Carolina Theatre

The Durham Auditorium, designed by Milburn and Heister of Washington D.C., was constructed in 1926 as a replacement for the "New Academy of Music" which was destroyed to make way for the Washington Duke Hotel. As detailed in my post about the first Durham High School/City Hall, the Durham Auditorium was attached to that building, which was remodeled by Milburn and Heister to match the style of the newer buildling.

 

(Courtesy Duke Archives)

This shot, taken in the mid 1920s, shows the Durham Auditorium either during or immediately after construction. (It appears the site around the building hasn't been completed.) Many other interesting sights are visible in this shot -the large houses lining Morris St. north and south of the Imperial Tobacco building, the modest housing on Roney, the new Durham High and Carr Jr. High in the distance, and more.

 

Carolina Theatre, under construction, 1926
(Courtesy Duke RBMC - Chamber of Commerce Collection)

The theater showed a mix of live performances and movies. This shot from 1930 shows the original marquee, which (although the resolution is too poor in this digitized version to see it) says the theater is showing "The Cuckoos". The sign to the left of the marquee says "Carolina Soda Shop."

 

(Courtesy Duke Archives)

The auditorium appears to have been called the Carolina Theatre from a fairly early point in its existence, perhaps to highlight the movie showings, which, over time, began to increasingly dominate the theater's programming.

This shot from 1947 gives a closeup of the marquee.
 

(Courtesy Durham County Library)

Three shots from 1949 may be overkill, but I find them all fascinating, so why not.
 

(Courtesy Durham County Library)

 

(Courtesy Durham County Library)

 

(Courtesy Durham County Library)

"Movie Stars in Town" - 01.11.57. Bob Nocek and Jim Carl at the Carolina were kind enough to identify John Saxon, and, most likely, Luana Patten - co-stars of "Rock, Pretty Baby" doing publicity for the opening of that film.

(Photo courtesy of The Herald-Sun)

03.22.61

The Carolina was segregated; African-Americans were only allowed to sit in the balcony. I have read that this was sometimes referred to as "buzzards' roost" - a name evidently also given to the corner of McMannen and Pettirew Streets. During 1962, a rolling 'line protest' went on for months, as African-Americans would attempt to buy tickets to the whites-only section and, when refused, would return to the back of the line to try again.

 

(Courtesy Durham County Library)

I believe the theater was desegregated in 1963.

1967 (Louise Hall Collection, NC Collection, DCL)

By the 1970s, the management of the theater shifted to the Carolina Cinema Corporation, a non-profit group that focused on showing foreign and independent films.

Below, a shot taken from the CCB building by Ralph Rogers around 1986 shows the Carolina Theatre, Roney St. and the surrounding area just before it was drastically changed by the construction of the Omni, Convention Center, and the People's Security Insurance building on Morgan St.
 

(Courtesy Durham County Library)

Carolina Theatre from Roney St., southwest, 1981

(Courtesy Robby Delius)

Below, looking south from the closed Roney St. in front of the theater, the convention center is being constructed., 1988.
 

(Courtesy Durham County Library)

By 1989, the plaza is essentially completed, and the Carolina Theatre was closed for renovation.
 

(Courtesy Durham County Library)

The theater was closed for a few years, as I remember, and I believe it reopened around 1992. A movie theater was constructed to the south of the original theater, which primarily hosts live performances (although the occasional popular independent film will be shown in the original theater.)

It's very fortunate that the Carolina Theatre dodged the parking lot-bullet aimed its way in the 1960s. It is, in my opinion, the crown jewel of Durham's architectural heritage. I do feel that its energy is diminished by the configuration around it - the strange plaza, the Loop, the parking garage, the odd orientation of the hotel entrance, etc. It's configurations like these that make me distrustful each time Durham says they are going to build a new, grand project.

 

The plaza and Carolina Theatre, looking south, 2006.


 

2006

07.20.12