Mart Theatre
Public Square,
Calhoun City,
MS
38916
Public Square,
Calhoun City,
MS
38916
2 people
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Opened by 1950, the Mart Theatre was named for its owner, Mart Mounger, who also owned several other small-town theatres that bore his name. The Calhoun City theatre was closed when I saw it around 1990. The marquee had no changeable letter boards, only the four neon letters.
The entrance was through a pair of glass doors which were fronted by a pair of screen doors: a rare feature on a movie theatre, but probably useful on a steamy Mississippi evening. The red brick building was small, and low. I would guess it had been built in the late-1950’s. It ended its days as an adult theatre, closing on December 31, 1977 with “The Innocence of Susan” & “Hot Lips”. It briefly became a church, but the building in 2025 consists of only the four outer walls, everything internally has caved in.
Contributed by
Will Dunklin
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
The Mart was part of the Wofford Circuit in the early sixties. J.F. Wofford was the owner, headquartered in Europa, MS.
JF Wofford was short for James Fox Wofford he was my great uncle if anyone has a photo of this or any other of his theaters I would happily pay for copy fees & postage
Need streetview added. The theater is on Public Square. I can’t figure out the crazy numbering system they use (everything on all 4 sides is 1—), but it’s on the northern half of the east side. Derelict, no marquee, looks like it was briefly used as a church.
Thirty five years after seeing the Mart Theatre, a business trip took me through Calhoun City, Mississippi in April 2025. It is disappointing to see the interior, roof and floor, completely, utterly gone. Nothing remains except the 4 exterior walls, and 4 tragic emergency exit doors on the back. The buildings on either side are in a similar condition.
The last advertisement for The Mart I found was at the end of 1977. I found no ads in 1978 or afterwards. The line-up of films is sad, with X-rated films on the days leading up to Christmas followed by 3 days of “The Bad News Bears Breaking Training.” Then the last shows were an X-rated double feature on New Years Eve: “The Innocence of Susan” and “Love Lips.” After that last change-over bell, it looks like the arc lamps were shut off for good, the last of the film cans were sent back to the distributor, the last of popcorn went home with the manager who started looking for a new job a couple of days later.
It’s a story that played out in thousands of small towns all over the country.