Apex Theatre
209 W. Main Avenue,
Lumberton,
MS
39455
209 W. Main Avenue,
Lumberton,
MS
39455
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Associated Theaters (New Orleans)
Functions: Church
Nearby Theaters
The Apex Theatre was opened by 1942. By 1950 it was operated by the New Orleans based Associated Theaters chain. It was still open in 1979.
Contributed by
Ken Roe
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
The 300-seat Apex Theatre is first listed at Lumberton in the 1942 FDY, along with a 200-seat Royal Theatre and a 250-seat Ladner Theatre which is listed as closed. The 1941 yearbook had listed the Ladner, the Royal, and a Royal Portable Theatre. One local reminiscing on a Facebook page recalls seeing “Mad Max” and “The Amityville Horror” at the Apex, so it operated at least as late as 1979.
Another Facebook comment says that the theater is now occupied by a church called His Place Worship Center. The church’s address is 209 W. Main Avenue. Google street view shows a very modern front section on the building, but the view along the side shows an older structure farther back, which was surely the theater’s auditorium.
Lumberton’s Apex Theatre #2 was a new-build, $40,000 facility to replace the original location. The post-War structure was austere and designed by Hearon and McCleskey Architects. It opened January 23, 1951 by L.J. Brun. 350 seats were on the main floor with a 120-seat balcony for African American patrons. A cry room was furnished. It was in the M.A. Pigford Building - a familiar name as one of the town’s first commercial buildings was the W.W. Pigford Building.
The theatre had two major refreshes: the first brought a new screen in December of 1963 which is assumed to be a widescreen transition for presenting CinemaScope titles. It closed briefly twice - the second time for a major refresh that it re-emerged with on October 16, 1982 with its new look that it carried to closure.