in this position before,” Fithian said. “When the quality and the quantity of the movies come back, our patrons will come back to see them. The sky is not falling.”

Box-office sales are down 7% to date this year, and admissions are on track to fall for the third straight year.


Old Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.”

Don K.
Don K. on June 21, 2005 at 12:53 pm

Independendent exhibitors have been the life’s blood of the foreign film market and the independent film movement. Preserving the independent production and exhibition market should be one of the chief causes for concern of a Federal Anti-Trust Suit against the media conglomerates. Stimulating an alternative marketplace, distinct from the big studios' commercial product, seems not only reasonable but necessary if we hope to sustain a free market.

Some of the primary independent production companies such as Miramax and New Line were acquired by the majors. Nearly all of the major studios have specially subdivisions for independent and foreign film distribution. However, the real concern is stimulating competition in this market in production/distribution as well as exhibition. It should not be almost exclusively controlled by media conglomerates

This is an area for serious industry study.

Some of my favorite films of the last twenty years were titles that the corporate multiplexes would not touch, i.e. DREAMCHILD (1985); MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON (1990); and PONETTE (1996). Look them up on imdb.com.

JackCoursey
JackCoursey on June 21, 2005 at 8:15 am

My concern is with the independent exhibitors who are usually more amp to risk booking films that corporate muptiplexs wouldn’t touch. Will the independents continue to have this autonomy or will they be limited to what’s on-line (think of that dreadful offerings on pay per view)?

JackCoursey
JackCoursey on June 21, 2005 at 8:13 am

My concern is with the independent exhibitors who are usually more amp to risk booking films that corporate muptiplexs wouldn’t touch. Will the independents continue to have this autonomy or will they be limited to what’s on-line (think of that dreadful offerings on pay per view)?