Carolina Theatre
238 SW. Main Street,
Rocky Mount,
NC
27804
238 SW. Main Street,
Rocky Mount,
NC
27804
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: North Carolina Theatres
Previous Names: Grand Theatre, Palace Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Grand Theatre was opened around 1912. In 1920 it was renamed Palace Theatre. In 1934 it was renamed Carolina Theatre. Manager listed was Claud G. Edgerton. As a kid in the late-1940-s and early-1950’s I spent most Saturdays in the Carolina Theatre watching double feature westerns (Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Lash LaRue, Alan “Rocky” Lane) and many more too numerous to name. Program always included a comedy (3 Stooges, Little Rascals) a serial (Superman, Rocket Man) and at least 1 cartoon.
Admission was 9 cents and the rest of the quarter I had bought candy, popcorn, and a drink. The program changed 2 or sometimes 3 times a week.
The last year the theatre was listed in the City Directory was 1957, and in 1958 the building was listed as a shoe store. Building is still there, but vacant.
Contributed by
Beverly Hall
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
My source in Rocky Mount has no information concerning the names of the theatre. Her best guess is that ownership changed and so did the theatre’s name.
DocSouth lists the Grand Theatre at 238-240 Main Street SW from about 1914 to about 1920. Around 1920 it was renamed the Palace Theatre. It was still listed as the Palace in the 1930 city directory, but the 1934 directory lists it as the Carolina Theatre.
My mother, Bertha Barnes (Wheeless), worked at the Carolina theatre and Center theatre from 1945 until 1948. It seems that she told me that they were both owned by the same company. My father, Billy Wheeless, worked at the Carolina Theatre in about the same timeframe.
This may have opened a bit earlier. The July 1912 map shows it (rather simplified) with a note ‘To Be Vaudeville Theatre (From Plans)’.