The original release of BIRTH OF A NATION predated my father’s time. He remembered a burlesque house in Atlanta, but maintained that he never attended it (not that I doubt it). Theaters like The Criterion, The Forsyth, and The Metropolitan were long gone well before my time. Yet, it brings a sense of proportion about the theaters that I knew which were demolished in my time. It makes the survival of The Fox, and other vintage Atlanta movie houses all the more remarkable!
Thank you, John! What a fascinating piece of Atlanta history! It demonstrates the fact that as the city developed, theaters came and went. They faced competition from other theaters. Neighborhoods changed; the economy changed; real estate values changed; and, most of all, the times changed.
George Ellis opened this theater in a converted storefront circa 1966/67. This compact venue was attractively furnished, with comfortable seats and carpeted walls. George was very personable. If memory serves, he was of Armenian descent. Atlantans remembered him as “Bestoink Dooley,” the host of WAGA-TV’s Friday night Big Movie Shocker in the early ‘60’s. The Festival was where I first saw CITIZEN KANE, which was an overwhelming experience for me as a teenager.
That’s quite a photo, Lost Memory! Or should I refer to you as “Recovered Memory”?! As I recall, when the theatre closed and was converted to The House of Eng, they restored a bit of the original look of the building. By the way, House of Eng was a pretty good Chinese restaurant. They also operated a Polynesian style restaurant downtown called Trader Eng’s (think Trader Vic).
From previous post regarding the “Tenth Street Art Theatre”:
The original Tenth Street Theatre was at 990 Peachtree Street, NE. It stood in front of the apartment house where Margaret Mitchell and her husband lived for a number of years, and where she wrote GONE WITH THE WIND. If you visit the restored apartment house that is now a memorial to her, you’ll find a framed picture of the Tenth Street Theatre on display. Margaret Mitchell was a movie buff and this theatre was a real favorite of her’s because of the air conditioning in the summer, as well as its convenience.
The theatre was built circa 1926. The exterior was in a faux Spanish style with red stucco and a tile edged roof. My best guess is that it had about 500 seats. The theater ceased operation around 1956/57 to the best of my recollection. A few years later the space was converted to a chinese restaurant called House of Eng, that occupied the location throughout most of the 1960’s.
With the development of the drug culture in the 1970’s, this neighborhood deteriorated badly. As nearly as I can recall, I believe the theatre was demolished sometime in the 1970’s or possibly the early 1980’s.
My dad used to take me to see westerns at the Tenth Street Theatre back in the 1950’s.
The Wikipedia article jogged my memory. When The Euclid Theatre closed in 1962, there were no public announcements in the local newspapers or broadcasting outlets. It slipped quietly into oblivion. The last movie that I saw there was the Hammer horror film, THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF in 1961, which was on a wide first run. The Euclid Theatre died not with a bang, but a whimper.
Great photo, Dennis! I’m not clear about when the Glen Theater originally opened. At this point, I’m wondering if it was omitted from the “Current Attractions” column in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Since I moved out of the area in 1966, mercifully I never knew it as a porn theater.
No matter what, native Atlantans still remember the Loew’s Grand fondly. Here’s a 1955 photograph of the Loew’s Grand when they were showing Walt Disney’s DAVY CROCKETT, KING OF THE WILD FRONTIER.
The fact that the Loew’s Grand was the site of the world premiere of GONE WITH THE WIND was the theater’s real claim to fame. The truth was that the architecture was not particularly distinguished. It lacked the unity of design that made the Fox Theatre so remarkable. The design of the Loew’s Grand took a back seat to the nearby Peachtree Street theaters such as the Howard/Paramount {next door}; the Keith Georgia/Roxy; and (judging from photographs) the Capitol.
As I pointed out in an earlier post, the Loew’s Grand’s location on Peachtree Street made the land far too valuable for the government of the City of Atlanta to justify preserving a theater- any theater.
Having been born in Atlanta and grown up there, I attended many movies at the Loew’s Grand. Although I was not living in Atlanta in 1978 at the time of the fire, my old friends who lived in Atlanta told me that the fire was considered to be highly suspicious, to say the least. It was widely regarded in the general community as a case of arson. Hopefully, someone can provide more of the facts.
