Name now seems to be The Enfield Performing arts center. Website is http://www.epacnc.org/. The ‘Previous Names’ is not correct, and the hokey marketing consultant name should be dropped from the listing.
Still doesn’t appear to be open. From the outside, it appears to be the typical rotting building in a dead downtown, but the photos on the website appear to show the auditorium in good condition.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Jul 20, 2021 at 5:50 pm
Not sure where the closure date came from, but if it had closed then, it would not have appeared on the map.
Looks like the address on Google may be wrong. The church next door is also listed as 13. Not sure if this would be 11 or 15, and the city website has no number in the address. There is no East or West on the square. The odd numbers are on the west, evens on the east.
The 1921 map shows that this side of the square was vacant except for a garage/dealership about where the church is now, so this was not a remodel of an older building. The lobby has a nice terrazzo floor, and appears to have the original doors into the auditorium.
Correct address is 13 Liberty Sq. It appears to be owned by the city and can be rented for events. Since tables are available, I assume the interior has been stripped of the seats.
Address was 204, at least originally. The bank building at 200-202 was built in 1923, and the theater seems to have been part of that structure, although styled differently. It’s a bit hard to match the Sanborn map with the photos, but what I think the newer photo shows is that the theater later expanded into number 206, which was a pre-1887 commercial building, and is shown as a bank on the 1926 map. The older photo can’t be any earlier than 1923.
Anyway, the 1926 map definitely shows the theater as a smaller space in the new building, with a rectangular wooden canopy on the front that looks like what we have in the older photo. At that time, the balcony was a tiny flat-fronted space that only went perhaps 20' into the auditorium starting from the front wall.
For more date information, the 1907 Sanborn shows some very modest businesses on this lot, in what are basically one story brick shacks. The September 1914 map shows the current structure as an ‘Elec. Picture Theatre’. No balcony is shown on that map, although the entrance lobby has a staircase on the south side. The theater is still shown on the February 1924 map, which does show a balcony (and that the rear wall is cracked).
We need to put the correct address and operator in, and also throw away the really blurry copy of the photo currently used as the main picture.
Probably due to the operator, this is nearly identical to the Princess in Bowling Green, KY. Aside from an ugly modern storefront, it’s in pretty good shape and is used as offices.
I think this theater has to be the Fox. There’s not enough information on either this or the Beverly to say which one opened in 1935. It’s odd that there were two opening so late to compete with the Lark and the Sourwine. Brazil peaked in population around 1910, and seems to have been declining ever since. Downtown is in a pretty sad state, and most of the largest buildings are long gone.
Conversion to a Penney’s involved some really ugly paneling. To install this, most of the glazed tile ornamentation was chiseled off. The paneling has been removed, and some white stone added to cover the scars.
Note that while the theater was operating, the street was called Main St. It appears to have changed names around 1920, probably with the coming of the National Pike (US 40).
The building was very old, but I’m not sure on the theater. The building was a deep two story brick building constructed sometime before 1883. The 1921 map shows a haberdasher there. The 1946 update shows the theater, which had a simple rectangular wooden awning or marquee.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
Jun 8, 2021 at 1:11 pm
Note that while the theater was operating, the street was called Main St. It appears to have changed names around 1920, probably with the coming of the National Pike (US 40).
As can sort of be made out on some of the postcard views, the auditorium ran transversely behind the storefronts. The stage was at the north wall, and was quite deep, while one or possibly two curved balconies faced it from the south. There were seven storefronts with offices above. The central storefront was the theater entrance. It appears that a hallway ran behind the southern storefronts, and led to a stair to the balcony. The building was split roughly 50/50 between commercial space and the auditorium.
This building dates to sometime before 1887. The 1913 map shows a hardware store in this space. The nifty modernist theater entry has been replaced by an ugly collection of smoked plexiglass windows with a steel door. Looks like it might be an office. The one positive is that the horribly clumsy bricking in of the windows on the second floor has been undone.
As mentioned in the article, the original construction did intrude into the west half of the block. The rear of the building, still three stories, was actually hanging over the alley that split the block. Good thing the front section was saved, it’s a very nice old building.
Not sure why this is listed as art deco, unless the auditorium had been redone during the ‘30s. This beautiful stone-fronted set of stores was the Bayne Block, built sometime before 1887. There were originally 5 storefronts, and it looks like the theater took up two of these, the old 21, which was a wider space, and 23, keeping that address. Too bad some short-sighted fools thought a bare patch of asphalt was a better look for downtown.
SethG
commented about
Theatreon
May 18, 2021 at 3:57 pm
According to a listing in the 1908 report of state inspections, this may have been the Nickelo.
Address was 1. For some reason, this location was a vacant lot until the theater was built. It does not appear on the 1921 map. The 1940 map shows it as a two-story brick building right on the corner of E Spring and S Franklin. There is a large balcony with a concave curved front, and a stage is shown. The theater was air conditioned.
All the buildings on the side of the block facing the courthouse were destroyed many years ago, but the back wall of the theater is still attached to the building to the south.
Name now seems to be The Enfield Performing arts center. Website is http://www.epacnc.org/. The ‘Previous Names’ is not correct, and the hokey marketing consultant name should be dropped from the listing.
