Princess Theatre
421 N. Roane Street,
Harriman,
TN
37748
421 N. Roane Street,
Harriman,
TN
37748
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Showing 1 - 25 of 40 comments
So nice to know it has been restored as my hometown is forever gone. Neglected for 10 years and nobody at the time tried to save it. Felt it was an eyesore .. debateable issue still to this day.
This is correct, just off I40 in Roane County.
It appears to be about 40 miles West of Knoxville, and 80 miles North of Chattanooga.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriman,_Tennessee
Where is Harriman TN?
Late `40s postcard added courtey Tennessee Collector on Pinterest.
A short film made when the Princess reopened in 1939 can be seen at YouTube (I believe this film was previously linked, but the comment with the link has been removed.) The film consists mostly of scenes in Harriman, including schools, churches, factories, and shots of various worthies such as civic officials and members of the Rotary Club. A few scenes, mostly in the last couple of minutes, show the Princess Theatre.
One significant scene shows Crescent Amusement Company head Tony Sudekum greeting architect Joe Holman, so the Princess, like most Crescent houses of the period, was designed by the Nashville architectural firm Marr & Holman.
No I am not involved in the restoration though I do wish them well.
Patsy…if you are involved in the restoration, please don’t hesitate to contact the Princess Foundation for lessons learned.
As for Crescent Amusement, I think you are correct, however I’m not sure of the owner name. Here are two more links concerning the memories of Dub Harmon:
http://princesstheater.blogspot.com/2011/10/past-meets-future-of-princess.html
http://princesstheater.blogspot.com/2012/03/family-and-mid-town-drive-ins.html
Simple answer, no, there is no inner shell…it was completely destroyed in ‘39 and rebuilt that same year.
Here are a couple of links: http://princesstheater.blogspot.com/2009/02/princess-theatre-temple-of-arts.html
http://princesstheater.blogspot.com/2012/02/our-princess-is-fourth-coming.html
There is a Princess Theatre in Mt. Dora Florida that needs to be restored.
A couple of questions: The opening paragraph says that the 1939 Princess replaced an earlier Princess which was destroyed by fire. So is the 1939 Princess in the shell of the 1926 building. The 1926 Princess appears to have burned twice. Or was there still an earlier (pre 1926) Princess Theatre in Harriman at a different location? Also, was the original owner Tony Sudekum / Crescent Amusement? I’m seeing his name appear in connection to a theatre in Harriman and many Crescent Theatres were named Princess.
Paul: Unfortunately, I won’t be there so please post photos of the event on CT or send to my email ()
Thanks Patsy…hope to see you there!
http://princesstheater.blogspot.com/2012/05/are-you-ready-for-some-more-princess.html
JPaul: Love the flickr photos that show off the fabulous art deco exterior. The May 24th concert should be a “blast from the past”! Congrats to everyone involved in saving this “cinema treasure”!
Go to the blog and check in the upper right corner…contact info is given there.
how do i go about renting this place out ?
The Princess Theatre plans its Grand Opening March 22, 2012. We can hardly wait! She looks beautiful!
Check out our blog at http://princesstheater.blogspot.com
The comments made by Richard Saffles are somewhat misleading. Muse Watson is not personally restoring the Princess. It was a project born from a mutual dream held by both Muse and Gary Baker of Harriman. That dream was to reopen the Princess and give her a new purpose – to provide arts education to the children of the Roane and surrounding county areas. The project was funded by a Tennessee grant and money contributed by TVA after a disastrous ash spill. The theater will be operated by Roane State Community College and educational funds will keep the water and lights on!
Muse and Gary are integral parts to the restoration, and continue to drive the dream forward. Visit http://princesstheater.blogspot.com to keep up with the restoration progress.
Please change the “official” link to the Princess as http://princesstheater.blogspot.com Going strictly to the current link listed may prevent a lot of people from seeing current post.
Thanks,
Paul Mashburn
Thanks for the photos looks like the work is going good,will check it out when you reopen.
Thanks Tlsloews.
Photos of the Princess Theatre, and those involved in the restoration work, are available at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/princesstheater/
J Paul: Congrats and continued success!
HAVE YOU CHECKED THE PRINCESS BLOG LATELY?
http://princesstheater.blogspot.com
Restoration is under way at the Princess Theater in Harriman, TN. The seats were recently removed and roof work has begun. The facade and marquee is next.
Then, what we’ve waited for, the real restoration work begins inside.
http://princesstheater.blogspot.com