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The News
TNICKELODEON THEATRE READY TO BEGIN ‘MOVING UP MAIN’
“Moving up Main” the capital campaign for the New Nickelodeon Theatre is officially launched! Following an extensive feasibility study, the board of the Columbia Film Society is working with Bobbi Wheless of Greenville, SC’s The Wheless Group to direct the campaign. With a goal of $4.8 Million (3.8 million for renovation and 1 million for an endowment), the campaign will fund the full renovation of the former Fox Theater at 1607 Main Street, transforming it into the new home of the Nickelodeon Theatre.
The new facility will signal a dramatic transformation for the Nickelodeon both in size and scope. The non-profit theater will be adding a second screen, tripling its seating capacity, adding a significantly larger lobby and expanding its concessions offerings. The renovated space will also house Columbia’s first Media Education Center, a new venture being undertaken by the Nickelodeon which will offer classes in media production and literacy to students and adults from across the Midlands.
Larry Hembree, Executive Director of the Nickelodeon, says “The new facility will mean that we can bring even more fine films and festivals to the area, and, equally importantly, we’ll serve as another prominent cultural anchor on Columbia’s revitalized Main Street. With a grand marquee, greater rental opportunities, and of course, nightly screenings of films rarely seen outside of much larger metropolitan areas, our new theater will insure that the new Main Street no longer shuts down at the end of the business day.”
Beginning this past January, the Nickelodeon has worked closely with the Wheless Group, putting together a campaign leadership team of over 45 people, designing and printing promotional materials, and securing $400,000 in start-up funds for the campaign. With the training of the “Moving up Main” fundraising team now completed, the official “quiet phase” of the fundraising is now in progress. In this phase, the campaign focuses exclusively on major donors, working toward raising a sizable portion of the campaign goal before reaching out to the general public.
His excitement is shared by many in the community. The campaign leadership features many figures from Columbia’s business and arts circles. Headed by Earl Ellis, of Ellis Lawhorne and Sims, the committee also includes Sanders Tate, of Watson Tate Savory Architects, Billy Way, of Grubb and Ellis, Tom Prioreschi, of Capital Places, Barbara Blau, DP Professionals, and many others.
So far, the campaign has received pledges and contributions of over $850,000 including major gifts from Edens and Avant, who secured the naming rights to the lobby bar, and an anonymous donor who will provide the funds for the new marquee. Additionally, the City of Columbia’s Hospitality Tax Committee recently recommended the project receive an additional $300,000.
In June of 2005, with the help of the City of Columbia and Lourie family, the Columbia Film Society acquired the theater. Opened in 1936 as the State Theatre, and later transformed into the Fox Theater, much of the building has sat unused for over 20 years. The former lobby of the theater is currently leased to Solid Gold Beauty Supply, who will be relocating in early 2009 to allow for renovations to begin.
Columbia’s LPA Group has been hired to provide architectural services for the project. Chicago’s Full Aperture Systems will consult and install the theater’s new projection equipment that will feature the best in both contemporary and classical formats.
The Nickelodeon Theatre was founded in 1979 in Columbia. It is the state’s only non-profit movie theater, showing independent, foreign and documentary films. The theater currently has over 700 members.
A History of the Fox Theater
The State Theater, the original theater at 1607 Main Street, opened to critical acclaim on July 2, 1936 with the film “Red Salute.” The Art Deco style building was a stylistic departure from most of the downtown buildings but was typical of grand Southern movie palaces. It had all the modern comforts such as air conditioning, a men’s lounge and a women’s parlor. The exterior façade is similar as it is today with the tall pilasters and face masks however, on the bottom level was a rectangular marquee and a centered box office made of glass and tile. The interior continued the Art Deco theme with red plush seats, silver iron work, sunset pillars and modern wall sconces.
When the theater opened in 1936, it joined four other movie theaters on Main Street. All four theaters were owned and operated by Palmetto Amusements, a subsidiary of Publix, making the State Theater the only independently owned and operated theater in the downtown area. Silent motion picture theaters had been on Main Street since 1916 and by the time of the opening of The State Theater, all four prior theaters had been remodeled to show “talkies.”
The State Theater was considered a second tier theater that typically showed movies that had previously played at another theater a year prior. Occasionally it showed first runs, but they were typically science fiction, B-rate movies, or adult films.
The State Theater continued to operate as a second tier theater until 1961 when it closed its doors. The building was vacant for one year before the Fox Theater opened in 1962. Although the theater has been renovated in 1961, it again went renovation in the 1970s in an effort to compete with urban flight and the competition of the Richland Mall. This time a second screen was added on the second floor which enclosed the balcony. The intent was to double the capacity in the hopes that more options would attract more customers, but this tactic failed and the second floor area was closed off from the main theater and used as a residence instead.
The Fox Theater continued to serve the community until it closed in 1987. It was then converted into Solid Gold Beauty Supply on the ground level. By 1990, all theaters on Main Street had been closed, some being demolished. Today, the Fox Theater is the only surviving theater in the downtown Main Street area. While the building has some signs of neglect, many of the elements of the original movie theater are still in place or available and the building is structurally sound.
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