Lourie Theater

There is a quote on an article that says, “The silent movie, “One Minute to Play” (released in September 1926) starring Red Grange gave the cinema its illustrious beginning”. This could mean that this may’ve opened as a movie theater around the Fall of 1926. It did receive a brief closure during the start of the Great Depression but reopened. The theater received a heavy remodel during the mid-1950s.

During its final few years, the Lourie Theatre ran a mix of low-budget and public domain propaganda until closing in the early-1980s due to the multiplex boom across the Charleston area. Although the building had deteriorated, a group of dedicated people did not lose sight of the potential. In 1988, the St. George Development Corp. formed, and they met with research team from the South Carolina Downtown Development Association. The team noted that although the theater was St. George’s greatest eyesore, it was also its greatest asset.

The committee put a plan into action to restore the theatre into a performing arts center. Through a gracious endowment by Senator Isadore Lourie and his family, the building was restored and the Lourie Theatre was born. Many more renovations have occurred since then and a myriad of people have put their hearts into its revitalization. Others have now caught the vision and join those who have gone before to make the Lourie Theatre a growing and thriving performing arts center.