John —Thank you for removing the cobwebs from my mind. Although the mention of live performances by Elvis in Atlanta did ring a bell, I could not distinctly remember them. Of course, I was much to young to have attended any of them on my own. Admission was $1.25!!! That’s roughly ten dollars in today’s economy – cheap at twice the price! What a different time that was!
Hope you didn’t miss the note of irony in my previous comment. The theaters that were lost in the urban renewal projects of the 1960’s were part of the erosion of the basic character of American communities in that era. Today. we seem to live in an age characterized by Walmart, Starbucks, and multplexes. Cities and towns across the country seem to have taken on a sameness that is not only boring, but rather depressing.
Having lived in New York City for a number of years, I regret the fact that I didn’t get to see the prime years of the Broadway theater district. Native New Yorkers told me that you could practically trace the decline of the Broadway district to the demolition of the Roxy Theater in 1960. So, I never got to attend the Roxy, the Capitol, or the Paramount. The Broadway that I encountered in the 1970’s was seedy and really depressing.
Atlanta suffered a somewhat similar fate. As the city rushed toward unrestricted growth, a great deal of the character of the community was swept away. It still amazes me that the people of Atlanta actually succeeded in saving the Fox Theater. Some of the neighborhoods in Atlanta, such as Little Five Points, still retain a certain charm. That quality is immeasurably enhanced by the fact the two of the theaters in Little Five Points have been preserved
I may have somewhat exaggerated the rate of change. If so, my apologies. However, by the time the area was cleared in the 1960’s to make way for the Fulton County Stadium, it had declined considerably. It was adjacent to the working class neighborhood along Capitol Avenue where it intersected with Memorial Drive and Georgia Avenue. The urban renewal project of the the ‘60’s was regarded as progress at that time.
RCW, Yes, I would hope that the people at Cinema Treasures would be OK with a discussion of community and changing times. After all, it directly affects our interest in these movie theaters and the movie business at large. Atlanta was very much a movie going town when I was growing up in the ‘50’s & '60’s.
As Ralph Storey, the late Los Angeles TV broadcaster, put it, “The past is not a place where you want to live. The past is a place that you want to visit in order to understand the present.” If you have the chance to see Ralph Srorey’s documentary, THINGS THAT AREN’T HERE ANY MORE, you’ll get a really interesting view of the development of the greater Los Angeles are during the 20th century.
Let me add one important thought to what Mr. Storey had to say. In examining the past in order to understand the present, we are preparing ourselves to face the future. As an aging baby boomer, that seems to me to be the bottom line in this discussion.
For what it’s worth, I’m not so sure that discussions of the communities that these theaters were located in is necessarily off topic. Since I grew up on the opposite side of town and never knew Grove Park, I find this thread interesting.
To a large extent the movie theaters in America in the 20th century reflected the lifestyle and values of their communities. Atlanta has changed so drastically in recent years that its fascinating to trace its development. One way to do that is to examine its public places, like its movie theaters, and their respective communities over the years.
John – I can’t begin to tell you how much I am enjoying your articles on the Atlanta Chapter ATOS website! As a native Atlantan, I grew up seeing movies at the Paramount Theatre in the ‘50’s. My father remembered it from its beginning as the Howard Theatre. As much as I loved the Fox Theatre, the Paramount had a special place in my affections. You are correct when you write that there was no public outcry when the Paramount was slated to be demolished. That is not to say that it was unmourned. Personally, I really missed seeing movies at the Paramount.
Like the Fox, the Howard/Paramount had a special atmosphere. Possibly that was because both theaters were designed by local architects. You are correct when you say that the Paramount had a unity of design and construction. Attending the Fox and the Paramount seemed to enhance the experience of seeing whatever was on the program.
John – Thank you for your excellent article on The Capitol Theatre on the Atlanta Chapter ATOS newsletter website! Since you cited the first run of of the 1931 FRANKENSTEIN, I thought I would elaborate on my previous comment about it. My dad told me on several occasions about seeing FRANKENSTEIN at a midnight sneak preview before the regular run. The audience had no idea of what film they would be seeing. The theater did brisk business on these sneak previews. My dad was a teenager at that time and he was thoroughly movie crazy, a trait that I inherited as much by nature as by nurture. I wish you could have seen his face light up when he told me about the impact that FRANKENSTEIN had on that unsuspecting audience! He said the “creation” scene was literally electrifying (you’ll excuse the bad pun). The audience hadn’t seen anything quite like it before. He told me that people literally screamed and women ran out of the theatre! The end result was that the audience loved it! It was obvious that Universal had a major hit on its hands.
