Broadway Theatre

126 S. Scales Street,
Reidsville, NC 27320

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SethG
SethG on December 30, 2022 at 4:06 pm

Just a reminder to fix the address. While it originally was 126, this was changed, likely around the late ‘40s. This theater is noted on the 1922 Sanborn as being 'operated occasionally’. It was constructed some time after 1914, along with neighboring buildings to the north and south, replacing a small church.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on December 28, 2022 at 8:36 pm

The February 5, 1921 issue of The Billboard had this notice about the Colonial Theatre in Reidsville:

“The Colonial Theater, Reidsville, N. C., owned and managed by Messrs, Womack and Miller, opened its season January 11 with the ‘Oh, Daddy’ Company. Charles F. King the manager of the Colonial.”
The Colonial had been renamed the Broadway by 1923, when it was mentioned in the March 10 issue of Moving Picture World. The Broadway must have been open as late as 1962, as the poster on display in the vintage photo of it is for the Elvis Presley movie released that year, “Kid Galahad”. It might be that it was the last movie shown at the house.

SethG
SethG on December 28, 2022 at 4:19 pm

This has been an empty lot since well before 2009. Need the address corrected to 230.

AndrewBarrett
AndrewBarrett on December 14, 2013 at 8:07 am

Thanks for creating this page!

According to Mr. Q. David Bowers' “Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments” page 551, the “Broadway” theatre in Reidsville was at one time equipped with a Reproduco organ (or piano/organ) made by the Operators Piano Co. of Chicago.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on September 26, 2013 at 10:18 pm

A house called the Colonial Theatre appears at old address 126 S. Scales Street on the 1922 Sanborn Fire Insurance map. Most likely it was the same building that later became the Broadway Theatre. DocSouth says that the Broadway Theatre was in operation in 1926, when it had 500 seats.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on August 20, 2013 at 5:56 pm

RK is correct. Reidsville renumbered its lots at some point, and the modern address for the Broadway Theatre’s location is 230 S. Scales Street.