Still doesn’t appear to be open. From the outside, it appears to be the typical rotting building in a dead downtown, but the photos on the website appear to show the auditorium in good condition.
Not sure where the closure date came from, but if it had closed then, it would not have appeared on the map.
Should be listed as demolished. There’s some dumpy ‘80s building there now.
Looks like the address on Google may be wrong. The church next door is also listed as 13. Not sure if this would be 11 or 15, and the city website has no number in the address. There is no East or West on the square. The odd numbers are on the west, evens on the east.
The 1921 map shows that this side of the square was vacant except for a garage/dealership about where the church is now, so this was not a remodel of an older building. The lobby has a nice terrazzo floor, and appears to have the original doors into the auditorium.
Correct address is 13 Liberty Sq. It appears to be owned by the city and can be rented for events. Since tables are available, I assume the interior has been stripped of the seats.
Surely we can do better than a terrible picture of cars in the street out front?
Address was 204, at least originally. The bank building at 200-202 was built in 1923, and the theater seems to have been part of that structure, although styled differently. It’s a bit hard to match the Sanborn map with the photos, but what I think the newer photo shows is that the theater later expanded into number 206, which was a pre-1887 commercial building, and is shown as a bank on the 1926 map. The older photo can’t be any earlier than 1923.
Anyway, the 1926 map definitely shows the theater as a smaller space in the new building, with a rectangular wooden canopy on the front that looks like what we have in the older photo. At that time, the balcony was a tiny flat-fronted space that only went perhaps 20' into the auditorium starting from the front wall.
For more date information, the 1907 Sanborn shows some very modest businesses on this lot, in what are basically one story brick shacks. The September 1914 map shows the current structure as an ‘Elec. Picture Theatre’. No balcony is shown on that map, although the entrance lobby has a staircase on the south side. The theater is still shown on the February 1924 map, which does show a balcony (and that the rear wall is cracked).
We need to put the correct address and operator in, and also throw away the really blurry copy of the photo currently used as the main picture.
Probably due to the operator, this is nearly identical to the Princess in Bowling Green, KY. Aside from an ugly modern storefront, it’s in pretty good shape and is used as offices.
I think this theater has to be the Fox. There’s not enough information on either this or the Beverly to say which one opened in 1935. It’s odd that there were two opening so late to compete with the Lark and the Sourwine. Brazil peaked in population around 1910, and seems to have been declining ever since. Downtown is in a pretty sad state, and most of the largest buildings are long gone.
Conversion to a Penney’s involved some really ugly paneling. To install this, most of the glazed tile ornamentation was chiseled off. The paneling has been removed, and some white stone added to cover the scars.
This may have been the Fox? Cinematour lists a Fox in Brazil with no other information.
Note that while the theater was operating, the street was called Main St. It appears to have changed names around 1920, probably with the coming of the National Pike (US 40).
The building was very old, but I’m not sure on the theater. The building was a deep two story brick building constructed sometime before 1883. The 1921 map shows a haberdasher there. The 1946 update shows the theater, which had a simple rectangular wooden awning or marquee.
Note that while the theater was operating, the street was called Main St. It appears to have changed names around 1920, probably with the coming of the National Pike (US 40).
As can sort of be made out on some of the postcard views, the auditorium ran transversely behind the storefronts. The stage was at the north wall, and was quite deep, while one or possibly two curved balconies faced it from the south. There were seven storefronts with offices above. The central storefront was the theater entrance. It appears that a hallway ran behind the southern storefronts, and led to a stair to the balcony. The building was split roughly 50/50 between commercial space and the auditorium.
The old name on the top of the facade is ‘Kinoteatr Mir’. Probably a Soviet-era building.
Kinoteatr Mir, so a Soviet-era name?
This building dates to sometime before 1887. The 1913 map shows a hardware store in this space. The nifty modernist theater entry has been replaced by an ugly collection of smoked plexiglass windows with a steel door. Looks like it might be an office. The one positive is that the horribly clumsy bricking in of the windows on the second floor has been undone.
As mentioned in the article, the original construction did intrude into the west half of the block. The rear of the building, still three stories, was actually hanging over the alley that split the block. Good thing the front section was saved, it’s a very nice old building.
Not sure why this is listed as art deco, unless the auditorium had been redone during the ‘30s. This beautiful stone-fronted set of stores was the Bayne Block, built sometime before 1887. There were originally 5 storefronts, and it looks like the theater took up two of these, the old 21, which was a wider space, and 23, keeping that address. Too bad some short-sighted fools thought a bare patch of asphalt was a better look for downtown.
According to a listing in the 1908 report of state inspections, this may have been the Nickelo.
Address was 1. For some reason, this location was a vacant lot until the theater was built. It does not appear on the 1921 map. The 1940 map shows it as a two-story brick building right on the corner of E Spring and S Franklin. There is a large balcony with a concave curved front, and a stage is shown. The theater was air conditioned.
All the buildings on the side of the block facing the courthouse were destroyed many years ago, but the back wall of the theater is still attached to the building to the south.
The streets have been renamed. Up until at least 1929, the theater was on Cross near the intersection with Back (now Vine).