Liberty Theater was the center of Black nightlife in Valdosta, Georgia. It used to be a theater and nightclub, but the nightclub was demolished in 2023 after it became too unstable. Built in the 1930s, it is a contributing property to the Southside Historic District.
The State Theatre opened in 1940 on Highland Avenue in the historic neighborhood of Centennial Hill. It operated as a movie theater for the Black community until at least 1955. Over the years, it underwent several name changes, including the Nu Art Theatre, the Ritz Theatre, and the Art Theatre. By 1995, the building had been repurposed as a nightclub called Top Flight Disco. In 2008, it reopened as the Rose Supper Club Inc., which operated until its closure in 2013. It is now vacant.
The Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre, located in the heart of Marietta, Georgia, is an Art Deco gem that opened in 1935. Originally built as a movie palace by the Manning-Winks Theatre Company, the Strand is used for movies and the performing arts today. Manning-Winks was a theatre company that owned movie houses throughout north Georgia and eastern Tennessee.
The theater has a long history in the community. The first Strand was opened in 1914 on Atlanta Street, but like so many early buildings, it was lost to fire in 1929. The current location came to fruition after another fire damaged the buildings at this corner of Marietta Square.
The theater was used continuously until the early 2000s. It then fell into disrepair. Under the leadership of Earl and Rachel Smith, the theater was restored and reopened in 2009.
The DeSoto Theatre, which opened on August 5, 1929, was the first Southern theater built for “talkies.” Designed by O.C. Lam and modeled after the Roxy Theatre in New York, it featured modern amenities at a cost of over $100,000. After closing as a cinema in 1982, Rome Little Theatre transformed the space into a performance venue by adding a stage, orchestra pit, and new seating. In 2008, the Historic DeSoto Theatre Foundation was established, and the theater was deeded to the Foundation to preserve and maintain the historic building.
The GEM Theatre, established in downtown Calhoun in 1927, expanded to its current size in 1939. It was the town’s only venue for movies and performing arts for many years until it closed in the late 1970s.
After standing vacant for nearly 20 years, the GEM building was purchased in 2001 by the King family. The family hoped to restore it. While the main theater space had primarily remained intact, water damage had destroyed the stage and most of the interior. After ten years of fundraising and restoration, the theater reopened in 2011. For its restoration, it received the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation Rehabilitation Award.
It is now an active theater with concerts and free movie showings.
The Martin Theatres group opened the State Theatre, now the J. Lane Theater, in 1945. Originally opened as a movie theater, the theater now hosts live events.
