Savoy Theatre
508 S. McDowell Street,
Charlotte,
NC
28204
508 S. McDowell Street,
Charlotte,
NC
28204
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The Savoy Theatre launched November 12, 1934 with “Lost Patrol.” It was part of the vibrant Brooklyn neighborhood which was home to African American owned business and Black-owned housing. The theatre closed during the War years. It was reopened after a streamline moderne refresh under the plans of architect Louis F. Asbury in 1945. The Bijou Amusement Circuit of Nashville operated both the Savoy and the Lincoln. Asbury also designed the Lincoln’s refresh in 1940. Bijou took on the venue to the end of a 30-year leasing agreement.
As was the case in many cities with African American business districts, the City of Charlotte found a road project to drive through the heart of the neighborhood to uproot black-owned Charlotte businesses and residences. In this case, the project would be what is now Interstate 277, part of a strategy that led to 216 African-American business and many more residential structures being demolished in the 1960s. The modern-day Meridien Hotel is across the street from where the Savoy once stood and is is about one block from on-ramps to Interstate 277.
I’ve only uncovered 4 theaters from Charlotte’s segregated past. The Savoy and Lincoln were on the east side of town and the Grand and Ritz were on the west side. Each of those spots operated under different names at some point but I haven’t found any information on other cinemas for blacks.