While photographing in Pitts one day, I was told that this was the old movie theatre. Though it’s hard to imagine a town as small as Pitts having a theatre, it was once a much busier place. Robert Jett notes that this was Jett’s Hardware, operated by his father, E. B. Jett, from about 1955 to 1960; he confirms that it was used as a theatre before then.
Filed under --WILCOX COUNTY GA--, Pitts GA
This Art Deco landmark now serves as the senior citizens center. Built by Charlie Powell and remodeled after burning in 1956, it’s one of the most visually appealing theatres in South Georgia and is an integral part of the National Register Downtown Historic District. It closed as a theatre in 1978.
Filed under --COLQUITT COUNTY GA--, Moultrie GA
Operated as a theatre from 1945 until 1957, the Mars was a popular gathering place in Springfield. After many years of alternative use and eventually a state of decline, the City of Springfield, with the assistance of the Fox Theatre Institute, is in the process of renovating this important landmark. The glass brick entryway has already been replaced, as seen in the image below.
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Auditorium
Lobby
Balcony
Here, Springfield City Manager Brett Bennett inspects the projection booth. Brett, along with Gussie Nease and Erin Rahn, are leading the local effort to bring back this landmark with the assistance of the Fox Theatre Institute. The Institute is the nation’s leading theatre preservation organization.
Filed under --EFFINGHAM COUNTY GA--, Springfield GA
Downtown Fort Valley National Register Historic District
The Austin has an interesting history. It was built as a dry goods store around the turn of the last century. George H. Slappey added the second floor auditorium after he purchased it in 1915. Upon Mr. Slappey’s death in 1934, the theater was sold to the Martin-Thompson chain and its named was changed to the Peach Theater. The Peach went out of business in 1968 and after years of general disrepair and disuse, the county supported its renovation in 1999. It’s used for local cultural events and has been rechristened the Austin, though it doesn’t have seats or a screen anymore. While I think it’s wonderful that they did such a great restoration of the exterior, it seems unfortunate that it’s not a theater anymore, in the truest sense of the word.
Filed under --PEACH COUNTY GA--, Fort Valley GA
J. Nolan Wells opened this theater around 1942.
Filed under --CAMDEN COUNTY GA--, Kingsland GA
Cotton Hall Theater, a restored cotton warehouse, is home to Swamp Gravy, the ever-changing Official Folk Life Play of Georgia. Please visit this link for more information on this fascinating annual event.
Filed under --MILLER COUNTY GA--, Colquitt GA
One of the most beautifully renovated movie palaces in South Georgia, the Grand is an anchor for Fitzgerald’s downtown historic district. I remember seeing movies here as a boy, and the seats were ragged, the paint was terrible, and the place had a horrible ambiance. The restoration is one of the best things Fitzgerald has done.
The Grand recently acquired a 1926 Barton Theatre Organ, one of only a few still in use; the Barton was often used for the “soundtrack” to silent films in early American movie houses, and it is a great honor for a town the size of Fitzgerald to have such an instrument.
http://www.foxtheatreinstitute.org/news/atlanta-magazine-staging-revivals/
http://www.foxtheatreinstitute.org/tap/participants/grand-theatre-fitzgerald/
http://fitzgeraldga.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=44&Itemid=184
Note on the date: I’ve looked at three different sources regarding the date of construction for the Grand Theatre, and they variously put it at 1933, 1935, and 1936.
Filed under --BEN HILL COUNTY GA--, Fitzgerald GA
The Lyric is thought to be the work of Valdosta architect Lloyd Greer.
Filed under --WARE COUNTY GA--, Waycross GA
