| The Standard and Hollywood theaters | ||
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The Standard Theater
The Standard Theater was located in Chapel Hill on West Franklin Street, on the southwest corner with Graham Street. It opened July 4, 1924, and was originally owned by local African American enterpreneur Durwood O'Kelly; other business partners were Charles Brooks (the builder/contractor of the building), and Jesse Kirkland (the brick mason for the project). It had seating for 300. The theater also hosted social events and monthly dances, and the space was occasionally used for Sunday church services by various church congregations that did not have a building of their own. 
Sanborn map excerpt, June 1925 
The former Standard Theater (background, left side), April 1941 (screen shot from H. Lee Waters movie) The theater closed in 1939; soon afterwards the building housed the Carolina Produce Company (see 1945 map excerpt below). By 1953 it was Williams Upholstering (and can be seen on the 1955 aerial photograph of Chapel Hill) and in 1957 also was a Sun Oil Company service station; by 1968 the property was Merritt Motors; by 1973 it was Village Auto; by 1978 it was Brooks & Tobin Motors. It may have been demolished by the time Merritt Motors utilized the property. Today, the site is (still) a used car lot at 601 West Franklin Street. 
Sanborn map excerpt, December 1945 |
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| View the Standard's site on Google Maps | ||
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The Hollywood Theater
The Hollywood Theater was located in Carrboro on East Main Street (also known as West Franklin Street at the time), near the merge with Rosemary Street. It began operation in 1939, and was opened to cater to black patrons at the same time the Standard Theater closed down (actually, the Standard apparently closed due to the loss of patrons to the Hollywood). E. Carrington Smith, manager of the segregated Carolina Theater in downtown Chapel Hill, was the proprietor of the theater, and its manager was Kenneth Jones. In the early 1940s, weekly attendance was about 1,300 to 1,500 people, and the theater was open every day except Sundays. 
The Hollywood Theatre, May 1940 (photo by Jack Delano, courtesy of the Library of Congress) 
The Hollywood Theatre, October 1939 or April 1941 (screen shot from H. Lee Waters movie) 
'Movies of Local People' shown at the Hollywood Theatre, April 1941 (screen shot from H. Lee Waters movie) The North Carolina photographer and movie maker, H. Lee Waters, filmed a quantity of footage on the border of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, and his movies were shown at the Hollywood Theater on October 6th and 7th, 1939 and in April 1941. 
Sanborn map excerpt, December 1945 By 1961 the theater was no longer in business. The building still exists, and is utilized as office space and an artists' studio, located at 405 East Main Street. 
Former Hollywood Theater, August 2011 |
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| View the Hollywood's site on Google Maps | ||
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Sources:
Brown, Agnes. The Negro Churches of Chapel Hill. Unpublished Masters Thesis, University of North Carolina, 1939. 7, 11-12. Bryant, Bernard L Jr. Occupants and Structures of Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, North Carolina at 5-Year Intervals, 1793-1998. Chapel Hill Historical Society, 1999. Freeman, Charles M. Growth and Plan for a Community: A Study of Negro Life in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, North Carolina. Unpublished Masters Thesis, University of North Carolina, 1944. 26, 88-89, 109. Chapel Hill Weekly. November 22, 1923; July 10, 1924. Orange County Register of Deeds Office Deed Book 83, page 44 Charlene Regester, personal communication. Regester, Charlene. From the Buzzard's Roost: Black Movie-going in Durham and Other North Carolina Cities During the Early Period of American Cinema. Film History. Vol. 17, No. 1 (2005). 113- 124. Regester, Charlene. Going to the Motion Picture Show. 2008. {http://www.chapelhillnews.com/features/story/15712.html}. Sanborn Map Company. Fire Insurance maps. Chapel Hill, NC. 1925, 1932, 1945. Waters, H. Lee. Movies of Local People, 1939 and 1941. His Chapel Hill footage can be found here and here. |
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