Assuming that the address is correct, this was located in a building constructed sometime between 1896 and 1901, when it is shown as a hardware store. The 1917 map shows it as a jewelry store. There’s a big gap, with the 1956 update to the 1923 map being the next available online. The theater’s existence would have fallen in this gap. At any rate, by 1956, it is shown as two stores, a very small storefront having been added on the north side. Judging from the style, this may date from the early ‘20s. The main storefront to the south is definitely postwar, probably the '50s.
750 seems a bit large for this building, even assuming that a balcony was added. Looking at the rear from Howard St, it’s not nearly as deep as its neighbors, and the rear wall appears original to the 1900-ish construction.
As far as I can tell, all that happened in the switch from having one Main St to two was that all the evens ended up on West Main, and the odds became East Main. The address numbers only made slight changes to accommodate new construction. This building originally had a 128 S Main address. If anyone can confirm that this is the correct current address, I’ll add a picture.
The address is rendered incorrectly. There is a West and East Market on either side of the railroad tracks, and they each have N or S addresses. Therefore, this should be N West Market.
Here’s the new website: https://thereidsvilleshowcase.com/
We should update the listing to show when it originally opened. The 1929 remodel was pretty extensive. I’ve added the 1922 Sanborn. It replaced an older store on the 1914 map. Note that the original address was 105-107.
Just a reminder to fix the address. While it originally was 126, this was changed, likely around the late ‘40s. This theater is noted on the 1922 Sanborn as being 'operated occasionally’. It was constructed some time after 1914, along with neighboring buildings to the north and south, replacing a small church.
If, as seems almost certain, this was the old Gem/Penn, the building was a two story brick commercial building built sometime between 1901 and 1908. The ground floor was split into two storefronts, and the theater was in the southern one. The 1914 map shows a general store there, but the theater appears on the 1922 map. Given the seating increase, it may have been expanded to take the entire building at some later date.
By the way, the ‘power plant’ is an American Tobacco Company factory, which makes or made Lucky Strikes. There was an existing factory to the north, but it was expanded, probably just after the theater closed.
I had already added the Opera House, which is now an appallingly ugly church. Weldon’s downtown is pretty small, so I agree that 4 theaters seems like too much.
I’ve added views of the original and 1919 structures. Note that the original address was 1009-1011, but between 1915 and 1919 odds and evens switched sides.
The opening date is wrong. This opened as the Imperial on December 21, 1931, but had originally opened on June 6, 1914 as the Rosemary (Rosemary Manufacturing Co. operated several large textile mills in town). This theater was operated by the J.P. Robinson Co., who also ran the People’s much further north. The Rosemary burned in 1916, and was only rebuilt and reopened in 1919, but burned again in January 1921. It was extensively remodeled after that fire, and then again into the Imperial.
According to the NRHP listing for Roanoke Rapids: The theater was built in 1911 by the Robinson brothers. The auditorium was expanded and modified sometime between 1919 and 1925. The present entry dates to the ‘50s, and the theater operated until the early ‘70s.
I have added a Sanborn view showing the original configuration.
This is a very poor listing. We need to add some information.
The theater was already in operation by April 1915, when it appears on the Sanborn map. I’m not sure how much earlier it opened. The building originally had a facade matching the portion to the right of the ‘new’ entrance. The original central entrance was a long, narrow hallway between two storefronts, and was located where the abandoned jewelry store with the purple vitrolite is shown on streetview.
The original number was 47-49, but this had changed to the current address by 1919. When the theater was remodeled at some later date, the entrance was moved to the northern storefront, and the auditorium was changed to a transverse format. In the process, this seems to have eaten into the rear portion of the small storefronts facing 2nd St. The result was an almost entirely new theater.
The marquee was removed sometime before 2018, and the building remains in a derelict state.
Address is correct historically, but this would now be something like 6042, between the church and the city building on the corner. This listing also contains information on two completely different theaters.
The first(?) is shown on the 1927 Sanborn. It was in the old town hall, a two story wooden building further to the east, about where the church is now.
