Ambassador Theatre
115 Fayetteville Street,
Raleigh,
NC
27601
115 Fayetteville Street,
Raleigh,
NC
27601
3 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: ABC Southeastern Theatres, North Carolina Theatres, Paramount Pictures Inc., Plitt Theatres
Architects: Erle G. Stillwell
Styles: Streamline Moderne
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Mar 2, 2010 — Happy 45th, "The Sound Of Music"
Built on the site of the Grand Theatre which was destroyed by fire on January 4, 1928. The 1,700-seat Ambassador Theatre was the foremost movie theatre in Raleigh for decades. It opened on February 21, 1938 with Bob Burns in “Radio City Revels”. It was operated by Paramount Pictures Inc. through their subsidiary H.F. Kincey.
The Ambassador Theatre showcased the films of M~G~M, Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, etc. At least one premiere took place there – Gary Cooper in “Bright Leaf” in 1950. Ot was operated by ABC Southeastern and finally by Plitt Theatres who closed it in July 1979.
It was demolished in March 1989 when Fayetteville Street was turned into a mall.
Contributed by
Edward Wright
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 62 comments)
The reserved seat engagement of Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” played here in 70mm in 1968.
Not to mention first-run exclusives like “The Exorcist”,“Billy Jack”,“Planet of the Apes”,and the 1976 remake of “King Kong”(the Ambassador’s BIG Christmas Attraction!)not to mention the first-run exclusive of “The Wiz” played here too with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.
THE SOUND OF MUSIC-The Reserved Seat Engagements
http://www.digitalbits.com/columns/history-legacy—showmanship/sound-of-money-celebrating-sound-of-music-50th-anniv
skeeter81:
The Ambassador Theatre also showed the “X” rated feature BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS first-run in 1970 as a late show.
BEFORE IT CLOSED, IT USE TO HAVE THE MAD MAD MAD MAD MONSTER LATE SHOW ON SAT NIGHTS TILL 2 AM!
The Ambassador theatre opened on February 21st, 1938 with “Radio City Revels”.
Re: The Ten Commandments. This played very late in many areas of the country because exhibitors refused to pay the high rental terms. If small towns played it at all, it was rarely within the first year of release. The same can be said for another Paramount release of the time, “The Greatest Show on Earth.” Many small towns never played these pictures. Paramount also held these back deliberately from the smaller towns, and was judicious about awarding these pictures to only circuits that were willing to meet the rental terms. This was also the era of “pre-release” engagements where only the larger cities would get the picture for a limited time, and then the distributor would put it on the shelf for a few months before wider distribution - resulting in many theatres being starved for product.
dishonest employees.
Ambassador Theatre embezzling by employees. 11 Aug 1941, Mon The State (Columbia, South Carolina) Newspapers.com
A chronology of Raleigh’s 70mm presentation history has recently been published. The Ambassador is mentioned numerous times.
1968 photo in Facebook link below. Ambassador marquee on the left, mounted flush to the building.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=610881587709478&set=pb.100063629260284.-2207520000.&type=3
The Ambassador Theatre was later operated by ABC Southeastern Theatres, and last operated by Plitt Theatres until closing in July 1979.