Patsy: I remember the one in Raleigh had an upstairs and had round columns with ornate work at the top of the columns. Quite art deco as I remember The Ambassador as being. Have you ever eaten at Regas in Knoxville? Local/authentic/original. It’s still there.
I would love to see any pics of the theatre, outside or especially inside. I remember going with my mother & father & my mother commenting on how women dressed up in downtown Raleigh. Heels, gloves, purses, hats….implying that she was a bit under dressed. I remember going to the S&W cafeteria downtown.
The following is information that I received this week from http://www.raleighcitymuseum.org/ They approved my posting this as long as I gave them credit. Email me privately for the photo as you can’t post them here. The photo is from the NC Division of Archives & History.
Thanks for your interest in the Ambassador Theater that once graced Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh. Attached as a JPG is one of the few exterior images the museum has of the movie theater, taken during a Raleigh Christmas Parade in 1953. Inserted below is textual information on the Ambassador that we used in some of our recent exhibits. Take care.
“In 1938, the AMBASSADOR THEATER opened on the 100-block to much fanfare. A 1,500-seat performance hall with an Art Moderne exterior, it could host vaudeville acts, live concerts and feature films. The Ambassador Theater was named to honor N&O publisher Josephus Daniels, who was named Ambassador to Mexico in 1937. In 1950 it hosted the Hollywood premier for the Gary Cooper film "Bright Leaf.” On February 8, 1956, Rock ‘n Roll legend Elvis Presley performed four concerts there. Until civil rights laws outlawed segregation, black patrons to the Ambassador entered through a side door and were restricted to balcony seating. In May 1963 this policy made the theater a sit-in target by local students from Shaw University and St. Augustine’s College. Losing much of its patronage to suburban theaters during the 1960s and '70s, the Ambassador was the last remaining downtown movie house when it closed in 1979. It was subsequently demolished."
When you compare the marquee it’s not the same as the pic on the Raleigh Museum Website. The cars are the same vintage but, on the museum pic, “Ambassador” was on the sides and front. I dunno. I would love to find some wonderful pics of this theatre. Where did you get this pic, Lost Memory?
Great memories of a great theatre. I lived in Fayetteville and the family would take day trips to Raleigh. I saw “The Sound of Music” when I was 5 in it’s initial release. Permanent memory. There’s a small photo of it on the Raleigh Museum website. The marquee is on the extreme left of the screen. Anybody else got any pics of this wonderful theatre? View link
Patsy: I remember the one in Raleigh had an upstairs and had round columns with ornate work at the top of the columns. Quite art deco as I remember The Ambassador as being. Have you ever eaten at Regas in Knoxville? Local/authentic/original. It’s still there.
I would love to see any pics of the theatre, outside or especially inside. I remember going with my mother & father & my mother commenting on how women dressed up in downtown Raleigh. Heels, gloves, purses, hats….implying that she was a bit under dressed. I remember going to the S&W cafeteria downtown.
The following is information that I received this week from http://www.raleighcitymuseum.org/ They approved my posting this as long as I gave them credit. Email me privately for the photo as you can’t post them here. The photo is from the NC Division of Archives & History.
Thanks for your interest in the Ambassador Theater that once graced Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh. Attached as a JPG is one of the few exterior images the museum has of the movie theater, taken during a Raleigh Christmas Parade in 1953. Inserted below is textual information on the Ambassador that we used in some of our recent exhibits. Take care.
“In 1938, the AMBASSADOR THEATER opened on the 100-block to much fanfare. A 1,500-seat performance hall with an Art Moderne exterior, it could host vaudeville acts, live concerts and feature films. The Ambassador Theater was named to honor N&O publisher Josephus Daniels, who was named Ambassador to Mexico in 1937. In 1950 it hosted the Hollywood premier for the Gary Cooper film "Bright Leaf.” On February 8, 1956, Rock ‘n Roll legend Elvis Presley performed four concerts there. Until civil rights laws outlawed segregation, black patrons to the Ambassador entered through a side door and were restricted to balcony seating. In May 1963 this policy made the theater a sit-in target by local students from Shaw University and St. Augustine’s College. Losing much of its patronage to suburban theaters during the 1960s and '70s, the Ambassador was the last remaining downtown movie house when it closed in 1979. It was subsequently demolished."
When you compare the marquee it’s not the same as the pic on the Raleigh Museum Website. The cars are the same vintage but, on the museum pic, “Ambassador” was on the sides and front. I dunno. I would love to find some wonderful pics of this theatre. Where did you get this pic, Lost Memory?
Great memories of a great theatre. I lived in Fayetteville and the family would take day trips to Raleigh. I saw “The Sound of Music” when I was 5 in it’s initial release. Permanent memory. There’s a small photo of it on the Raleigh Museum website. The marquee is on the extreme left of the screen. Anybody else got any pics of this wonderful theatre?
View link