W. C. Handy Theatre
2353 Park Avenue,
Memphis,
TN
38114
2353 Park Avenue,
Memphis,
TN
38114
5 people
favorited this theater
The W. C. Handy Theatre was built in 1946, in the brief post-World War Two era when it was thought that vaudeville might return. Consequently the W. C. Handy Theatre was built with a stage and booth equipped for small stage shows as well as movies.
This theater was built for Memphis' black community during the regrettable era of segregation.
The architect was Raymond B. Spencer who designed a handsome dog-leg plan than also included a row of store-fronts. The single story lobby opened into the adjacent storefront which was a "milk bar" and doubled as the theater’s concession stand.
Seating was on the main floor, but small “cry rooms” were provided on either side of the projection booth.
When I last saw the W. C. Handy Theatre, the roof was going, the storefronts empty and the under-stage dressing rooms knee deep in water.
The theatre was demolished in December 2012.
Contributed by
William Dunklin
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Recent comments (view all 20 comments)
tisloews; GOOD GRIEF, pay attention brfore you comment! The bar photo is from 1983. Look at the photo above which is from 2008!
Sorry Bob, just a human error!But thanks for bringing it to my attention.Have a great day.
tlsloews.You and I get more folks upset than anyone else.And i don’t even try to do it.LOL.Theatre Dawg.
I know Mike,some folks get up tight over the littlest thing.See you at the movies.
TLSLOEWS, your patience is admirable. BTW it’s taken me forever to get restablished on CT. The new format looks great, but I got unsubscibed from EVERY page I was watching. I thought everyone had given up and gone home.
Thanks Will, I also had trouble getting on C.T. on my old laptop after the upgrade,I would still get the e-mails but when i clicked on them my computer would not read them said it needed an upgrade,I finally got back on using my wifes new computer.You may have gotten unsubsribed by clicking the wrong place were you click to suscribe to a theatre has changed,under it it says to unsubsribe to all pages.I almost did that my self.You can also remove any of your comments now if you wish.Good to see you back on C.T.
The W C Handy Theatre, of which Handy himself was very proud, is coming down. All that is left today, 12/8/12, is the sign and entry. To their credit, some years ago, the Orange Mound Community organization looked at rehabbing it for a community center. It was too dilapidated and unsuited to their needs so they built a completely new structure. The brick walls of the auditorium have been crumbling for months and I just saw the last vestiges this morning. It was built as an eastern venue for the stage shows so popular on Beale St. and was built with a stage and booth equipped for small stage shows as well as movies. This theater was built for Memphis' black community by the Cullins family in partnership with Kemmons Wilson. Handy attended the gala opening. The interior was not ornate but very well equipped and was a source of pride for the neighborhood for many years, finishing its useful years as a dance club. It has been boarded up for perhaps 20 years or more. The graphic by the entrance could be interpreted as a phoenix or a fighting cock. It did not prove prophetic.
A photo has been posted taken 12/8/12
The entry suggests that the Handy was built hoping “vaudeville might return” which isn’t really accurate. The venue was built as a post-War movie house that could support a resurgence of the Chitlin' Circuit and what became its final wave. The Handy Theatre was more steeped in the postwar rise of African American nightclubs and extending the circuit into R&B and early rock ’n’ roll. That’s a different animal than building an 1,100 seat venue hoping for a return to the past of vaudeville; thus, the Handy is much more in the vein of the Regal Theater in Chicago, the Royal Theatre in St. Petersburg, or the Morton Theatre in Athens, Georgia among a whole lot of others. They were playing to an existing and - for a brief period of about ten years - a growing programmatic mission.
At the Handy, right from the jump, its May 11, 1947 grand opening featured the self-proclaimed Father of the Blues William Christopher W.C. Handy, in person… and Jean Rogers in the film, “Backlash” on the big screen (ad in photos). Later ads show this same programmatic mission where you could see on the same ticket Count Basie… and the film “The Big Frame”; Ray Charles… and the film, “Cavalry Scout”; and Moms Mabley… with the movie, “The Story of Seabiscuit.” Kind of strange looking back as the live acts could easily support the entire show. And that programming died off in the television era in almost every city. But the Handy was fairly unique in that it had the first African American exclusive music show live from its stage on WMCT hosted by Rufus Thomas.
At the 15 year opt out mark of its leasing agreement, the Handy closed in 1962. A new operator relit it in 1964 but the magic and the live music vibe was gone. The movies just couldn’t fill that big of a hall in 1964. So it closed quickly. The venue became the Showcase Lounge, a nightclub reducing cap to 500 patrons and the floor leveled. It had some disco mixed in during that run just past its 30th Anniversary.
Its final shot was when it became the short-lived Tri-Sport Club. When it sat vacant for years in the 1980s, the marquee had almost tragic-comically became a mishmash of all the previous names as the coats of paint became weatherbeaten almost reading like “W.C. Tri-Sporcase” or somesuch. The attempts to rekindle the venue were mired in too much time passing, too many substandard renovations, needed asbestos abatement, and undoubtedly a laundry list of below-code issues. It was mercy demolished in December of 2012 likely to rid it from taxing liabilities and further unsavory activity.
I stand corrected.