You are welcome Lisa. I grew up in the area. I barely remember the theater being open but remember going to the speedwash that was in the building. My older brother and several of my uncles worked at the Roxy.
Dave, I had no idea that you had Northeast Nashville ties. I remember going to Mr. Roark’s home, after he retired, with my Daddy.
Crescent Amusement Co. purchased the property at the corner of Meridian and Wilburn in 1936 and the adjoining lot for parking, that fronts on Meridian St. and runs back to the alley, in 1937. The Roxy Theater opened about 1937 and first appeared in the Nashville City Directory in 1938. Before the theater was on the property, there was a pharmacy in the early days and later a dry goods store. The dry goods store was continued in the front of the building at the corner of Meridian and Wilburn until the mid 1950’s. This section of the building is one story with a basement. The theater was in the back two story section of the building at 303 Wilburn St. and the entrance and marquee was part of the way down the side of the building on Wilburn. The theater closed 1957-58 and by 1959 Nashville Revival Center is listed at the address. In 1960 there was a self service coin laundry in the space where the dry goods store had been. I seem to remember that a couple of years before the theater closed that it moved into the space that had been a storefront and a new entrance to the theater was opened at the corner but that may be wrong. My brother worked there until 1954 or ‘55 and the entrance was still on Wilburn at that time.
There was no theater listed at the address before the Roxy appeared in Nashville City Directories in 1938. There was a Rainbow Theater at 307 Wilburn in 1928 gone by 1931. This address is down Wilburn across the alley from the Roxy building. The Rainbow Theater shared a building with a dry cleaning business that remained for several years after the Rainbow Theater closed.
I found the same information as a previous poster. There was a Woodbine Theater in Woodbine on Nolensville Road in the Nashville Directory on Nolensville Road in the late 50’s and the Roxy is on Wilburn at that same time. If someone has any kind of documentation that the Roxy was ever called the Woodbine Roxy please post.
You are welcome Lisa. I grew up in the area. I barely remember the theater being open but remember going to the speedwash that was in the building. My older brother and several of my uncles worked at the Roxy.
Dave, I had no idea that you had Northeast Nashville ties. I remember going to Mr. Roark’s home, after he retired, with my Daddy.
Roxy Theater History
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Crescent Amusement Co. purchased the property at the corner of Meridian and Wilburn in 1936 and the adjoining lot for parking, that fronts on Meridian St. and runs back to the alley, in 1937. The Roxy Theater opened about 1937 and first appeared in the Nashville City Directory in 1938. Before the theater was on the property, there was a pharmacy in the early days and later a dry goods store. The dry goods store was continued in the front of the building at the corner of Meridian and Wilburn until the mid 1950’s. This section of the building is one story with a basement. The theater was in the back two story section of the building at 303 Wilburn St. and the entrance and marquee was part of the way down the side of the building on Wilburn. The theater closed 1957-58 and by 1959 Nashville Revival Center is listed at the address. In 1960 there was a self service coin laundry in the space where the dry goods store had been. I seem to remember that a couple of years before the theater closed that it moved into the space that had been a storefront and a new entrance to the theater was opened at the corner but that may be wrong. My brother worked there until 1954 or ‘55 and the entrance was still on Wilburn at that time.
There was no theater listed at the address before the Roxy appeared in Nashville City Directories in 1938. There was a Rainbow Theater at 307 Wilburn in 1928 gone by 1931. This address is down Wilburn across the alley from the Roxy building. The Rainbow Theater shared a building with a dry cleaning business that remained for several years after the Rainbow Theater closed.
I found the same information as a previous poster. There was a Woodbine Theater in Woodbine on Nolensville Road in the Nashville Directory on Nolensville Road in the late 50’s and the Roxy is on Wilburn at that same time. If someone has any kind of documentation that the Roxy was ever called the Woodbine Roxy please post.