Colonial Theatre
100 W. Evans Street,
Florence,
SC
29501
100 W. Evans Street,
Florence,
SC
29501
1 person
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Wilby-Kincey
Previous Names: Florence Opera House
Nearby Theaters
Originally known as the Florence Opera House, it dated from the 1870’s. It was remodelled in the 1950’s to accomodate city offices. Still maintained an entrance lobby that was gold gilted plaster work that was magnificent.
Closed on May 30, 1970, It was torn down for a parking lot…lost forever !
Contributed by
Waldo M. Beck
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
There was also a large pond for gold fish (koi) in front of the building with a wrought iron fence around it.
*You can Google the location at “100 West Evans St., Florence, SC 29501”
*Also, the style is wrongly listed as “Art Deco”, but it was a Victorian structure. The “Art Deco” theater in Florence was the Carolina Theater, which was around the corner on Dargan Street.
Here is an October 1950 ad from the Florence Morning News: http://tinyurl.com/m56y8o
Placed its last ad on May 30th, 1970.
Although the Colonial Theatre with its (mostly) Romanesque Revival style building did look like something that would have been built in the 19th century, it was in fact erected in 1900 as the Florence City Hall, with municipal offices in the front, the police station at the rear, and a public auditorium in between. The auditorium was leased to various operators, and from 1911 to 1919 it came under the control of J. M. O'Dowd. It was listed in the 1914-1915 AMPD as the Auditorium, but often appeared in trade journals as the O'Dowd Theatre or O'Dowd’s Theatre.
In 1919, O'Dowd lost the lease on the auditorium to rivals Schnibben and Howard. The Schnibben family operated the house for decades and eventually took over the other theaters in Florence as well. By 1926 it was listed in the FDY as the Opera House, a name it still bore in 1929, but by 1933 it had been renamed the Colonial.