The History of the Carolina Theatre

What is the Carolina Theatre?

The Carolina Theatre is one of many vaudeville and movie houses built during the first three decades of this century. You may have seen the already-restored Carolina Theatre in Durham or the Carolina Theatre in Greensboro or the Carolina Theatre in Winston-Salem. Our Carolina in Charlotte was the largest theatre in town, and during its first season, was the largest of all the theaters with the Carolina name. It is located at the corner of North Tryon and Sixth Streets, across from the Dunhill Hotel. (see map.) If you look at the front of the theatre along Tryon Street, you will see a portion of the facade, Tryon Street Entrance which is all that remains of the Tryon Street side of the building. The lobby which sat on this site until 1988, was demolished in error because the owner at that time felt that it was unsafe, which it was not. At the rear of the lot, adjoining the now-demolished City Fair, is the large all-brick structure that houses the theatre auditorium. This is all that is left. The lobby had retail stores on either side of the entrance. This was a popular building convention of the time because it made best use of the street-front side of the property, and who knows - maybe you'd stop and buy something on your way out!

Right now, the entire lot upon which the Carolina's auditorium rests is owned by the City of Charlotte. They have no plans for it, but a Task Force made up of interested parties is studying possible uses. Let's hope they decide to restore it to its former glorious beauty.

When the Carolina opened in 1927, its $750,000 price tag included 1,450 comfortable seats, a proscenium stage with a beautiful lush curtain, a fly loft to accommodate raising the curtain completely, an orchestra pit, dressing rooms, beautiful decorations and furnishings throughout, and the only air conditioner in a public building in Charlotte. Yes, Charlotte's Carolina Theatre in 1927 was the first in Charlotte and the only theatre between New York and Atlanta to be, as they said, able to "manufacture its own weather."

So, what was the Carolina Theatre? Charlotte's "Cathedral to Entertainment," the "Showplace of the Carolinas," where the people went to watch the best in motion pictures. Read more below about what the Carolina meant to this city.

And, what is the Carolina Theatre? Charlotte's last best hope for an original downtown movie theatre, Charlotte's only hope for saving a piece of Tryon Street from the late 1920s, Metrolina Theatre Organ Society's last hope of restoring a theatre organ to an existing theatre, a shameful reminder of how stupidly we have destroyed or allowed to be destroyed nearly all of our town's architectural history.

The History of the Carolina Theatre

In order to understand the importance of the Carolina Theatre in the history of Charlotte's architecture, it may help to review a list of downtown theatres:

Now, can you see the importance of the Carolina?

In order to understand the importance other cities attach to their Carolina Theatres, we need look no further than Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and Durham. All three cities, smaller than Charlotte, have saved their Carolina Theatres and are using them now as performing arts centers. Here's a quote from a piece of Greensboro's literature about its Carolina:

On Halloween night in 1927, the Carolina Theatre opened its doors as the new "Showplace of the Carolinas." With a blend of Greek and French Renaissance styles, the Carolina was unmatched in beauty and quality in the Southeast. The theatre was purchased by the United Arts Council in 1976 and has undergone several phases of renovation. In January 1991, after a one-year, 3.4 million dollar complete restoration, the Carolina opened once again as the "Showplace of the Carolinas." Today, the Carolina has been restored to its original elegance and grandeur.

Would that we could read in a year's time something similar about Charlotte's Carolina.

It was called "The Cathedral to Entertainment," owned by the Cutter family, leased by the Paramount Publix circuit, and it was the closest thing Charlotte had to a proper movie palace. Richmond's Byrd Theatre wouldn't open until 1928 and their Lowe's Grand (now Carpenter Center) would not begin shows until 1929, as would Atlanta's Fox. In March 1927, Charlotte's Carolina was the place to see a first-run motion picture. By the way, the Cutter family continued to own the Carolina until Carley Capital Group bought it in the mid 80s. The Keith Corporation bought an option of right-to-buy from the city in 1994 at the same time they bought City Fair.

The very thin beaux-arts entry facade was placed in the middle of other fronts to make the most of the Tryon Street frontage. Office space, above, and retail space, to the sides, brought in more profit per square foot than the theatre. The offices were not simply for rent to anyone; they were for Paramount and for the film entrepreneurs Robert Wilby and H. F. Kincey because Charlotte was the film distribution and booking center for everything between Washington and Atlanta. The two-and-one-third story facade was designed in Spanish Mission and Tudor-Flemish styles, an unusual and eclectic design to be sure, by a prominent Charlotte architect named C. C. Hook. When you visit the theatre, you canl learn about these styles. Those of you who have travelled in town may have seen his Charlotte Women's Club on East Morehead Street in, shall we say, a completely different style. For doubtless good reasons, R. E. Hall from New York City was retained to design the interior of the Carolina in a Spanish-Moorish flavor of the atmospheric style begun and popularized by John Eberson. Although technically not atmospheric because there were no moving clouds or stars, the Carolina's interior did give the impression of being outside in Renaissance Spain. But other Charlotte theatres had themes, too, like the Alhambra. What made the Carolina different?

Its planners and designers wanted the Carolina to be the largest and most luxurious theatre in the region. There were 900 orchestra seats and 550 balcony seats, plenty of public areas to stretch your feet and lots of unusual decorations. The Spanish design was evident at the street level with the stunning wrought-iron box office. Publix felt that the Spanish-based design was best for Southern theatres. Remember, these decisions came from men in the Paramount Building in Times Square, New York. They felt that they knew what we in the South wanted (and needed) in our movie theatre architecture. Travelling inside through the very thin lobby, you saw no refreshment counter, nothing to hold your progress toward the auditorium. Through the doors, you saw more wrought iron, wood, and leather. There were decorations everywhere, some antiques, Spanish and Italian pottery, wrought iron lantern top torches, terra cotta jars, reproductions of paintings, mirrors, and lots of thick, lush drapes. This was a level of luxury not seen elsewhere in the area.

