Ritz Theatre (Brunswick, Georgia)

Last updated

Ritz Theatre
Ritz Theatre, Brunswick, Georgia, USA.jpg
Ritz Theatre (2015)
USA Georgia location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Georgia
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Ritz Theatre (Brunswick, Georgia) (the United States)
Former namesGrand Opera House
General information
Address1530 Newcastle Street
Town or city Brunswick, Georgia
Country United States
Coordinates 31°09′01″N81°29′44″W / 31.150351°N 81.495483°W / 31.150351; -81.495483
Completed1899
Technical details
Floor count3
Ritz Theatre
Part of Brunswick Old Town Historic District (ID79000727)
Added to NRHPApril 26, 1979

The Ritz Theatre is a historic theater in Brunswick, Georgia. Built in 1899, it originally served as an opera house, but was later converted to a movie palace. The building is currently owned by the city of Brunswick and is a contributing property of the Brunswick Old Town Historic District.

Contents

History

General offices of the Brunswick and Birmingham Railroad, c. 1900 Brunswick, GA, US, about 1900.jpg
General offices of the Brunswick and Birmingham Railroad, c. 1900

The Grand Opera House was built in 1899 as the main opera house in Brunswick, Georgia. Plans for the construction of the building had been in place since 1895, and the building served as a replacement for the L'Arioso Opera House, which had been destroyed by a storm in 1896. [1] In addition to the theater, the building housed several retailers on its first floor, and the second and third floors served as the general offices of the Brunswick and Birmingham Railroad. [1] [2] Following renovations in the 1920s or 1930s that included the installation of a marquee, the building was renamed the Ritz Theatre and converted to a movie palace. [1] [3] During this time, the theater was segregated, with African Americans allowed to enter the building through a separate door and view showings from the balcony. [1]

In 1980, the city of Brunswick bought the property, and since 1989 it has been managed by the Golden Isles Arts and Humanities Association. [3] Today, live performances, movie screenings, and other art exhibits are held at the venue. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brunswick, Georgia</span> City in Georgia, United States

Brunswick is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-largest urban area on the Georgia coastline after Savannah and contains the Brunswick Old Town Historic District. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of the city proper was 15,210; the Brunswick metropolitan area's population as of 2020 was 113,495.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox Theatre (Atlanta)</span> Movie theater in Atlanta, Georgia, United States

The Fox Theatre, a former movie palace, is a performing arts venue located at 660 Peachtree Street NE in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, and is the centerpiece of the Fox Theatre Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Movie palace</span> Type of movie theater

A movie palace is any of the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opening every year between 1925 and 1930. With the advent of television, movie attendance dropped, while the rising popularity of large multiplex chains in the 1980s and 1990s signaled the obsolescence of single-screen theaters. Many movie palaces were razed or converted into multiple-screen venues or performing arts centers, though some have undergone restoration and reopened to the public as historic buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit Opera House</span>

The Detroit Opera House is an ornate opera house located at 1526 Broadway Street in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Grand Circus Park Historic District. The 2,700-seat venue is the home of productions of the Detroit Opera and a variety of other events. The theatre was originally designed by C. Howard Crane, who created other prominent theatres in Detroit including The Fillmore Detroit, the Fox Theater and the Detroit Symphony's Orchestra Hall. It opened on January 22, 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadway (Los Angeles)</span> Department stores list in Los Angeles

Broadway, until 1890 Fort Street, is a thoroughfare in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The portion of Broadway from 3rd to 9th streets, in the Historic Core of Downtown Los Angeles, was the city's main commercial street from the 1910s until World War II, and is the location of the Broadway Theater and Commercial District, the first and largest historic theater district listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). With twelve movie palaces located along a six-block stretch of Broadway, it is the only large concentration of movie palaces left in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Isles of Georgia</span> Place in Georgia, United States

The Golden Isles of Georgia consist of barrier islands, and the mainland port cities of Brunswick and Darien, on the 100-mile-long coast of the U.S. state of Georgia on the Atlantic Ocean. They include St. Simons Island, Sea Island, Jekyll Island, Little St. Simons Island, Sapelo Island, Blackbeard Island, Historic Darien and Historic Brunswick. The islands are part of a long chain of barrier islands known as the "Sea Islands", located along the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia and northern Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Springer Opera House</span> United States historic place

The Springer Opera House is a historic theater at 103 Tenth Street in Downtown Columbus, Georgia. First opened February 21, 1871, the theater was named the State Theatre of Georgia by Governor Jimmy Carter for its 100th anniversary season, a designation made permanent by the 1992 state legislature. The Springer has hosted legendary performers such as Edwin Booth, Oscar Wilde, Ethel Barrymore, Agnes de Mille, and bandleader John Philip Sousa. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and named a National Historic Landmark in 1978 for its architecture and state of preservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missouri Theatre (Columbia, Missouri)</span> United States historic place

