Salem Theatre
302 E. Main Street,
Salem,
VA
24153
302 E. Main Street,
Salem,
VA
24153
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Additional Info
Architects: Henry B. Boynton, Louis Phillippe Smithey
Firms: Smithey & Boynton
Functions: Office Space
Styles: Colonial Revival
Previous Names: Towne Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Salem Theatre was opened on March 24, 1930 with the Four Marx Brothers in “The Cocoanuts”. Seating was provided for 400 in the orchestra and 300-seats in the balcony. From July 1968 it began screening adult movies. It was closed on April 11, 1973 by Mid-Atlantic Theater Corp. due to the building rendered as being unsafe.
It was taken over on a short lease by EPI Theatres and reopened as the Towne Theatre on October 23, 1974 and closed in August 1975.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
Opened March 24th, 1930
Grand opening ad:
The Salem theatre was converted into an adult cinema in 1968 until it closed in March 1973. It was reopened by EPI Theatres as the Towne Theatre on October 23rd, 1974, and closed in August 1975. Another ad posted. It was never with Commonwealth theatres.
or not of Commonwealth theatres out West.
article:
The Salem Theatre began screening adult movies in July 1968 when it went under the ownership of W.R. McCoy, which left normal movie viewers to watch movies at either the Lee-Hi Drive-In or a few miles away in Roanoke.