History

Facts about The Carolina Theatre 1923-present

1923
Durham High School opens at Duke Street Location. The City of Durham chooses to renovate former Morris Street School for City Hall and to construct an auditorium on an adjacent vacant lot.

1925
Bids for construction are accepted May 1, 1925. Budget for the auditorium is $250,000.

1926
The new building is completed and opens on February 2 with the Kiwanis Jollies. The Durham Auditorium provides for both public functions and live entertainment such as high school commencements, Miss Durham contests and national touring attractions like Will Rogers’ Ziegfeld’s Sally. The City Council leases operation of the auditorium to Mr. J.M. Hackney. The Carolina becomes the only Durham theatre to admit African Americans, though there are separate entrances, ticket booths, seating and lounges.

1927
Famed African-American opera singer, Marian Anderson, performs for an audience of all races.

1929
The lease agreement with Mr. Hackney expires. The City Council decides that more revenue can be generated if the theatre is remodeled to accommodate movies. Don Nichols is hired as the new manager and the auditorium opens with the Fox Movietone Follies of 1929.

1930
The Durham Auditorium is leased to Publix-Saenger Theatres of North Carolina. A flashing light marquee is installed and movies are the main attraction. Some live performances still occur and include Katherine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story and Tallulah Bankhead in The Little Foxes.

1940-1945
Due to popularity, there are as many as five movie showings a day. A bus depot across the street brings soldiers from Camp Butner. War bonds are sold and tin cans collected as admission for films to support the war effort. Windows are painted black to accommodate blackout regulations. Bulbs are removed from a portion of the flashing light marquee. The lights were making a rising-sun pattern that resembled the symbol of Japan too closely. The theatre hosted the original cast tour of Oklahoma. Movie attendance declines after the war. A modern air conditioning system is installed to draw more people.

1950
In August, the lease is transferred to Abercrombie Enterprises, Inc.

1960s
As a city-owned building, the theatre becomes a focal point of civil rights activists in Durham.

1963
The theatre becomes integrated in the summer.

1977
The Carolina Theatre is the only remaining theater of the original 13 in Durham. In June, the City Council asks to be released from its contract with Abercrombie Enterprises in order to close down the theatre. Crawford-Carolina Corporation agrees to maintain the building while the City decides its fate. The North Carolina Department of Archives and History completes a historic survey of Downtown Durham. The Carolina Theatre is noted as a “significant building in the city” and the entire center portion of downtown is placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

1978
In March, the City Council agrees to lease the auditorium to the Carolina Cinema Corporation (not-for-profit) to run as an art film theatre. On June 14, The Carolina Theatre reopens with a Charlie Chaplin film festival.

1986
Durham County and the City of Durham appropriate $7.8 million from a bond issue to restore The Carolina Theatre.

1988
Construction for the Omni Hotel and Civic Center next door forces the Carolina to close in July. Construction begins on The Carolina Theatre restoration project. The private, non-profit Carolina Theatre of Durham, Inc. was formed to manage the theatre. The new cinema wing is completed in December. On February 2, the newly restored Fletcher Hall and  original auditorium reopens.

1998
The Carolina Theatre of Durham Inc. signs a 10-year management agreement with the City of Durham to program, operate and manage The Carolina Theatre complex. The Carolina Theatre celebrates its 75th birthday by welcoming the 1,000,000th (one millionth) customer since
reopening in 1994. The Video Library closes on June 30 and the collection is sold to the Durham County Library. In August, The Carolina Theatre presents a ceremonial check for $200,000 during the Durham County Commissioners meeting to signify the full payback of the
county loan.

2003
July 1 marked the beginning of the 10th anniversary season of performing arts being produced by The Carolina Theatre of Durham, Inc. Beginning July 7, the Fletcher Hall stage
area was closed for three months to facilitate repairs and upgrades to the rigging and fly system.

2004
The Carolina Theatre of Durham, Inc. held a successful gala reception and fundraiser on Friday, February 6 in honor of the non-profit’s 10th anniversary. It was the largest event of its kind in the Carolina’s history. In October, The Carolina Theatre of Durham, Inc. announced that it was debt-free for the first time since the nonprofit took over operation of the theatre in 1994.

2005
In December, the non-profit Carolina Theatre of Durham, Inc. and Aaron Neville teamed up to raise $30,000 for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. 2006 The Arts Discovery Series, produced by The Carolina Theatre of Durham, Inc., celebrated its 10th anniversary.

2007
Between June and August, the theatre closed for renovations which included roof repairs, restroom upgrades, electrical work and a state-of-the-art heating and cooling system. It was the first time the theatre completely closed since re-opening in 1993.

2008
Between June and August, a new dimmer system was installed in Fletcher Hall and additional upgrades were made to the outdoor plaza area.

2009
In late January the Carolina Theatre commemorated 15 years since the
re-birth of the historic facility and the founding of the its non-profit operator, the Carolina Theatre of Durham, Inc.