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An obvious presence in Etowah is the Gem Theater. Located in a building originally built in 1927 and purchased by the city of Etowah in 1993 and now is the location of local plays, concerts, movies and other events. [15]
The Gem was conceived in 1948 by the Bijou Amusement Company of Memphis, Tennessee and opened in 1951. Having a theater specifically for African-American residents in their own neighborhood meant that customers weren't relegated to one section with inferior amenities, like in segregated theaters that were ubiquitous at the time. [1]
That theater, later renamed to Thompson's Opera House, originally focused on live stage shows and musical performances. Increasingly the venue focused on showing movies on a retrofitted stage, so it was again renamed to the Gem Theater in the 1930s. [2] In 1937, this larger movie theater opened next door as a purpose-built building.
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This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Schedule and scores for the 2024 Etowah County baseball tournament. Show comments. Advertisement. Advertisement. Holiday Shopping Guides.
The agency also operates a toll-free hotline — 1-800-772-1213 — and will schedule in-person meetings at one of hundreds of Social Security offices around the country.
In 1935 the Opera House was renamed the Gem Theater after Frank Thompson took over sole management, but in 1937 he built a new Gem Theater next door expressly for movies. The Opera House declined from that point and finally closed in the 1940s. [3] The National Register of Historic Places listed the opera house in 1984. [1]
Gem Theatre (Kansas City, Missouri) H. Haiphong Opera House; Hayes Theater; J. Jefferson Theater (Virginia) James Earl Jones Theatre; L. Lafayette Theatre (Harlem)