The newer theater was a two story brick building, and is shown on the May 1959 update to the 1939 map. It looks like it was on the 1939 map (which I couldn’t find online), but the 1959 map has a correction pasted over the rear of the building, where it had been modified in the interim. The newer theater was directly next to the city building (originally the volunteer fire department, and which originally faced onto what is now Capitol Heights Blvd), and there was a gap to the east before the church (which was a store on the 1959 map).
The address was changed for some reason when the streets were renamed. The 1923 map shows it between 61st and 62nd Streets, and by 1959 it was between N 61st Ave, SE and 61st Pl, SE.
Not demolished. Looks like it suffered a fire around 2011, and sat for a few years before being gutted. It was given a very severe remodel around 2018-19, which removed most of the character of the building.
I’ve been through all 23 pages of the 1914 map, and whatever is in the photos is not on the map. There are a lot of large wooden buildings, but they’re things like livery stables, lumberyards, and factory outbuildings.
I’m not sure what these photos that were added are of, but it is not the theater in this listing. It’s possible that Ken supplied an incorrect name, but looking at streetview even today, it’s obvious that this huge shed was not on Main. Looks like whatever this theater was, and wherever it was, it was on the edge of a town in a residential area. I’ve added a 1914 map view showing the theater I intended to list, and the theater to the north. I’ve also added a view showing more of the block, so that all three theaters located in this area are visible.
The opening date is wrong. Correct address was 734 Charles. The building was constructed between 1907 and 1913, when the map shows a garage in the rear, and an office in the front. It may have been a dealership of some sort. By 1923, an auditorium had been added at the rear. This is now gone, and the front seems to be an antique store.
This building was originally constructed between 1907 and 1913. The 1913 map shows movies already showing here. The original facade had three bays. A stage and scenery are also shown. By 1923, either the bays were gone, or the surveyor did not note them.
Assuming that the address is correct, this was located in a building constructed sometime between 1896 and 1901, when it is shown as a hardware store. The 1917 map shows it as a jewelry store. There’s a big gap, with the 1956 update to the 1923 map being the next available online. The theater’s existence would have fallen in this gap. At any rate, by 1956, it is shown as two stores, a very small storefront having been added on the north side. Judging from the style, this may date from the early ‘20s. The main storefront to the south is definitely postwar, probably the '50s.
750 seems a bit large for this building, even assuming that a balcony was added. Looking at the rear from Howard St, it’s not nearly as deep as its neighbors, and the rear wall appears original to the 1900-ish construction.
As far as I can tell, all that happened in the switch from having one Main St to two was that all the evens ended up on West Main, and the odds became East Main. The address numbers only made slight changes to accommodate new construction. This building originally had a 128 S Main address. If anyone can confirm that this is the correct current address, I’ll add a picture.
The address is rendered incorrectly. There is a West and East Market on either side of the railroad tracks, and they each have N or S addresses. Therefore, this should be N West Market.
Here’s the new website: https://thereidsvilleshowcase.com/
We should update the listing to show when it originally opened. The 1929 remodel was pretty extensive. I’ve added the 1922 Sanborn. It replaced an older store on the 1914 map. Note that the original address was 105-107.
Just a reminder to fix the address. While it originally was 126, this was changed, likely around the late ‘40s. This theater is noted on the 1922 Sanborn as being 'operated occasionally’. It was constructed some time after 1914, along with neighboring buildings to the north and south, replacing a small church.
If, as seems almost certain, this was the old Gem/Penn, the building was a two story brick commercial building built sometime between 1901 and 1908. The ground floor was split into two storefronts, and the theater was in the southern one. The 1914 map shows a general store there, but the theater appears on the 1922 map. Given the seating increase, it may have been expanded to take the entire building at some later date.
By the way, the ‘power plant’ is an American Tobacco Company factory, which makes or made Lucky Strikes. There was an existing factory to the north, but it was expanded, probably just after the theater closed.
This listing needs to be combined with the Booker T. It’s the same building.
This has reopened as a performing arts place. There were posters for a show in Jan. ‘23.
Not sure if this was demolished to be replaced by the current building, or if it’s just a really ugly remodel.
This has been an empty lot since well before 2009. Need the address corrected to 230.
