The Franklin Theatre

The Franklin Theatre opened in 1937 as the first air-conditioned building in town with a seating capacity of 600 downstairs and 130 in the balcony, which during the era of Jim Crow, was for black patrons. The opening feature was “Night Must Fall,” starring Montgomery Clift and Rosalind Russell. Admission was a dime for children and a quarter for adults. It showed movies for 70 years on Main Street and in the early days even served as a Vaudeville-style theater. The theater has reopened as a multipurpose venue for music, movies and community events; the marquee is a reproduction of the original 1937 marquee. After three years of work—and an investment of more than $8 million —the theater re-emerged better than ever. The Franklin Theatre continues the tradition of showing movies, but also added a new dimension to Main Street— live music concerts and live stage theater performances.