A History of Film Exhibition in Caldwell County

Caldwell County North Carolina has a rich history of cinematic exhibition. As early as 1897, a travelling show with a projecting kinetoscope exhibited in the court house. Even earlier than this, magic lantern shows could be seen in other temporary venues around town. A more permanent venue for motion pictures began at the Henkel Opera House in January of 1908, leading to several short-lived attempts at commercial film exhibition around town throughout the 1910s/1920s. There were outdoor theaters, theaters in tents, theaters in stores, theaters in opera houses, even African-American theaters. Most of these businesses advertised relatively little in the newspapers and trade publications of the day, so little will ever be known about them. But taken together, even small snippets of information create a larger picture of early silent cinema in a Southern town. By the 1940s, the movies had become big business in Lenoir and there were as many as five movie theaters in town. Weekly, then daily ads in the Lenoir News Topic give us a much better idea of the cinematic tastes of the town and the role of each venue. 

A surprising amount of this history survives today. The Opera House and its stage are nearly unchanged from its heyday over 100 years ago. The Universal/State Theatre and the Center Theatre are also still recognizable: from the interior in the former case and exterior/interior in the latter, although both have long since closed to the public. There are other buildings that have survived in completely gutted form and nothing of their use as theaters is known to survive. Still others, like the Avon Theatre and the Harshaw Building, have been demolished and replaced with other structures--in these cases a court house extension and a parking lot.

The early theaters were most often located in buildings not intended for exhibition. These are listed here by both the names of the theater and the buildings in which they were located. Later theaters, such as the Avon and Center, are in buildings designed for film exhibition and are listed here only by their theater name--the building is the theater, in other words. When possible, early maps will locate the buildings precisely. I hope to add more and more information in the future and proceed more or less chronologically from the early period into at least the 1950s. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, corrections, or useful additions.

Gary R. Boye

The following map, combining various maps from the early period, shows silent movie theaters and former silent movie theaters in Lenoir in 1926. Listed chronologically, the numbers indicate the following venues:

1. Opera House (1908-1917+)

2. Cloyd and Johnson Building (1908-1909)

3. Harshaw Building (1909-1913)

4. Shell Building (1912-1913)

5. Jones/Hartley Building (1913-1916)

6. Matheson Building (1914-1916?)

7. Masonic Building (1915-1922)

8. G.O. Shakespeare Opera House/Auditorium [Universal/State Theatre] (1922-1960)

9. Bush Building (1926-1949)

The next map locates the much more simplified theaters of the talking era, here frozen in 1941 with the relatively well-known venues as follows:

1. State Theatre (1933-1960)

2. Strand Theatre (1943-1949)

3. Avon Theatre (1934-1979?)

4. Center Theatre (1941-2000?)

The following lists combine these theaters with other venues not on the maps:

Lenoir Theaters by Name

• Air Dome Theatre (1913)

• Avon Theatre (1934-1979?)

• Casino Theatre (1912)

• Center Theatre (1941-2000?)

• Dunbar Theatre (c1927)

• Electrical Theatre (1909-1910)

• Firemen's Theatre (1911-1912)

• Gayety Theatre (1912)

• Hippodrome Theatre (1915)

• Imperial Theatre (1926-1941; continues as the Strand)

• Princess Theatre (1912-1915?)

• Red Moon Theatre (1912-1913)

• Star Theatre (1913-1915)

• State Theatre (1933-1960)

• Strand Theatre (1943-1949)

• Universal Theatre (1915-1922)

• Universal Theatre (1922-1933; continues as the State)

• West End Theatre (1913-1932)

Lenoir Theaters by Building

• Bush Building (1926-1949)

• Caldwell County Courthouse (1897-1947- )

• Cloyd and Johnson Building (1908-1909)

• Harshaw Building (1909-1913)

• Hartley Building (1913-1916)

• Jones Building (1913)

• Masonic Building (1915-1922)

• Matheson Building (1914-1916?)

• Opera House (1908-1917)

• Shell Building (1912-1913)

• G.O. Shakespeare Opera House/Auditorium (1922-1960)

• temporary theaters (1906- )

Granite Falls Theatres

The town of Granite Falls, in southern Caldwell County, had two permanent theaters and the usual array of temporary venues:

• Lyric Theatre (1931-1940?)

• Main Theatre (1940-1965)

• temporary theaters

Drive-In Theaters

There were at least four drive-in theaters in Caldwell County, beginning in the late 1940s and continuing into the mid-1950s (where, for the time being, my research has ceased). Drum's was located near Joyceton, on the East side of what is now Highway 321. The Lenoir Drive-In was located behind Fairway Supermarket, Whitnel, N.C., at the intersection of Highways 321 and 321-A. The Skylite was first listed as being in Sawmills and then from 1953 in Granite Falls, although presumably in the same location. The Carolina was on 321 north of town near the Valmead School. The Del-Mar Drive-In appears to be a reopening of the Lenoir Drive-In in 1954; it changed names to the Norris Drive-In in 1957.

• Drum's Drive-In (1948-1980...)

• Lenoir Drive-In (1949-1952; continues as Del-Mar Drive-In)

• Skylite Drive-In (1949-1956)

• Carolina Drive-In (1950-1960; continues as Lucky Star Drive-In)

• Del-Mar Drive-In (1954-1957; continues as Norris Drive-In)

• Norris Drive-In (1957-1970...)

• Lucky Star Drive-In (1961)

Watauga County Film Exhibition

Dr. Gary R. Boye

Music Librarian and Professor

Appalachian State University

boyegr@appstate.edu