Visulite Theatre
1615 Elizabeth Avenue,
Charlotte,
NC
28294
1615 Elizabeth Avenue,
Charlotte,
NC
28294
1 person
favorited this theater
Located on Elizabeth Avenue near Kings College and Anderson’s diner, the Visulite Theatre was opened on February 10, 1938 with Sonja Henie in “One In A Million”. It had rear projection, with the projection box located behind the screen. All seating was on a single floor. It is now a great concert venue. Several years ago it was open full time as an international market.
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UA Girl
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Recent comments (view all 22 comments)
Already Taken: Plans to restore the facade of this theatre would be a wonderful start and certainly help the Elizabeth Ave. Project.
I so remember this place in the early'70s. I saw several pictures there that were considered ‘art’ films, like ‘Harold and Maude’. ;–) We used to go there late nights and then hit the Krispy Kreme on Independence Blvd. There was a Earth Shoes store across the street!
I have many fond memories of movie going at the Visulite in the 70’s and early 80’s. It was Charlotte’s art house venue at the time and they showed great films. I saw my first subtitled movies here and learned to love alternative cinema. Luckily the Manor Theater has taken up some of the slack now that the Visulite is a music venue. The art house programming at the Manor sure is tame in comparison to the good old days of the Visulite though.
There is also a Visulite Theater in Staunton, Virginia, as well (I think it’s around the same size) which also featured back-of-the-screen projection. It sat empty for a number of years and then, I believe it was a playhouse. After an extensive restoration it is once again a movie theater, though I don’t think the films are projected from behind the screen anymore as I don’t believe the equipment exists today to support that technology.
Charlotte had a bad habit of tearing down all her downtown theatres during the 80’s building boom.At least,Atlanta had enough sense to save a couple of downtown theatres. Charlotte was a film bookers city .You would have thought someone there would have saved the old theatres.
George Lucas science-fiction blockbuster STAR WARS played here from July 21,1978 until September 1,1978 as many of its exclusive re-releases. I have the original ads for this too.
This was always the cool place to go in the ‘70s. Saw “Tunnel Vision” there and also The Who’s “Tommy”. I always liked the area — there was a neat-little sandwich place across the street (People’s Food?) in an old two-story house with an Earth Shoes store above it.
When I lived in the Queen City from 1957-197, the Visulite was Charlotte’s elite art theater. Owned by Jay Schrader and his son, Bob, the Visulite played a riveting schedule of amazing films. A few highlights that I saw there included, The Horse’s Mouth (Alec Guiness), The Mouse that Roared (Peter Sellers), Goldfinger, A Man & A Woman, Cabaret, and many more. The Visulite is a gem of Charlotte’s cultural heritage. My father was in the movie business and we visited the Schrader’s home on many occasions.
This opened on February 10th, 1938
Did Trans-Lux had a share in this theatre? it had the “The Modern Theatre” slogan that Trans-Lux used in their NYC theatres.