Princess Theatre
503 Broad Street,
Gadsden,
AL
35901
503 Broad Street,
Gadsden,
AL
35901
2 people
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Crescent Amusement Co.
Styles: Art Deco
Previous Names: Imperial Theatre
Nearby Theaters
Opened as the 730-seat Imperial Theatre on November 24, 1920 with Mae Murray in “The Right to Love”. Renamed the Princess Theatre on September 11, 1926. It was remodeled and enlarged with an Art Deco style and reopened again on January 17, 1937 with Miriam Hopkins in “Woman Chases Man”. The Capitol Theatre was located across the street.
The Princess Theatre was destroyed by a huge fire on November 4, 1963 following a screening of Jean Simmons in “All the Way Home”.
The remains were demolished. A Center for Cultural Arts was built on the site.
Contributed by
Chuck
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
The Princess Theatre burned in 1963.
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 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 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 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.
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.
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