Brewton Theater

South Boulevard and St Nicholas Avenue,
Brewton, AL 36426

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: McLendon Theaters

Functions: Information Kiosk

Styles: Art Deco

Previous Names: Ritz Theater

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Brewton Theater

Opened as the Ritz Theater on September 14, 1936 with George Raft in “Yours for the Asking”. It was closed in 1987. This is one of the oddest preservation jobs in the country, the town of Brewton decided they couldn’t afford to save the theatre and it was demolished in 1996. They built a facsimile of just the marquee and façade, which is now a community announcement kiosk! The vertical name sign could be original.

Uh-huh…

Contributed by Ross Melnick

Recent comments (view all 5 comments)

skhillman
skhillman on February 26, 2006 at 12:48 pm

This is actually a new construction and not the actual facad. There is also a historic marker at the site.

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on September 15, 2007 at 3:37 pm

The Ritz was part of the Fred T. McLendon chain in the early seventies. I’m not sure from the history here whether the Brewton sign was first up during the transformation to community bulletin board. Did it ever actually operate as the Brewton Theater?

JoeMcKinney
JoeMcKinney on August 26, 2009 at 7:51 pm

I made the photo at the link posted by Lost Memory. My Flickr stats page has a link back to your site here. The photo was made yesterday (8-25-09). I first saw this welcome sign about 10 years ago and never knew this was originally the entrance to an actual theater. I will update my photo description with the correct info.

Chuck1231 has given the correct street names. This structure is at the intersection of South Blvd. (U.S. Hwys. 31 and 29) and St. Nichols Ave. (State Hwy 41). My photo is geotagged. If you click on the map link you will find the correct location and street names and numbers. Click the hybrid feature on the map and you can see the structure.

JoeMcKinney
JoeMcKinney on November 20, 2009 at 6:29 pm

Here is what this sign looks like at night when all of the lights are on. I made this photo earlier this evening (11-20-09). The lighted toy soldiers in front are Christmas decorations.
View link

50sSNIPES
50sSNIPES on January 24, 2022 at 10:16 am

This Martin Theatres Operated Ritz Had A Capacity Of 761, And Opened On September 14, 1936 With George Raft In “Yours For The Asking” With No Extras Or Subjects For One Day Only.

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