Carolina Theatre (Charlotte)

The Carolina Theatre in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a historic movie house currently undergoing restoration to become a performing arts center and civic convening space. The theatre is owned by the nonprofit Foundation For The Carolinas.

For similarly named institutions, see Carolina Theatre (disambiguation).
The Carolina Theatre in 2015

History

The Carolina Theatre opened in 1927, as part of Paramount Picture's Publix Theatre chain. The opening feature was the silent movie, A Kiss in a Taxi. Originally, movies ran for three days, and vaudeville performers were on stage Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.[1] In 1938, the theatre was renovated to accommodate sound films, with the original murals replaced with acoustic tiles. On Feb. 10, 1956, the theatre played host to a performance by Elvis Presley.[2] The Sound of Music would premiere at the Carolina Theatre on March 31, 1965, and run a record 79 weeks. The 398,201[1] people who saw the movie were more than the population of Charlotte, at the time. With rising competition from suburban multiplexes,[3] the theatre closed on Nov. 27, 1978, with a showing of Bruce Lee’s Fists of Fury.[4] Arson furthered damaged the theatre[5] in the 1980s.

Renovation

After many unsuccessful attempts to renovate and revive the theatre, the City of Charlotte acquired the building in 1986[6] and sold it to Foundation For The Carolinas in April 2013. The renovation will restore historical touches, such as the murals and original marquee, to replicate the original 1927 atmosphere as much as possible.[3] Most of the $51.5 million of the budget was raised from private sources. Construction on the restoration began in 2017.[3][7] The theatre will be part of a larger Civic Campus called Belk Place.[8] When completed, programming will focus on civic discussions, speakers, community gatherings, films, concerts and more.

Intercontinental Hotel

In March 2017, it was announced that as part of the theatre's restoration, a 274-room InterContinental[9] Hotel would be built atop the structure. SB&G Hotel Group is partnering with Valor[10] Hospitality Partners on the project. The 25-story hotel will bring the project's total height to 32 stories.[9]

References
  1. "Making History: The Old Carolina Theater". The Charlotte Observer. May 6, 1990. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  2. Meg Freeman Whalen (September 30, 2005). "Before Elvis Was King". Charlotte Magazine. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  3. Ely Portillo (April 24, 2017). "The Carolina Theatre is getting ready for its rebirth. Here's what it looks like inside". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  4. James V. Roy (February 10, 2013). "Carolina Theatre". Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  5. Ross Melnick, Dave Litterer. "Carolina Theatre". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  6. Scott Jensen (March 29, 2017). "Construction Starting On New $42 Million Hotel Above Charlotte's Historic Carolina Theater". Charlotte Stories. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  7. "Restoration of Carolina Theatre Begins" (PDF). Philanthropy Focus. Foundation for the Carolinas. 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  8. "Come Be Inspired At Belk Place". Foundation for the Carolinas. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  9. Ely Portillo (March 28, 2017). "20-story InterContinental hotel to rise atop Carolina Theatre in Charlotte". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  10. Ely Portillo (April 13, 2017). "Charlotte's new InterContinental hotel is a tricky project. Here's when it might open". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved July 5, 2018.

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