announcing the opening of Carolina Theatres, 1927 The Carolina Theatre opened in 1927, as part of
Paramount Picture's Publix Theatre chain. The opening feature was the silent movie,
A Kiss in a Taxi. Originally, movies ran for three days, and
vaudeville performers were on stage Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. In 1938, the theatre was renovated to accommodate sound films, with the original murals replaced with acoustic tiles. On Feb. 10, 1956, the theatre played host to a performance by
Elvis Presley. In 1953, the theatre installed a panoramic screen to accommodate
CinemaScope films. In 1961, it was further renovated to accommodate
Cinerama films.
The Sound of Music would premiere at the Carolina Theatre on March 31, 1965, and run a record 79 weeks. The 398,201 the theatre closed on Nov. 27, 1978, with a showing of
Bruce Lee’s
Fists of Fury. Arson furthered damaged the theatre in the 1980s.
Renovation After many unsuccessful attempts to renovate and revive the theatre, the City of Charlotte acquired the building in 1986 and sold it to Foundation For The Carolinas in April 2013. The renovation will restore historical touches, such as the murals and original marquee, to replicate the original 1927 atmosphere as much as possible. The theatre will be part of a larger Civic Campus called Belk Place. When completed, programming will focus on civic discussions, speakers, community gatherings, films, concerts and more. After many delays, foundation executive vice president Laura Smith said that after many delays the theater would reopen in spring 2023. This followed $90 million invested and 12 years after the sale of the theatre to Foundation for the Carolinas in December 2012. The first performance was on March 28, 2025 featuring soprano Renée Fleming joins the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra for a performance billed as "A homecoming". == InterContinental Hotel ==