Elberta Theater
107 Main Street,
Nashville,
AR
71852
107 Main Street,
Nashville,
AR
71852
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: K. Lee Williams Theaters Inc.
Styles: Art Deco
Nearby Theaters
This theater was located in Nashville, Arkansas. When you walked in the lobby, there were columns with mirrors around it. Off to the left was a curved stair case. The ceiling was very high with great sound. The theater closed in 1983 with the last movie shown “Popeye” starring Robin Williams.
The theater was originally a hardware store. It was then opened as a theater somewhere around 1943. This was a very large theater considering the towns population is only 5,000 people. In 1971 it was taken over by Cecil Callaham, together with the Howard Auto Drive-In. He passed away in 1976 and both theatres were taken over by Jim Paul Johnson. The Elberta Theatre was closed as a movie theater in 1983 with a screening of “Popeye” starring Robin Williams. After the theater closed the ‘Elberta’ letters were removed from the building and it turned into a live country music show named Country Junction USA. That use lasted until 1990 with numerous appearances by celebrity country music performers.
The theater fell into disrepair when part of the back of the theater caved in, and the roof started collapsing as well. It was torn down around 1996. The neon sign from the theater can be seen today a few doors down in the Elberta Arts Center.
Contributed by
Shane VanCamp
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
This email is directed to Shane Vancamp. He was a friend of mine in High School that I have not seen or heard from in a long while. If anyone has heard from him or knows how to reach him, please let me know by writing to any information would help greatly. Thanks.
Ashley reynolds
This was a K. Lee Williams Theatres inc. Theatre (chain) He is the one that added the Art Deco style.
Chuck1231,
Did you post that pic of the Elberta Theater? I’m from Nashville (originally) and would like permission to post that on the Wikipedia site, it’s a real treasure and I still can’t believe they had to tear it down. If you didn’t post it, but have any idea how to find the person who did (Classic Images has no contact info), email me (morgaledh AT gmail.com). Thanks so much!
I was so glad to see the photo. My grandfather managed those theaters from 1939 until he purchased the Elberta and the Howard Drive-in from Mr.Williams in the late 60’s/early 70’s. He then sold them in the early 80’s. It really brings back a lot of memories. Thanks!
This is a theatre the community should have saved.