Carolina Theatre

226 N. Tryon Street,
Charlotte, NC 28202

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Carolina Theatre

Opened on March 7, 1927, the Carolina Theatre is located in the heart of downtown Charlotte. It was built for and operated by Publix. In the 1940’s in was operated by Paramount Pictures Inc. through their subsidiary H.F. Kincey.

Despite a successful multi-decade run, including a period as a Cinerama theatre, the Carolina Theatre closed on November 27, 1978, and was damaged by arson in the 1980’s. Many decorative elements of the original interior were removed, but others remain including the (badly damaged) murals. The lobby and entrance portion of the building was demolished recently, but the space from the auditorium to the street was very recently turned into a beautiful mini-park. The building is structurally sound, the exterior has been repaired and repainted.

In April 2013, the city of Charlotte sold the Carolina Theatre for $1.00 to the Foundation for the Carolinas which intends to restore it as a performing arts and community center seating between 1,000 and 1,200. This project, estimated to cost $51,500,000, benefited from a $5,000,000 pledge from the Bank of America on January 28, 2014, to kick-start its fundraising campaign for the restoration. In 2018 Barings Bank gifted $500,000 which completed the $51.5 million required for the renovations. Construction has begun in renovating the Carolina Theatre with a planned 2020 reopening. A 32-story Intercontinental Hotel will be built on top of the theatre and the new project will be named Belk Place in honor of the Belk family.

Contributed by Ross Melnick, Dave Litterer

Recent comments (view all 190 comments)

Patsy
Patsy on April 18, 2023 at 10:14 am

Mark: Finally! Hope to see photos soon. My email is

Patsy
Patsy on April 18, 2023 at 10:17 am

Lived there 18 winters and met with many fellow theatre buffs re: this theatre in downtown Charlotte. Even went to a NYE party there years ago.

Patsy
Patsy on April 18, 2023 at 10:51 am

https://carolinatheatreclt.org/theatre/project/

ncmark
ncmark on May 23, 2023 at 5:06 pm

The Charlotte Business Journal just reported on updates for this project. Opening is at least a year away so hopefully some time in summer of 2024. The costs is now estimated at $73 million and may go up a bit more. Fundraising is needed for an additional $12 million. The 32 story hotel addition over the lobby has not restarted yet but hopefully will soon. Inside work on the ceiling is progressing as is recasting of ornamental plaster removed in the 1961 Cinerama remodeling. No photographers have been allowed in yet in hopes of building up a wow factor closer to the reopening.

MSC77
MSC77 on June 5, 2023 at 8:41 am

A chronology of Charlotte’s 70mm presentations history has recently been published/updated. The Carolina, of course, gets several mentions in the piece.

spectrum
spectrum on August 3, 2023 at 5:35 pm

July 2023: The new newsletter has some color photos of the auditorium restoration - they’ve restored a lot of the ornamental details in the front of the auditorium with those around sidewalls and balcony starting later in the summer. Nice progress being made! Go to this link (https://carolinatheatreclt.org/) and scroll down to the newsletter button.

ncmark
ncmark on January 23, 2024 at 2:44 pm

Updates from the official website of Foundation for the Carolinas have great pictures of the most recent work done which is estimated at 70% complete. EverGreene Studios is doing incredible work on plaster restoration and painting. No opening date has been set but the budget has climbed to $88 million.

Patsy
Patsy on January 23, 2024 at 3:41 pm

Thank you ncmark for the latest update. Will look at photos on Foundation for the Carolinas.

Patsy
Patsy on January 23, 2024 at 3:43 pm

Where does one find photos re: the Carolina on Foundation for the Carolinas?

ncmark
ncmark on August 15, 2024 at 2:25 pm

Construction is in the final stages with completion projected for the end of 2024 and the grand opening early in 2025. The budget has grown to nearly $90 million. The exterior has a recently added vertical sign (posted in the photo section) and the historic facade with a reproduction marquee is being reinstalled just inside the new glass box lobby.

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