My dad obviously liked the Capital Theatre. Somehow I had the feeling that I would have liked going to the Capitol Theatre, too!
John _ Thank you for your wonderful articles on the Atlanta Chapter ATOS website! My father vividly remembered seeing movies at the Metroplitan. In fact, his older brother, my late Uncle Herbert, worked as an usher at the Metropolitan Theatre! My dad saw the original 1925 LOST WORLD at the Metroploitan. He took my grandmother to see Al Jolson in THE JAZZ SINGER at the Metropolitan, as well. You’ve uncovered a piece of Atlanta history that only a very few native Atlantans are aware of today. Again, I thank you!
Thanks J. for the info! The Tenth Street Theatre was definitely in the Spanish style. By the time I saw the West End Theatre it was no longer operating as a movie house but was being used as Cantrell’s Bookstore. So, it was hard to say in that case. The Spanish architectural style was prevalent in the 1920’s. You still see many surviving examples of the style from that era in Los Angeles.
Maybe the auditorium was demolished and the foyer/lobby was renovated. Just speculation. I knew this area very well from childhood. Used to see a lot of movies at the Euclid Theatre as a kid. Thanks, Jack!
Jack – Any idea if this building was constucted on the site of a demolished theater, or if the original theater building might have undergone a drastic renovation. As I recall, the back of this row of shops in Little Five Points did not suggest the outline of a theater auditorium. Of course, I could be wrong. Just wondering …?
Thanks again, Lost Memory! The next time I’m in Atlanta I hope to look up this tragic event in the newspaper files at the Atlanta Public Library.
The fire at the Capitol Theatre must have been especially frightening coming only about a month after the fire at the Winecoff Hotel. That disasterous event left a long shadow on the city of Atlanta.
The original release of BIRTH OF A NATION predated my father’s time. He remembered a burlesque house in Atlanta, but maintained that he never attended it (not that I doubt it). Theaters like The Criterion, The Forsyth, and The Metropolitan were long gone well before my time. Yet, it brings a sense of proportion about the theaters that I knew which were demolished in my time. It makes the survival of The Fox, and other vintage Atlanta movie houses all the more remarkable!
Thank you, John! What a fascinating piece of Atlanta history! It demonstrates the fact that as the city developed, theaters came and went. They faced competition from other theaters. Neighborhoods changed; the economy changed; real estate values changed; and, most of all, the times changed.
George Ellis opened this theater in a converted storefront circa 1966/67. This compact venue was attractively furnished, with comfortable seats and carpeted walls. George was very personable. If memory serves, he was of Armenian descent. Atlantans remembered him as “Bestoink Dooley,” the host of WAGA-TV’s Friday night Big Movie Shocker in the early ‘60’s. The Festival was where I first saw CITIZEN KANE, which was an overwhelming experience for me as a teenager.
You may be correct about the demolition of the theater. Since I have not lived in Atlanta in many years, my memory may be faulty.
That’s quite a photo, Lost Memory! Or should I refer to you as “Recovered Memory”?! As I recall, when the theatre closed and was converted to The House of Eng, they restored a bit of the original look of the building. By the way, House of Eng was a pretty good Chinese restaurant. They also operated a Polynesian style restaurant downtown called Trader Eng’s (think Trader Vic).
From previous post regarding the “Tenth Street Art Theatre”:
The original Tenth Street Theatre was at 990 Peachtree Street, NE. It stood in front of the apartment house where Margaret Mitchell and her husband lived for a number of years, and where she wrote GONE WITH THE WIND. If you visit the restored apartment house that is now a memorial to her, you’ll find a framed picture of the Tenth Street Theatre on display. Margaret Mitchell was a movie buff and this theatre was a real favorite of her’s because of the air conditioning in the summer, as well as its convenience.
The theatre was built circa 1926. The exterior was in a faux Spanish style with red stucco and a tile edged roof. My best guess is that it had about 500 seats. The theater ceased operation around 1956/57 to the best of my recollection. A few years later the space was converted to a chinese restaurant called House of Eng, that occupied the location throughout most of the 1960’s.
