The Colonial Theatre opened at 427 North Liberty Street in 1926. For the slim price of 35-cents, adults could see the theatre from the inside, and watch the feature film, Lady Windermere’s Fan. They could also enjoy another special feature of the new theatre, a Robert Morgan pipe organ, that debuted with an organ overture after the movie presentation.
Exactly 30 years later, at the same location, the Center Theatre opened, replacing the Colonial Theatre. The opening feature for the renovated and remodeled Center Theatre was Bill Haley in “Don’t Knock the Rock,” filmed in CinemaScope. And, there was a “Tom and Jerry” cartoon as well.
Shortly after the Center Theatre opened, several suburban theatres associated with neighborhood shopping centers were built, and the downtown theatres began to see smaller and smaller audiences. When the first run movies were featured in the suburban theatres, the Center Theatre got second run movies and the audiences were even smaller.
On this date in 1972, the wrecking ball brought down the building that provided entertainment for over 50 years, since it was first built to house stage shows in the 1910s. The onlookers at the demolition speculated about what might replace the theatre, perhaps a business to attract people to the downtown area. However, a parking deck was eventually built on the site.
The photo above shows the Center Theatre surrounded by its neighboring businesses on Liberty Street. The larger, featured image shows the 400 block of Liberty Street in February 1972, as demolition has begun.
Photos courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
