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What starts with a Kiss and ends with a Fist? A Jerry Springer episode? Plenty of them. A bad date? I hope not.
But the Carolina Theatre, at North Tryon Street and 8th Street, did, at least for its run as a movie and cinema theater. The kiss came in 1927 from the first night’s showing of "A Kiss in a Tax" with Bebe Daniels; the fist came in the 1978 Bruce Lee (aka Bruce Li) movie Last Fist of Fury. The 51 years between were filled with highs and lows-- with most of the lows at the end of the run. The history of the Carolina Theatre on Tryon runs parallel to the history of uptown Charlotte: from its high point during the roaring 20's, when a building boom had brought many residents and businesses to town and street life was lively, to sweeping technological advances that made updates and retrofitting necessary in the 1960's, to the slow death of uptown vitality due to the pull of suburban living. With our current revival of nightlife and living in uptown Charlotte, another chapter might be unfolding. With it, the theater (if things go well--you'll know soon enough!) may once again follow the path of central Charlotte on its upswing.
It's Monday night, March 7th, 1927. Uptown Charlotte is abuzz. The building boom of the roaring 20's has been in full swing for a couple of years, life is good, and a new jewel has been added to the Queen City's crown. The Carolina Theatre, billed as "The Finest of the State's Theaters," is opening. At 1450 seats, it is the largest in Charlotte, and a new comfort will make it a pleasure on hot, southern summer nights: air conditioning - the first for any commercial or public building in the city. For the hefty sum of fifty cents, you can pass through the Spanish-inspired façade nestled between other storefronts along Tryon. Your ticket just bought you a mixed bag of entertainment. The silent film A Kiss in a Taxi, a Paramount Newsreel, stage performances by Vaudeville acts, an organ solo on the Wurlitzer, an orchestra overture, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Atchinson and the Paramount Dancers, and Ray Alvino and His Banjo Boys.
That's a lot of bang for your half buck. By today's standards, such a variety show would be unexpected and excessive, to say the least, and certainly would not be included with a movie. But in the period when movies were in their infancy and theaters served multiple purposes, a night like this was quite typical. Early films were shown in theaters, the same theaters that were used for opera, symphony orchestra, stage shows, and other live performances. Early theaters built for film were built to accommodate various other acts as well, and were complete with stages, dressing rooms, organ boxes and orchestra pits. In the footsteps of their theatrical predecessors, many were designed and built to be works of art and were as dramatic as the shows they hosted.
Over-the-top motifs and lavish decor were found in many theaters of the period. At the time, Marcus Loew, head of the Loews chain of theaters, stated the reasoning clearly: "We sell tickets to theaters, not movies." Opera houses and theaters had long been reserved for the wealthy, and the new wave of theaters were designed to be “[opera houses] for the masses" where "the public can partake of the same luxuries as the rich, and use them to the same full extent."
The Carolina Theatre was built for the Publix Theaters Corporation by J.A. Jones Construction Company. It was part of the Paramount family. At that time the New York-based company was building theaters across the nation. Each region in the country was assigned a design genre. Mediterranean and Spanish motifs were selected for the South.
Opulence and luxury were the intent of the designers, and they pulled it off and then some. From the exterior front along Tryon and its Spanish Renaissance ticket booth and the decorative tile roof, terrazzo floors and tiles, to the lobby that was reminiscent of a Venetian palace, entering the theater was breathtaking. Inside, plasterwork and woodwork, leather, and imported French drapes opened to the interior lobbies and finally to the theater itself. The interior had a main level and a mezzanine level and seated 1450 patrons. The mezzanine had the most elaborate of the three lobbies, with Art Deco stenciling, exposed beams with geometric artwork, textured stucco walls, and plaster rosettes and moldings. On each side of the mezzanine the walls were painted with intricate murals depicting flowering plants and a Mediterranean garden. The stage had a 2-story arched frame and was also decorated with a Spanish motif and heavy plaster detailing. Heavy curtains, wrought iron chandeliers, exterior balconies, and heavy trim were all found throughout the interior of the theater.