The Missouri Theatre, is a concert and entertainment venue in downtown Columbia, Missouri, occupying most of a city block between 9th street between Locust and Elm Streets. It was designed after the Opéra Garnier by the Boller Brothers, built in 1928, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is Columbia's only surviving pre-Depression movie palace and vaudeville stage. In 2011, the University of Missouri began a three-year lease of the facility. The Missouri Theatre is the resident home of the Missouri Symphony Orchestra, and is also frequently used by University of Missouri and civic groups. As of July 1, 2014, The University of Missouri took over ownership of the Missouri Theatre. It is one of the main performance venues for the University of Missouri School of Music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollywood Masonic Temple</span> United States historic place

Hollywood Masonic Temple, now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre and also formerly known as Masonic Convention Hall, is a building on Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, U.S., that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. The building, built in 1921, was designed by architect John C. Austin, also noted as the lead architect of the Griffith Observatory. The Masons operated the temple until 1982, when they sold the building after several years of declining membership. The 34,000-square-foot building was then converted into a theater and nightclub, and ownership subsequently changed several times, until it was bought by the Walt Disney Company's Buena Vista Pictures Distribution in 1998 for Buena Vista Theatres, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadway Theater District (Los Angeles)</span> United States historic place

The Broadway Theater District in the Historic Core of Downtown Los Angeles is the first and largest historic theater district listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). With twelve movie palaces located along a six-block stretch of Broadway, it is the only large concentration of movie palaces left in the United States. The same six-block stretch of Broadway, and an adjacent section of Seventh Street, was also the city's retail hub for the first half of the twentieth century, lined with large and small department stores and specialty stores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monroe Avenue Commercial Buildings</span> Historic commercial buildings in Michigan, United States

The Monroe Avenue Commercial Buildings, also known as the Monroe Block, is a historic district located along a block-and-a-half stretch at 16-118 Monroe Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, just off Woodward Avenue at the northern end of Campus Martius. The district was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The thirteen original buildings were built between 1852 and 1911 and ranged from two to five stories in height. The National Theatre, built in 1911, is the oldest surviving theatre in Detroit, a part of the city's original theatre district of the late 19th century, and the sole surviving structure from the original Monroe Avenue Commercial Buildings historic period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kahl Building</span> Historic place in Iowa, United States

The Kahl Building is an historic building located in Downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. In 2020 it was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District. The building also includes the Capitol Theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Opera House</span> Opera house in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

The Boston Opera House, also known as the Citizens Bank Opera House, is a performing arts and esports venue located at 539 Washington St. in Boston, Massachusetts. It was originally built as the B.F. Keith Memorial Theatre, a movie palace in the Keith-Albee chain. The chain became part of RKO when it was established just before the theater opened on October 29, 1928, and it was also known as the RKO Keith's Theater. After operating for more than 50 years as a movie theater, it was rededicated in 1980 as a home for the Opera Company of Boston, which performed there until the opera company closed down in 1990 due to financial problems. The theater was reopened in 2004 after a major restoration, and it currently serves as the home of the Boston Ballet and also hosts touring Broadway shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mississippi Lofts and Adler Theatre</span> United States historic place

The Mississippi Lofts and Adler Theatre is an apartment building and theater complex located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places by its original name, the Hotel Mississippi and RKO Orpheum Theater. The Hotel Mississippi was listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 2005. In 2020 the complex was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District.

The performing arts in Detroit include orchestra, live music, and theater, with more than a dozen performing arts venues. The stages and old time film palaces are generally located along Woodward Avenue, the city's central thoroughfare, in the Downtown, Midtown, and New Center areas. Some additional venues are located in neighborhood areas of the city. Many of the city's significant historic theaters have been revitalized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frances Building and Echo Theater</span> Historic building in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Frances Building and Echo Theater in southeast Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon is a property listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1911, it was added to the register in 1994. The Frances Building is a two-story structure that faces Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard, while the Echo Theatre is a one-story structure facing Southeast 37th Avenue. The adjoining buildings, constructed as parts of a single project, are separated by a party wall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brunswick Old Town Historic District</span> Historic district in Georgia, United States

Brunswick Old Town Historic District is a historic district in Brunswick, Georgia. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 26, 1979 and includes an area bounded by 1st Street, Bay Street, New Bay Street, H Street, and Cochran Street. Brunswick is one of Georgia's two deep-water ports and is the mainland city associated with the Golden Isles of Georgia, at the junction of I-95 and US 82.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ritz Ybor</span> Events venue in Ybor City within Tampa, Florida

The Ritz Ybor is an events venue located in the historic Ybor City, within Tampa, Florida. Opening in 1917, the theatre catered to the Afro-Cuban community in the emerging neighborhood. Throughout the years, the venue was served as a cinema, adult movie theater, nightclub and concert venue. The theatre was transformed into its current incarnation in 2008; becoming one of Tampa's premier live music and events venue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barre City Hall and Opera House</span> United States historic place

Barre City Hall and Opera House is a historic government building at 6 North Main Street in downtown Barre, Vermont. Built in 1899, it houses the city offices, and its upper floors have served for much of the time since its construction as a performing arts venue. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Bagwell, Tyler E. "The Opera House and Silent Movie Days of Brunswick". Jekyll Island History. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Historic Ritz Theatre". Golden Isles of Georgia . Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Geater, Mike. "Ritz Theater in Brunswick, GA". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved July 7, 2020.