Cinemagic Drive-In

Opening date: 1997/05/23

First movie shown: The Lost World: Jurassic Park

The Cinemagic Theatre, a 5-screen indoor theatre plus one-screen drive-in, opened on May 26, 2006 with 3 screens operating. Movies shown on opening night were The DaVinci Code, Over the Hedge, and X-Men: The Last Stand.

The Cinemagic Drive-In, located at 1702 S. Jefferson Street in Athens, Alabama, opened on the night of Friday, May 23, 1997. It originally had one screen, and later, a second screen was added. The drive-in has a 210-car capacity. Instead of having the old-style speakers on poles, the Cinemagic uses a low-power FM transmitter, allowing patrons to hear the movie soundtrack in stereo on their car's FM radio. When this drive-in opened, it was the first theatre to operate in Athens since the early 1980s. It has operated every summer starting in 1997 except for summer 2001. The main screen is 54 feet by 24 feet in size.

The movie shown on opening night at the Cinemagic was "The Lost World: Jurassic Park". The Decatur Daily ran two articles on the theatre's opening day, one of which was appropriately titled "An outdoor dinosaur lives again!".

Athens Cinema

Opening date: 1973/01/25

First movie shown: Pete 'n' Tillie

The Athens Cinema was opened by Sylvia and Reed Guthrie on Wednesday, January 25, 1973. It was located on US 31 across from Jerry's Restaurant. The theatre seated 323 and the walls were draped in red and gold fiberglass cloth. The first movie shown was ????Pete 'n' Tillie???? at 7:00 and 9:30 opening night. James Acuff was the projectionist when the theatre opened. An interesting feature of this theatre was a rock garden just inside the door. This theatre appears to have closed in September of 1983. The last ad I could find in the newspaper was from September 2, 1983.

Hatfield Drive-In

Opening date: 1949/03/18

First movie shown: Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap

The Hatfield Drive-In opened on Friday, March 18, 1949 at 6:30. The movie shown on opening night was ????Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap????. The Hatfield was located on US 31 south of Athens. The Hatfield seems to have closed shortly after the Athens Cinema opened. (in 1973)

Plaza Theatre

The Plaza Theatre seems to have opened in 1938, 1939, or 1940. It was located at 209 W. Washington Street and seated 340. In 1954, Robert Cannon was listed as the manager. An ad in 1951 stated that the theatre would be closed temporarily closed effective June 10, 1951. Ads in the newspaper for the theatre were not noticed after that date.

Ritz Theatre

Opening date: 1928/04/30

First movies shown:

• My Best Girl
• Fair and Muddy

The Ritz Theatre had its formal opening on Monday, April 30, 1928 at 7:00 by Muscle Shoals Theatres, Inc. It was located at 124 Marion Street (later 204 N. Marion Street). The first picture was ????My Best Girl????, a screen production by Mary Pickford, followed by a comedy, ????Fair and Muddy????. ????The Crowd???? was shown on May 1, and ????LoveLorn???? on May 2. The building was on the site of the old M. E. Church (erected 1836), with the walls and roof of the old building retained. The building was 105 feet long and 44 feet wide, with the main auditorium being 72 feet long. The theatre had 462 opera chairs with padded seats originally, with an additional 150 veneered seats in the balcony, 66 of which were reserved for colored persons (reachable by a starway on the south side of the building next to Copeland's store). The booth had two new Powers 6B projection machines, and the theatre could be used for movies as well as plays and Vaudeville. R. H. Walker was the builder and owner of the Ritz, who also owned the edited the Limestone Democrat newspaper. Louis Rosenbaum was the general manager of Muscle Shoals Theatres, Inc. at the time. The seating capacity was 565 in 1954, and in that year's city directory, Robert Cannon was listed as the manager. This theatre probably closed in the 1960s.

Theatorium

Located on the north side of the square.

Dixie Theatre

Located at 214 West Market Street. Doc Gray Clothing was in the same building. The second story was added to the building at 214 and it housed the theatre circa 1915-1925.

Sherrill Opera House

No longer in operation. Located at 635 West Washington Street in 1899. It moved there during the 1884-1899 time period and moved away during the 1899-1910 time period. There was a Presbyterian Church on the site that was destroyed and rebuilt during the 1860s and vacated in the 1880s and sold to G. L. Sherrill and later became the opera house.

Site created February 9, 1998

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