Knickerbocker Theatre

M Horner: I’m in western NYS at the moment, but will be in NC for 3 months after the holidays so have a variety of theatre choices along with some traveling to see and tour theatres of interest outside those area such as Eberson/atmospheric…visited the Palace in Canton Ohio and received a wonderful ‘atmospheric’ tour thanks to Rob Sees. Are you familiar with a publication called Marquee through THSA (Theatre Historical Society of America)?

The Tennesse in Knoxville is glorius. Has a good Website. It’s not a big theater. Think it’s about 1500 seats. But, of course, Knoxville was and is a ‘little’ city. Also, as I recall, down the street from The Tennesse, is The Bijou, also preserved.

Will update The Tennesse and The Belle Meade here as soon as I have time. Also The Paramount, although I can’t find much history on it, which is odd. Will research.

Patsy, so where do you live? What palaces are around you?

Patsy, Nashville is a fine place to be. Although I don’t much like the weather, most other residents don’t seem to mind.

There IS History here. Union Station is well preserved and is now a fine hotel. The Hermitage Hotel downtown has been restored and is worth a visit. [The original Maxwell House Hotel, after which the coffee was named, burned down a long time ago.] The state capitol building, the oldest continuously used capitol in America, is glorious. The Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson, is here. Belle Meade Plantation house is fine. Belle Meade was the home to great race horse Iroquois sp?], whose lineage is still present in many of the great race horses of today. From my kitchen window I can see Shy’s Hill where in the Battle of Nashville in 1864, the loss of battlements precipitated the loss of Nashville by the Confederates to the Union. Just across the street are the oldest known slave [stone] walls in the state.

Nashville is indeed a rich city, especially on the southern end.

The Belle Meade does retain its exterior, including its glorious 50 foot tall neon sign. All this will be preserved in the redevelopment of the property. Guess I will write about this theater later in the Belle Meade listing for Nashville palaces. Also will do an ‘update’ on the Tennessee.

Patsy, Nashville is a fine place to be. Although I don’t much like the weather, most other residents don’t seem to mind.

There IS History here. Union Station is well preserved and is now a fine hotel. The Hermitage Hotel downtown has been restored and is worth a visit. [The original Maxwell House Hotel, after which the coffee was named, burned down a long time ago.] The state capitol building, the oldest continuously used capitol in America, is glorious. The Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson, is here. Belle Meade Plantation house is fine. Belle Meade was the home to great race horse Iroquois sp?], whose lineage is still present in many of the great race horses of today. From my kitchen window I can see Shy’s Hill where in the Battle of Nashville in 1864, the loss of battlements precipitated the loss of Nashville by the Confederates to the Union. Just across the street are the oldest known slave [stone] walls in the state.

Nashville is indeed a rich city, especially on the southern end.

The Belle Meade does retain its exterior, including its glorious 50 foot tall neon sign. All this will be preserved in the redevelopment of the property. Guess I will write about this theater later in the Belle Meade listing for Nashville palaces. Also will do an ‘update’ on the Tennessee.

Patsy, the answer is no. Not one. The Belcourt is a fine example of the ‘neighborhood’ theater, but it is not prine example of American theatre achitecture. It does date from 1925.

Nashville is not a place which respects its past in many ways. It does have two historic hotels. Its state capitol [circa 1850] is the oldest in the country. But just recently it allowed the oldest known home to be torn dowm. Nashville is all about the moeny. If it makes money, fine. If not, to hell with it. I should add that this philosophy had made it one of the richest cities in this country.

Patsy, the ‘shells’ of the Belle Meade and Melrose remain. The Belle Meade was converted to a very nice bookstore, now closed. The Melrose became a video company soundstage. Both are now in the hands of new developers. Neither one was a true palace, but both were outstanding examples of the ‘suburban’ theaters of the late 1930s and early 40s.

We do have the Belcourt here, which has managed to survive for 80 years. But it is not a palace. It’s very small, perhaps 300 seats, but it does have a twin that was added about 1960. The ‘new’ theater has perhaps 600 seats and is now so old that it is almost historic itself.

The Knickerbocker was a ‘bowling alley’ building. It was narrow and ran from 6th Ave. to Capitol Blvd. It had entrances of both streets. If you came in from the 6th Ave. side, you entered under the screen.

The Super X drug store that moved into the old theater had a false ceiling. Above that ceiling, the top part of the Knickerbocker remained. The bulding was destroyed by fire a few years ago.