Princess Theatre
503 Broad Street,
Gadsden,
AL
35901
503 Broad Street,
Gadsden,
AL
35901
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Theatre can be seen down the block on the right hand side in this 1940 Shorpy picture https://www.shorpy.com/node/26140?size=_original#caption
Note how similar the marquee is to the Decatur Princess Theatre. I suspect Crescent Amusement Co. out of Nashville owned the Gadsden Princess at some time.
The Princess was said to be the last word in moving picture show houses. It had the latest equipment and it was as comfortable as money could make it. It was air conditioned with an 80-ton ice machine and was heated with the most modern apparatus known.
The Princess enjoyed a long and successful life until 1937, when plans were announced to remodel and enlarge the theater.
The Princess reopened June 17, 1937, to a huge crowd in the totally rebuilt auditorium. The opening night feature, “Woman Chases Man,” was viewed by a capacity crowd of 1,500.
The Princess Theatre was originally known as the Imperial Theatre when it opened on Nov. 24, 1920. The first movie shown was “The Right to Love,” which starred Mae Murray and David Powell. A capacity crowd filled the 730 seats on opening night.
The Princess Theatre’s last movie was Nov. 4, 1963. Fewer than 100 people were enjoying the movie “All The Way Home.” It ended at 10:30 p.m., and the theater closed its doors for what would be the last time.
The Princess Theatre burned in 1963.