Roxy Theatre

Oops- Roxy!

After studying the photos in the Roxy history to which deecee linked on February 10, 2011, I’m doubtful that the Imperial/Rainbow was in the Jacobs Building, even though that building now uses the address 307 Wilburn. The caption of the photo from The Tennessean of September 13, 1914, says that there was a movie theater in the new building pictured.

Counting the doors of the storefronts, it’s clear that 307 at that time had to have been in the Roxy’s building, not the Jacobs Building. It would have been the last storefront in the building, past the second decorative pediment. The first storefront, 301, was the drug store. The second, a barber shop, was at 303, and the third, which would have been the grocery store mentioned in the caption, was at 305. Beyond the second pediment was a storefront mostly covered with brick, so that must have been the theater, at 307, with its entrance under the second pediment.

At some point after the Roxy was built, the addresses on the block must have been reconfigured and the Jacobs building given the number 307. This means that the Imperial Theatre of 1914 and the Rainbow Theatre of 1928 must have occupied what later became the screen end of the Roxy’s auditorium. You can see the sealed-up entrance of the original theater about midway down the wall of the Roxy in the photo above, although the pediments were removed when the wall was raised to accommodate the Roxy’s balcony.

I’m not sure what originally occupied the Morris Jacobs Building, but the Roxy history page says that in the 1940s the former drug store space on the corner of Meridian Street became Morris Dry Goods. Maybe it was the same Morris, and he moved his store to the corner for better visibility.

The 1914 photo caption also says that the architect for the building was C.A. Ferguson. It also says that Crescent Amusement bought the building in 1936, and the Roxy was opened before the end of 1937.

DavePrice: A comment on this theater by deecee from August 10, 2009, gives 307 Wilburn as the address of a house called the Rainbow Theatre, listed in 1928. This is the address of the Morris Jacobs building, an historic structure which has recently been restored.

http://www.savetheroxy.org/index.html

in 1915 a made in Nashville silent era movie entitled “ Sam Davis- A hero of the Sixties” played at the Parthenon theatre on june 5 1915.In part it was filmed at Travellers Rest plantation.Lillian Nicholson Sharon wrote the screenplay.My relative Joshua Brown was in the movie and was an actual Coleman Scout in the civil war.Looking for images from this historic movie.in Nashville paper 05-30-1915 article appears about movie and Hap Sudekum, Lucille Wilson Sudekum and Joshua Brown were shown as cast members. Lucille was wife of Harry Sudekum and Hap was brother of Harry.Talley Bailey

@Debie…I live in the immediate area of The Roxy and wanted you to know that I ran across your piece today. I’ve had it distributed to the surrounding East Nashville neighborhood associations…so you may hear from some of them, hopefully. Thank you for sharing the history.

I’m not sure if you were aware of this when you wrote the piece, but here is a link regarding the Roxy in 2011. We ARE planning to see its “glory” return…hopefully. Here is a recent piece from The Tennessean on the plans…
View link

Lisa

Roxy Theater History

View link

There was another Roxy in Nashville but it was downtown,saw a photo of it last night on NPT Channel 8, I believe it was on 6th ave.It is not listed on C.T.

Good I will check it out since I live pretty close.

Crescent Amusement Co. purchased the property at the corner of Meridian and Wilburn in 1936 and the adjoining lot for parking, that fronts on Meridian St. and runs back to the alley, in 1937. The Roxy Theater opened about 1937 and first appeared in the Nashville City Directory in 1938. Before the theater was on the property, there was a pharmacy in the early days and later a dry goods store. The dry goods store was continued in the front of the building at the corner of Meridian and Wilburn until the mid 1950’s. This section of the building is one story with a basement. The theater was in the back two story section of the building at 303 Wilburn St. and the entrance and marquee was part of the way down the side of the building on Wilburn. The theater closed 1957-58 and by 1959 Nashville Revival Center is listed at the address. In 1960 there was a self service coin laundry in the space where the dry goods store had been. I seem to remember that a couple of years before the theater closed that it moved into the space that had been a storefront and a new entrance to the theater was opened at the corner but that may be wrong. My brother worked there until 1954 or ‘55 and the entrance was still on Wilburn at that time.

There was no theater listed at the address before the Roxy appeared in Nashville City Directories in 1938. There was a Rainbow Theater at 307 Wilburn in 1928 gone by 1931. This address is down Wilburn across the alley from the Roxy building. The Rainbow Theater shared a building with a dry cleaning business that remained for several years after the Rainbow Theater closed.

I found the same information as a previous poster. There was a Woodbine Theater in Woodbine on Nolensville Road in the Nashville Directory on Nolensville Road in the late 50’s and the Roxy is on Wilburn at that same time. If someone has any kind of documentation that the Roxy was ever called the Woodbine Roxy please post.

I posted Jack’s picture on the Woodbine page as I had a question about the address. I should have proceeded in alphabetical order.

Here is a current photo of the former Roxy/Woodbine. Note the street names on the corner sign: View link