Roxy Theatre
619 Chelsea Avenue,
Memphis,
TN
38107
619 Chelsea Avenue,
Memphis,
TN
38107
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Strand Enterprises Inc.
Previous Names: Hanover Theatre, Avon Theatre
Nearby Theaters
Opened by 1934 as the Hanover Theatre. In 1936 it became the Avon Theatre. It was renamed Roxy Theatre in 1938. By 1941 it was operated by the Memphis based Strand Enterprises Inc. chain. It was still open in 1958. A story tells that it was not elegant, having bolted dining room chairs in the front instead of theatre seats. A building which may have house the lobby still exists, but aerial views show a ‘dog leg’ auditorium running behind the store fronts.
(Note) A different theatre named the Chelsea Theatre in 1914 is still listed in the City Directory 1915-1916 at Chelsea Avenue & 5th Street.
Contributed by
JackCoursey, Vincent Astor
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 16 comments)
I went on a search on Chelsea for the Avon Theatre. Take a look:
View link
View link
View link
Well dang! Thanks for checking it out.
A 1958 aerial view of this location can be fetched at Historic Aerials. The photo is a bit blurry, but you can make out a long, shed-like structure that stood behind the dry cleaning shop that is currently at 619 Chelsea.
It looked to be about 40 feet wide and about 120 feet long, and I think that it must have been the auditorium of the theater. The store building in front was much too small to have held a theater even of only 485 seats, let alone the 800 or so in later FDY’s. The dry cleaning shop or the adjacent storefront at 617,or both, could have held the entrance to the theater.
In modern satellite view you can see an indentation at the south end of the parking lot behind the shops, and in the 1958 view the old structure appears to extend into that space. I think maybe the building could have been expanded at the rear a time or two, which would account for changes in capacity.
Just posted is the building currently at 619 Chelsea. It could have been an entrance to the theatre. A photo exists of the Avon’s marquee. When I get to it that will show what the entry looked like. There are some marks on the front that could be evidence of a neon display. 12/15/2012
There were actually three theatres on Chelsea. The Hyde Park was not far from the Hollywood. Unfortunately, the only image I have seen so far was one right before demolition and that on videotape. There was evidence of a marquee and an entrance in a rather narrow building. It was an automotive repair shop in its last days.
vastor: the Hyde Park Theatre is listed in Eric Ledell Smith’s African American Theatre Buildings. It’s mentioned in a couple of books about African American music in Memphis, too, and apparently hosted frequent live performances.
I am not surprised. Most of the “colored” movie theatres had some live entertainment and/or talent shows. I need to find that book since I have published a piece on “colored” balconies in this month’s Marquee magazine and have a book coming out with that included.
By comparing addresses I found a fourth theatre on Chelsea, at Fifth St. It was named the Chelsea and was operating in the teens (1914-1917) and was probably a storefront.
A 1934 newspaper ad shows a Hanover Theatre at this address. That’s all I know right now.
This was renamed Roxy in 1938.