First Movies Shown on Sunday in SC

Movies were not shown on Sundays in South Carolina until World War II. The laws were relaxed in order to provide entertainment to the large number of soilders stationed in the state during the war. In addition to the existing Army and Navy facilities in South Caroilna at the time, a large military training center was built in 1941 near Spartanburg. Camp Croft hosted 75,000 soilders a year from 1941 until it closed in 1946. It had four theatres. They were used for training films and lectures during the day and to show movies at night.
Posted November 1, 2005

Early Films Shown Outside
Before motion picture theatres were built, many rural areas were able to watch movies projected on the side of a local farmer's barn at night. Independent film exhibitors in the early 1900s traveled the countryside looking for a community with a large barn next to an open field. If there were enough people living nearby to make it profitable, the exhibitor would rent the side of the barn for the night. People often came by wagon or on foot to see the short reels of film.
Posted November 1, 2005

Did you know that the Edison Company had a studio in Charleston?
You might be surprised to know the Edison Company had a movie studio in Charleston in 1914. While they never had a perminent studio in Charleston, they did occupy space behind the Princess Theatre. They filmed several movies in Charleston including A Warning From The Past, The Southerners, The Two Van Revels, and Days of Slavery.
Posted October 1, 2005

Do you have a photograph of an old South Carolina movie theatre?
We are looking for good photographs of many of the old single-screen movie theatres in South Carolina. We would particularly like to find photos of the Majestic Theatre in Fort Mill and any photos showing the use of the upper room of the company stores of the mill villages to show movies.
Posted October 1, 2005

Rear wall of Abbeville Opera House

Largest Wall in North America
The Abbeville Opera House in Abbeville, South Carolina has the largest un-reinforced solid brick and mortar wall in North America.

Abbeville was a natural place for large theatrical touring companies to stop on their way from Washington, DC, to Atlanta. They often stayed at the Eureka Hotel in Abbeville. The Abbeville Opera House opened in 1908, across from the Eureka Hotel, which is now the Belmont Inn.

Since its renovation in 1968, the Opera House offers a year-round program of professional theatrical productions in an elegant turn-of-the-century setting located on the Town Square, Abbeville.

It is also the Official Rural Drama State Theatre of South Carolina and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Free tours daily except at rehearsal times. For information, tickets and play dates call (864) 459-2157.
Posted October 1, 2005