‘Source of pride.’ Longtime movie theater in Charlotte area to receive national honor
A downtown Kannapolis treasure will be bestowed with a national honor on Tuesday.
The N.C. State Preservation Office will present the The Gem Theatre with the National Register of Historic Places plaque and recognition celebration from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday. The theater at at 111 W. First St. is about 30 miles north of uptown Charlotte.
Kannapolis spokeswoman Annette Privette Keller called the family-friendly, single-screen movie theater “our city’s most revered historic landmark.”
The theater, which celebrates its 85th anniversary on Dec. 31, recently underwent $.1.1 million in renovations.
The city took the lead working on the historic designation by documenting the architecture and history and usage of the theater, said theater operator Steve Morris.
“It’s a source of pride as much as anything,” Morris said. “The national register listing doesn’t in and of itself really provide any protections. But I think that designation makes people a little more aware of the historic significance and a little more mindful of the importance of preservation.”
The city purchased the theater property in 2015 as part of its Downtown Revitalization Project. But Morris owns and operates the theater.
“It’s where people go for their first dates, first kiss, people have gotten engaged and married there,” Keller said.
The renovations
As downtown Kannapolis undergoes development changes, The Gem Theatre has seen some changes, too.
Three projects in the first phase of renovations were recently completed:
▪ First floor bathroom improvements for handicap accessibility.
▪ A new air and heat system.
▪ Restoration of the iconic marquee. Neon lighting was replaced and original colors, including the famous blue hues, were restored to its 1936 condition.
“The city has made a strong commitment to the theater,” Morris said. “That is the piece of property downtown that they have not sold off like other retail (downtown).”
The final two phases of renovation will be to replace the seating and make stage upgrades to allow for live performances, the Observer previously reported. Those projects have not yet been scheduled, Morris said.
The theater renovations took several months and was closed from February to May, after having been allowed to reopen just months earlier during the coronavirus pandemic.
How the theater survived COVID
Like other North Carolina businesses, The Gem closed in March 2020 and reopened that October with limited capacities and other pandemic-related restrictions.
The theater, which can hold 900 people, is only at about half of its pre-COVID attendance, Morris said.
Business is improving with a growing comfort level by customers and the showing of “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” through Thursday.
“The supply of movies has been a little bit less consistent, but that’s improving also,” Morris said. “It’s all getting better.”
The Gem shows one movie nightly. Tickets cost $5 for adults and $4 for children, according to its website.
The city’s redevelopment of downtown has helped downtown foot traffic, which Morris said has “significantly” increased concession sales as people walking around stop in and it also raises awareness about the theater.
“I think that’s going to become increasingly more impactful as we go forward,” Morris said. “For such a long time there wasn’t a lot of other things going on downtown so we were sort of a destination point.
“Now, people can make an evening of it,” he said. “It’s created a lot of synergy between the entertainment venues.”
This story was originally published November 29, 2021 at 9:46 AM with the headline "‘Source of pride.’ Longtime movie theater in Charlotte area to receive national honor."