Gentry Theatre
W. Main Street and N. Rust Avenue,
Gentry,
AR
72734
W. Main Street and N. Rust Avenue,
Gentry,
AR
72734
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Nu Theatre, Flint Theatre, New Gentry Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Nu Theatre opened as a silent-era theatre in downtown Gentry in 1927 replacing the Gentry Theatre. It closed in 1930 apparently unable to make the transition to sound. Under new operators, the theatre was equipped for sound changing its name to the Gentry Theatre on February 20, 1932 and relaunching with Winnie Lightner in “Side Show”. Around 1945 it was briefly renamed Flint Theatre. On May 20, 1946 under new a owner it was renovated and reopened as the New Gentry Theatre. It was still open in 1957. The ruined building was still standing in 1998.
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dallasmovietheaters
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
The Nu Theatre became the Gentry Theatre on February 20, 1932, according to the February 18 issue of the Journal-Advance newspaper, which said the new owners would open the renamed house that day. Then for a while the house was called the Flint Theatre. The May 2, 1946, issue of the newspaper said that Mr. Harry Wachter had bought the Flint Theatre from S. M. Underbill and intended to rename it the New Gentry Theatre after making renovations.
As the house had been advertised as the Gentry Theatre in late 1944, and the earliest use of the name Flint Theatre I’ve found is from early 1946, It’s likely that the temporary name change took place sometime in 1945.
I found a 1998 photo by Charlie Bookout captioned “Gentry’s ruined main street movie theater” and, as it had a Facebook share button, posted it to Cinema Treasures' Facebook page. It’s an interior shot, unfortunately, so we can’t use it to spot the building in Google street view, if it is still standing.
The Flint Theatre Name Was Dropped During The Week of May 30, 1946 To Become The New Gentry Theatre After A May 2, 1946 Plan.