With the development of the drug culture in the 1970’s, this neighborhood deteriorated badly. As nearly as I can recall, I believe the theatre was demolished sometime in the 1970’s or possibly the early 1980’s.
My dad used to take me to see westerns at the Tenth Street Theatre back in the 1950’s.
The Wikipedia article jogged my memory. When The Euclid Theatre closed in 1962, there were no public announcements in the local newspapers or broadcasting outlets. It slipped quietly into oblivion. The last movie that I saw there was the Hammer horror film, THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF in 1961, which was on a wide first run. The Euclid Theatre died not with a bang, but a whimper.
GONE WITH THE WIND premiered at the LOEWS GRAND, not THE FOX.
Great photo, Dennis! I’m not clear about when the Glen Theater originally opened. At this point, I’m wondering if it was omitted from the “Current Attractions” column in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Since I moved out of the area in 1966, mercifully I never knew it as a porn theater.
No matter what, native Atlantans still remember the Loew’s Grand fondly. Here’s a 1955 photograph of the Loew’s Grand when they were showing Walt Disney’s DAVY CROCKETT, KING OF THE WILD FRONTIER.
View link
And yes, my dad took me to see it at the Loew’s Grand during that engagement!
The fact that the Loew’s Grand was the site of the world premiere of GONE WITH THE WIND was the theater’s real claim to fame. The truth was that the architecture was not particularly distinguished. It lacked the unity of design that made the Fox Theatre so remarkable. The design of the Loew’s Grand took a back seat to the nearby Peachtree Street theaters such as the Howard/Paramount {next door}; the Keith Georgia/Roxy; and (judging from photographs) the Capitol.
As I pointed out in an earlier post, the Loew’s Grand’s location on Peachtree Street made the land far too valuable for the government of the City of Atlanta to justify preserving a theater- any theater.
Having been born in Atlanta and grown up there, I attended many movies at the Loew’s Grand. Although I was not living in Atlanta in 1978 at the time of the fire, my old friends who lived in Atlanta told me that the fire was considered to be highly suspicious, to say the least. It was widely regarded in the general community as a case of arson. Hopefully, someone can provide more of the facts.
John —Thank you for removing the cobwebs from my mind. Although the mention of live performances by Elvis in Atlanta did ring a bell, I could not distinctly remember them. Of course, I was much to young to have attended any of them on my own. Admission was $1.25!!! That’s roughly ten dollars in today’s economy – cheap at twice the price! What a different time that was!
Hope you didn’t miss the note of irony in my previous comment. The theaters that were lost in the urban renewal projects of the 1960’s were part of the erosion of the basic character of American communities in that era. Today. we seem to live in an age characterized by Walmart, Starbucks, and multplexes. Cities and towns across the country seem to have taken on a sameness that is not only boring, but rather depressing.
Having lived in New York City for a number of years, I regret the fact that I didn’t get to see the prime years of the Broadway theater district. Native New Yorkers told me that you could practically trace the decline of the Broadway district to the demolition of the Roxy Theater in 1960. So, I never got to attend the Roxy, the Capitol, or the Paramount. The Broadway that I encountered in the 1970’s was seedy and really depressing.
Atlanta suffered a somewhat similar fate. As the city rushed toward unrestricted growth, a great deal of the character of the community was swept away. It still amazes me that the people of Atlanta actually succeeded in saving the Fox Theater. Some of the neighborhoods in Atlanta, such as Little Five Points, still retain a certain charm. That quality is immeasurably enhanced by the fact the two of the theaters in Little Five Points have been preserved
I may have somewhat exaggerated the rate of change. If so, my apologies. However, by the time the area was cleared in the 1960’s to make way for the Fulton County Stadium, it had declined considerably. It was adjacent to the working class neighborhood along Capitol Avenue where it intersected with Memorial Drive and Georgia Avenue. The urban renewal project of the the ‘60’s was regarded as progress at that time.
RCW, Yes, I would hope that the people at Cinema Treasures would be OK with a discussion of community and changing times. After all, it directly affects our interest in these movie theaters and the movie business at large. Atlanta was very much a movie going town when I was growing up in the ‘50’s & '60’s.