We should update the listing with the information Joe found. I’ll add the ‘other’ Levon. This one was never called the Enfield.
I had already added the Opera House, which is now an appallingly ugly church. Weldon’s downtown is pretty small, so I agree that 4 theaters seems like too much.
Must have been constructed or converted after 1915, when the map shows an assortment of commercial buildings in this area.
I’ve added views of the original and 1919 structures. Note that the original address was 1009-1011, but between 1915 and 1919 odds and evens switched sides.
The opening date is wrong. This opened as the Imperial on December 21, 1931, but had originally opened on June 6, 1914 as the Rosemary (Rosemary Manufacturing Co. operated several large textile mills in town). This theater was operated by the J.P. Robinson Co., who also ran the People’s much further north. The Rosemary burned in 1916, and was only rebuilt and reopened in 1919, but burned again in January 1921. It was extensively remodeled after that fire, and then again into the Imperial.
According to the NRHP listing for Roanoke Rapids: The theater was built in 1911 by the Robinson brothers. The auditorium was expanded and modified sometime between 1919 and 1925. The present entry dates to the ‘50s, and the theater operated until the early ‘70s.
I have added a Sanborn view showing the original configuration.
This is a very poor listing. We need to add some information.
The theater was already in operation by April 1915, when it appears on the Sanborn map. I’m not sure how much earlier it opened. The building originally had a facade matching the portion to the right of the ‘new’ entrance. The original central entrance was a long, narrow hallway between two storefronts, and was located where the abandoned jewelry store with the purple vitrolite is shown on streetview.
The original number was 47-49, but this had changed to the current address by 1919. When the theater was remodeled at some later date, the entrance was moved to the northern storefront, and the auditorium was changed to a transverse format. In the process, this seems to have eaten into the rear portion of the small storefronts facing 2nd St. The result was an almost entirely new theater.
The marquee was removed sometime before 2018, and the building remains in a derelict state.
Possibly remodeled into the bank, which uses a 1340 address.
I’ve added a picture of the newer building. The older one should have a separate listing.
Address is correct historically, but this would now be something like 6042, between the church and the city building on the corner. This listing also contains information on two completely different theaters.
The first(?) is shown on the 1927 Sanborn. It was in the old town hall, a two story wooden building further to the east, about where the church is now.
The newer theater was a two story brick building, and is shown on the May 1959 update to the 1939 map. It looks like it was on the 1939 map (which I couldn’t find online), but the 1959 map has a correction pasted over the rear of the building, where it had been modified in the interim. The newer theater was directly next to the city building (originally the volunteer fire department, and which originally faced onto what is now Capitol Heights Blvd), and there was a gap to the east before the church (which was a store on the 1959 map).
The address was changed for some reason when the streets were renamed. The 1923 map shows it between 61st and 62nd Streets, and by 1959 it was between N 61st Ave, SE and 61st Pl, SE.
Not demolished. Looks like it suffered a fire around 2011, and sat for a few years before being gutted. It was given a very severe remodel around 2018-19, which removed most of the character of the building.
This is the wrong Majestic. Photo needs to be moved to the other listing.
I’ve been through all 23 pages of the 1914 map, and whatever is in the photos is not on the map. There are a lot of large wooden buildings, but they’re things like livery stables, lumberyards, and factory outbuildings.
I’m not sure what these photos that were added are of, but it is not the theater in this listing. It’s possible that Ken supplied an incorrect name, but looking at streetview even today, it’s obvious that this huge shed was not on Main. Looks like whatever this theater was, and wherever it was, it was on the edge of a town in a residential area. I’ve added a 1914 map view showing the theater I intended to list, and the theater to the north. I’ve also added a view showing more of the block, so that all three theaters located in this area are visible.
The opening date is wrong. Correct address was 734 Charles. The building was constructed between 1907 and 1913, when the map shows a garage in the rear, and an office in the front. It may have been a dealership of some sort. By 1923, an auditorium had been added at the rear. This is now gone, and the front seems to be an antique store.
This building was originally constructed between 1907 and 1913. The 1913 map shows movies already showing here. The original facade had three bays. A stage and scenery are also shown. By 1923, either the bays were gone, or the surveyor did not note them.