The Carolina Theatre Informations

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.

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. 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. The Sound of Music would premiere at the Carolina Theatre on March 31, 1965, and run a record 79 weeks. The 398,201 people who saw the movie were more than the population of Charlotte, at the time. With rising competition from suburban multiplexes, the theatre closed on Nov. 27, 1978, with a showing of Bruce Lee’s Fists of Fury. Arson furthered damaged the theatre in the 1980s.

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

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

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