As Ralph Storey, the late Los Angeles TV broadcaster, put it, “The past is not a place where you want to live. The past is a place that you want to visit in order to understand the present.” If you have the chance to see Ralph Srorey’s documentary, THINGS THAT AREN’T HERE ANY MORE, you’ll get a really interesting view of the development of the greater Los Angeles are during the 20th century.
Let me add one important thought to what Mr. Storey had to say. In examining the past in order to understand the present, we are preparing ourselves to face the future. As an aging baby boomer, that seems to me to be the bottom line in this discussion.
For what it’s worth, I’m not so sure that discussions of the communities that these theaters were located in is necessarily off topic. Since I grew up on the opposite side of town and never knew Grove Park, I find this thread interesting.
To a large extent the movie theaters in America in the 20th century reflected the lifestyle and values of their communities. Atlanta has changed so drastically in recent years that its fascinating to trace its development. One way to do that is to examine its public places, like its movie theaters, and their respective communities over the years.
John – I can’t begin to tell you how much I am enjoying your articles on the Atlanta Chapter ATOS website! As a native Atlantan, I grew up seeing movies at the Paramount Theatre in the ‘50’s. My father remembered it from its beginning as the Howard Theatre. As much as I loved the Fox Theatre, the Paramount had a special place in my affections. You are correct when you write that there was no public outcry when the Paramount was slated to be demolished. That is not to say that it was unmourned. Personally, I really missed seeing movies at the Paramount.
Like the Fox, the Howard/Paramount had a special atmosphere. Possibly that was because both theaters were designed by local architects. You are correct when you say that the Paramount had a unity of design and construction. Attending the Fox and the Paramount seemed to enhance the experience of seeing whatever was on the program.
John – Thank you for your excellent article on The Capitol Theatre on the Atlanta Chapter ATOS newsletter website! Since you cited the first run of of the 1931 FRANKENSTEIN, I thought I would elaborate on my previous comment about it. My dad told me on several occasions about seeing FRANKENSTEIN at a midnight sneak preview before the regular run. The audience had no idea of what film they would be seeing. The theater did brisk business on these sneak previews. My dad was a teenager at that time and he was thoroughly movie crazy, a trait that I inherited as much by nature as by nurture. I wish you could have seen his face light up when he told me about the impact that FRANKENSTEIN had on that unsuspecting audience! He said the “creation” scene was literally electrifying (you’ll excuse the bad pun). The audience hadn’t seen anything quite like it before. He told me that people literally screamed and women ran out of the theatre! The end result was that the audience loved it! It was obvious that Universal had a major hit on its hands.
My dad obviously liked the Capital Theatre. Somehow I had the feeling that I would have liked going to the Capitol Theatre, too!
John _ Thank you for your wonderful articles on the Atlanta Chapter ATOS website! My father vividly remembered seeing movies at the Metroplitan. In fact, his older brother, my late Uncle Herbert, worked as an usher at the Metropolitan Theatre! My dad saw the original 1925 LOST WORLD at the Metroploitan. He took my grandmother to see Al Jolson in THE JAZZ SINGER at the Metropolitan, as well. You’ve uncovered a piece of Atlanta history that only a very few native Atlantans are aware of today. Again, I thank you!
Hi, J. –
Can you give me the actual URL for the Atlanta chapter ATOS newsletter? I’d love to see those articles!
Thanks J. for the info! The Tenth Street Theatre was definitely in the Spanish style. By the time I saw the West End Theatre it was no longer operating as a movie house but was being used as Cantrell’s Bookstore. So, it was hard to say in that case. The Spanish architectural style was prevalent in the 1920’s. You still see many surviving examples of the style from that era in Los Angeles.
Maybe the auditorium was demolished and the foyer/lobby was renovated. Just speculation. I knew this area very well from childhood. Used to see a lot of movies at the Euclid Theatre as a kid. Thanks, Jack!
Jack – Any idea if this building was constucted on the site of a demolished theater, or if the original theater building might have undergone a drastic renovation. As I recall, the back of this row of shops in Little Five Points did not suggest the outline of a theater auditorium. Of course, I could be wrong. Just wondering …?
Thanks again, Lost Memory! The next time I’m in Atlanta I hope to look up this tragic event in the newspaper files at the Atlanta Public Library.
The fire at the Capitol Theatre must have been especially frightening coming only about a month after the fire at the Winecoff Hotel. That disasterous event left a long shadow on the city of Atlanta.