The number of potential movie-goers in the Charlotte area made the task relatively easy for Paramount. We didn't get something of the size and grandeur of say, Atlanta's Fox, because Paramount knew the population here just couldn't bring in enough quarters to make it profitable. But, as they say, everything is relative, and Charlotte's Carolina was easily the Queen of the Queen City and of the region.

The first film shown was A Kiss In A Taxi with the popular star, Bebe Daniels. Of course, it was joined by acts from Keith Vaudeville, a Paramount newsreel, an organ solo, an orchestra overture, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Atchison and the Paramount Dancers, and Ray Alvino and His Banjo Boys. This opening show cost fifty cents and there were no reserved seats.

Through the decades, many of the great films played here. One was Gone With the Wind in January 1940. Another, and the most popular film ever to play the Carolina, was The Sound of Music in 1965. It played for over a year and had the distinction of playing to more people than actually lived in the Charlotte area!

Other celebrities appearing on stage included Tom Mix, Ethel Barrymore, Bob Hope, Guy Lombardo (listen to Auld Lang Syne with RealPlayer), and Elvis Presley. The theatre was also used for many local events and concerts. Charlotte's high school graduations were held there (view a program). The last film shown in 1978 was a Bruce Lee movie.

One Man's Thoughts

Mr. Dallas Richardson gave an interview to R. K. Headley on August 12, 1986, about his reminiscences of going to the movies in Charlotte. It was published in Marquee, the journal of  The Theatre Historical Society. Mr Richardson was born in Charlotte in 1919, and here are some of his thoughts concerning the Carolina. (listen to text in Real Audio, read by John Apple)

"To me, there was really only one big one; that was the Carolina. That was the queen of them all, the flagship. They had air conditioning and a pipe organ. The box office was a dream. There was a lot of marble there; it was right off the sidewalk. They had a marquee extension out over the box office. There was a small area, then you went through some double doors into a lobby about a fourth of block long. It was very nice up until they put in the candy counter, and that ruined it. Then, another set of doors into that beautiful auditorium.

"In the Carolina's last days, a good friend of mine, Clarence Etters, was organist. He was musical director at radio station WBT and WBTV. He used to play the organ at night, for the last two shows, the 7:00 and the 9:00 show, about a ten or fifteen minute organ interlude. This was probably in the 1950s. There were no stage shows then. It was strictly movies, but they still played the organ.

"In their hey day, there were no Sunday movies then - two shows a week. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, they would show a film and they'd have the pipe organ. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, they would have the film, the pipe organ, and a stage show, and the orchestra in the pit. I think it was booked by the Keith-Albee circuit. Hal Kemp and his orchestra played there, and I saw Tom Mix and his horse Tony, and Phil Spitalny and the All-Girl Orchestra on that stage. Travelling Broadway musicals performed there because it had a big stage and was well-equipped.

"The ushers were well-trained ... when it opened. The Publix people sent their manager down from New York to train them. It was precision ... neat uniforms, neat haircuts.

"They also had Cinerama there for a while, at which time they butchered that theatre something awful. That's when they modernized it, took that beautiful box office and put it over on the side with kind of an art deco sort of thing. Oh, it was hideous! It didn't blend with the original interior. They chopped up the interior ... put those huge drapes all around the side, and that big curved screen. Cinerama was nice; that big screen was just a thrill to watch, but I would prefer the old theatre the way it was.

"The thing that really impressed me about the Carolina was in its hey day. It was real showmanship then. You know, the big screen up there, air conditioning ... they'd fade the stage lights in and out, they'd open and close the curtains. They had a pipe organ. Then, Paramount news, a cartoon, a comedy, and then the feature, and they'd fade the house lights in and out. Just the way they operated it; it was first class."

The Opening Night Announcement

From The Charlotte News, Monday, March 7, 1927

The Carolina, Finest of State's Theaters, Will Open Monday Evening

With the presentation of a program of carefully selected features, the Carolina Theatre, Charlotte's newest and finest playhouse and one of the most elaborately appointed in the South, will open Monday evening, at 7 o'clock.

Arrangements have been made by the Publix Corporation, operators of the new Carolina and of the Imperial and Alhambra Theaters, here to afford the very best entertainment possible on the opening night, it has been announced.

Furnished throughout in the style of the Spanish Renaissance, the interior of the new theater is fairly laden with the atmosphere of Spain. Many thousands of dollars have been invested in antiques, imported from Spain, Italy and other countries. Single pieces, valued at hundreds of dollars, are to be seen in the lounging rooms.

Built at a cost of $600,000 by the J. H. Cutter Company here, the new Publix Theater building has been enhanced in value by its equipment to some $750,000. It is one of the most modern of the 500 theaters operated by the Publix Corporation in larger cities throughout America. It is said to be the only theater between New York and Atlanta with a refrigerating cooling system. The seating capacity is 1,800 persons and construction is fireproof throughout.

Robert Berne, noted orchestra leader, formerly associated with Paul Whiteman and a number of large musical shows, will be guest conductor of the Carolina Orchestra over an indefinite period. The first unit of the premiere program will be an overture by this orchestra.

Other features on the program of the first evening will include "Songs of Southern States: by the Melody Series, synchronized by the Carolina Grande Orchestra; Song and dance number; organ solo; Ray Alvino and his Banjo Boys, and the feature motion picture, A Kiss in a Taxi, starring Bebe Daniels.

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