The Carolina Theatre of Greensboro is the city’s only remaining historic theater and is located in Greensboro, North Carolina area. In 1927, it was touted as “The Showplace of the Carolinas” when it first opened its doors on Halloween night. The Saenger-Publix Company commissioned the construction of the 2,200-seat facility, which was one of the state’s first commercial buildings to be equipped with air conditioning.
Live concerts, the Carolina Theatre Orchestra, the Carolina News newsreel, audience sing-alongs, and silent films accompanied by the Robert Morton theatre organ were among the highlights of the early programming at the Carolina Theatre.
It was 1928 when Saenger installed a Vitaphone sound system. The earliest “talkies” were seen by sold-out audiences. Glorious Betsy, starring Conrad Nagle and initially shown at the Carolina in 1928, was the first sound-enabled film to be presented there. The Jazz Singer was the second film to be aired.
When it was first built, the auditorium featured a segregated balcony as well as a mezzanine. Patrons of color entered using a separate stairwell and were only permitted to sit on the balcony. As late as May 1963, the theater was segregated on the basis of race. When students from North Carolina A&T University and Bennett College were denied admission to the theatre on May 15, 1963, they formed a human chain and blocked the door.
By the early 1970s, the theater’s fortunes had deteriorated to the point where its owner, Jefferson Pilot Corporation (now Lincoln National Corporation), had decided to demolish it. The United Arts Council of Greensboro funded $550,000 in order to purchase the building from Jefferson Pilot for a discount price of $1.25 per square foot. When the Theatre was reopened as a performing arts center for the community in 1978, it was rebuilt by the City Council.
Following the fire of the theatre in 1981, which was caused by a mentally ill woman, the building had to be rebuilt. The balcony was walled up, and new lighting and sound systems were installed later that year. The theatre has a capacity of 1,075 people in its current configuration.
The Carolina Theatre is now owned and run by the Carolina Theatre of Greensboro, Incorporated, a non-profit corporation that was established in 1989. Brian Gray serves as the corporation’s Managing Director at the moment.
The Greensboro Ballet performs in the theater on a regular basis. Community Theatre of Greensboro performs their yearly production of The Wizard of Oz at The Carolina Theatre, which takes place every November.
Aside from many state subsidies for repair and maintenance, the Theatre is entirely reliant on its own revenues and private contributions to maintain its operations. Classic and aesthetic films, touring performers and organizations, local theatre and dance performances, as well as various charitable and corporate purposes, are all part of the current programming schedule.
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