The Carolina Theatre was host to hundreds of first-run movies, was home to the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra for many years, and had many high marks congruent with the times. Among them:
• Elvis played the theater in 1956 along with members of the Grand Ole Opry.
• The Sound of Music had a run of 79 weeks - so long and so successful that the vice president of 20th-Century Fox even presented the theater a certificate for being the first theater to show the movie to more people than lived in the community in which it was located (398,201 viewers saw the movie during that run).
• The Symphony gave its debut performance in the Carolina Theatre in 1932
• Gone with the Wind had its North Carolina premier there
In the 1950's and 1960's people began moving out of center city to the growing suburbs. Businesses followed them, and new, modern movie theaters sprang up throughout town. As retail and commercial died in uptown, so did the vitality of the Carolina Theatre. After so many premieres and first runs, it became home to B-rate, exploitation, and martial arts movies. Finally, in 1978, they called it quits and closed the doors.
I've wanted to see inside the theater ever since it had a short burst of publicity when Charlotte built City Fair in 1987 behind it along College Street. I'd heard of the theater from my family, who used to see movies there long ago. Discussions for its best use were opened at that time, though many felt the theater too far gone and on land that was too valuable for it to be saved. Others argued that this last remaining theater along Tryon should be preserved and retrofitted for new use. The decision to preserve the theater finally won out, but the demise of City Fair (Hearst Tower now sits on its site), and the spiraling cost estimates for the theater killed the progress. Tours and small shows have intermittently taken place in the theater since then, but it has basically remained boarded up and unused.
From the outside it is pretty difficult to figure out exactly how a theater is configured inside. The building is largely square, with little exterior architectural detail. The storefront and ticket booth are long gone, as are the storefronts that once flanked the theater entrance. An empty lot surrounded by a chain-link fence is all you find leading up to the main building. It has also been widely rumored that the interior is largely gone and there isn't much to save or see of the original theater. To say you'd have to use your imagination to understand the former grandeur of the theater is an understatement.
Or at least that is what we've all been led to believe.
Don't believe it.
I've been inside and now know there is plenty to save. If I didn't have experience renovating or working on older properties I might believe the hype that the building is too far gone; fortunately, I do have that experience and can tell you it wouldn't be a simple or easy undertaking, but it certainly can be done.
I must admit, I didn't expect to find much other than a large open building, maybe something along the lines of an open warehouse considering the exterior appearance. I've heard and read so many reports that claimed that, though historically significant for the city, the building was not worth a renovation. I guess I heard that often enough that I began to believe it. What I did find surprised me. Now don't get me wrong, it's rough. What I found was the expanse of the theater and the looming stage straight ahead. The chairs and all seating are gone, as are concession stands. For years the building has stood vacant, slowly deteriorating, and in 1980 a fire destroyed much of the stage. Beneath that, though, the structure itself is quite sound. The detailing, plasterwork, reliefs, murals, and many parts of the impressive décor can still be found throughout the building. Rosettes, trim, stenciling and ceiling beams are present and restorable, and faded colors from the early years are still found on many surfaces. In other words, there is plenty to use in conjunction with old photos and documents to restore the theater to its original beauty.
In the early part of the 1900's, uptown Charlotte had a handful of theaters. One by one, they all made way for construction, projects, and growth. The grandest of them all still stands today, a shell of its former self, but with much of the original opulence still evident. The structure is sound and the building could be renovated to once again provide a venue for stage, film, and music. It won't be cheap, but a project like this never is.
Current plans for a new building on the adjacent lot are in the works, and those plans include restoring this beauty. A combination of residential and commercial properties connected to the theater would breathe new life into this corner and this venue. Plans have been drawn and dropped numerous times over the past couple of decades, but uptown Charlotte is different today that it was at any of those earlier stages. With new entertainment venues that have opened in center city, with all the new residents and visitors and with all the activity taking place on Tryon, the timing couldn't be better. I think, and hope, that something will finally happen here - after years of wondering what it looked like inside The Carolina Theatre, I've finally gotten to see it for myself. And don't want it to be the last time.
I hope the next time I go in I see a re-creation of the theater’s former glory. And for that, I’ll be happy to pay more than 50 cents for a ticket.
~ Scott Lindsley
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