Carolina Theatre (Charlotte)

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

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.

History

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The Charlotte Observer announcing the opening of Carolina Theatres, 1927
Interior of Carolina Theatre, 1927.

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] In 1953, the theatre installed a panoramic screen to accommodate CinemaScope films. In 1961, it was further renovated to accommodate Cinerama films.[3] 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,[4] the theatre closed on Nov. 27, 1978, with a showing of Bruce Lee’s Fists of Fury.[5] Arson furthered damaged the theatre[6] in the 1980s.

Renovation

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After many unsuccessful attempts to renovate and revive the theatre, the City of Charlotte acquired the building in 1986[7] 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.[4] Most of the $51.5 million of the budget was raised from private sources. Construction on the restoration began in 2017.[4][8] The theatre will be part of a larger Civic Campus called Belk Place.[9] When completed, programming will focus on civic discussions, speakers, community gatherings, films, concerts and more.

After many delays, foundation executive vice president Laura Smith said that after many delays the theater would reopen in spring 2023.[10] As of October 2024, the theater has not yet reopened.

InterContinental Hotel

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In March 2017, it was announced that, as part of the theatre's restoration, a 257-room InterContinental[11] hotel would be built atop the structure. The developer is Salter Brothers of Melbourne, Australia formerly SB&G Hotel Group and Valor Hospitality Partners will operate the hotel once it's open. The project is estimated to cost $100.[12][13] The project broke ground and the tower crane was installed in October 2019. The first 6 stories would be used by the theater with the remaining 28 stories to be used as a hotel over 180,000 square feet (17,000 m2) of space.[14][15]

The hotel project was put on hold in November 2020,[16] when the developers lost their financing, due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hotel demand dropped by 40% due to the COVID-19 pandemic since the hotel relies heavily upon business travel.[17] On August 25, 2022, Foundation For the Carolinas CEO Michael Marsicano said that after many delays, construction would resume soon.[10] The hotel developer, Salter Brothers, announced in June 2023 the project is back on track. Construction will start in summer 2024 and complete in mid-2026.[18]

The lobby of the Carolina Theater which the hotel will be built on shown in June 2024

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "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. ^ "From the Archives". Carolina Theatre. Retrieved 2023-08-07.
  4. ^ a b c 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.
  5. ^ James V. Roy (February 10, 2013). "Carolina Theatre". Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  6. ^ Ross Melnick, Dave Litterer. "Carolina Theatre". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  7. ^ Scott Jensen (March 29, 2017). "Construction Starting On New $42 Million Hotel Above Charlotte's Historic Carolina Theater". Charlotte Stories. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  8. ^ "Restoration of Carolina Theatre Begins" (PDF). Philanthropy Focus. Foundation for the Carolinas. 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  9. ^ "Come Be Inspired At Belk Place". Foundation for the Carolinas. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Rago, Gordon (27 August 2022). "Uptown's Carolina Theatre has been closed to the public since 1978. It plans to open soon". The Charlotte Observer.
  11. ^ Ely Portillo (March 28, 2017). "20-story InterContinental hotel to rise atop Carolina Theatre in Charlotte". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Morris, Robert (2 January 2020). "How an anchor for North Tryon's future adds to civic role at Foundation For the Carolinas". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  14. ^ Fahey, Ashley (30 October 2019). "What's next for Carolina Theatre site as tower is set to rise". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  15. ^ "Intercontinental Hotel Charlotte, NC, USA". Salter Brothers. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  16. ^ Spanberg, Erik (November 20, 2020). "Construction of InterContinental Hotel atop historic theater in uptown on hold". Charlotte Business Journal.
  17. ^ "Delays Push Carolina Theatre Project to 2022, Hotel Coming Later". WFAE. 25 February 2021.
  18. ^ Spanberg, Erik (8 June 2023). "Australian developer Salter Brothers puts stalled InterContinental Hotel plan back in motion, eyes mid-2026 opening". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
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35°13′42″N 80°50′26.5″W / 35.22833°N 80.840694°W / 35.22833; -80.840694

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