27 Oct 2014
City directories are a useful resource for understanding what leisure entertainment your Cabarrus ancestors may have enjoyed. The 1920 Concord City Directory lists three businesses as “Theaters and Places of Amusement:” The New Piedmont Theatre, located at 10 South Union Street; the Pastime Theatre, located at 22 South Union Street; and the Star Theatre, located at 3 North Union Street.
The Star advertisement, featured along the bottom pages of the directory, lures customers to “Visit the STAR Theatre, Concord’s Newest Theatre, Headquarters for High Class Motion Pictures, Opposite the St. Cloud Hotel” (now Hotel Concord).
Charles M. Isenhour managed the new Piedmont; W. E. Stewart was proprietor of the Pastime; and B. L. Means and L. L. Wallace oversaw the running of the Star.
By 1930, there is a new theatre listed in the city directory, the Concord Theatre, located at 11 North Union, and the New Piedmont has disappeared from the listings.
The 1940 directory shows four Concord theatres. The Cabarrus Theatre, located at 22 North Union Street, is the newest addition to Concord. Operating at 11 North Union Street is the Paramount Theatre and at 3 North union Street is the State Theatre. The Pastime Theatre is still on South Union Street, although the street address has been changed from 22 to 26.
Concord native William C. Cline took over as assistant manager of the Cabarrus Theatre in the late 1940s. His book, “Stroke of Fortune: the Adventures of a Motion Picture Showman,” published in 1995, recounts his early years in Concord and a lifelong love of motion pictures. Cline worked in the theatre business all his life, and his autobiography includes photographs of many actors and motion picture marquees taken from Concord’s earlier theatre days.
A terrific website to see photos and get information about theaters old and new is cinematreasures.org. Just put in the name of the city and a listing will appear.
Courtesy of the Cabarrus County Public Library, Lore Local History Room