{"id":18,"date":"2017-04-21T17:46:52","date_gmt":"2017-04-21T17:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.historicdixietheatre.com\/?page_id=18"},"modified":"2025-04-17T12:31:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T12:31:53","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/?page_id=18","title":{"rendered":"History"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces”][vc_column][vc_column_text]\"\"[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”569″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1744892595044{padding-right: 50px !important;padding-left: 50px !important;}”]<\/p>\n

First opening its doors in late 1934, the Karrh Center Theatre was one to be marveled. The theatre presented feature films in addition to a variety of vaudeville attractions. Many locals remember seeing picture shows for just 10 cents. The theatre was enjoyed by all until, sadly, its doors were closed in the late 1960s. The building was then used as a retail space and for a short time sat vacant until 2014. At that time, proprietor W.M. Karrh\u2019s grandsons, Bill and Jim, donated the former theatre to the City of Swainsboro for redevelopment into a community arts center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_section full_width=”stretch_row” css=”.vc_custom_1493922380202{background: #ab1d35 url(http:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/DixieTheatreSchedule-2.jpg?id=336) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][vc_row content_placement=”middle” amy_white_text=”yes”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]\"dixie[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

1934<\/span><\/h1>\n

The Dixie Theatre, which was built and operated by W. M. Karrh, opened on November 19, 1934 with a 7:30 pm showing of \u201cThe Richest Girl in the World” starring Marion Hopkins. The theatre presented feature films in addition to a variety of vaudeville attractions. One of the first slogans of the theatre was \u201cWhere Amusement Costs So Little”. Many films were shown at the Dixie Theatre for an admission cost of just 10\u00a2. Many locals remember attending the \u201cFine Time for a Dime\u201d movie specials.<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=”middle” amy_white_text=”yes”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

1935<\/span><\/h1>\n

Emanuel County school officials declared a half-day holiday to allow students to attend a matinee of \u201cGrand Old Girl\u201d at the Dixie Theatre after President Franklin D. Roosevelt publicly stated that he wanted every school child to see the film.<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]\"dixie[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=”middle” amy_white_text=”yes”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]\"dixie[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

1946<\/span><\/h1>\n

Ada Walden, who managed the theatre for many years, won an award based on her management supervision of the film, \u201cMom and Dad.\u201d Ten winners were selected out of 837 contenders and Walden was not only the sole female winner, but also the only winner from Georgia. Her prize was a $1,000 cash award, which would equal more than $12,000 in today\u2019s economy.<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=”middle” amy_white_text=”yes”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

1950<\/span><\/h1>\n

The Dixie Theatre received upgrades of steam heating, air conditioning, and an ice machine. The following year, additional renovations were completed, which included the addition of the stone veneer to the building\u2019s fa\u00e7ade.<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]\"dixie[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=”middle” amy_white_text=”yes”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]\"dixie[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

1960s<\/span><\/h1>\n

Sadly, The Dixie Theatre showed its last movie and closed its doors for what the public thought would be forever.<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1493156780830{padding-top: 50px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1496939771295{padding-right: 50px !important;padding-left: 50px !important;}”]<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is by far the most modern and the largest theatre in any small town in Georgia, and is equal to any in the larger cities in point of construction and equipment. It is constructed from the very latest plans and is ceiled with sound board and other improved additions to sound. It is equipped with the latest and most comfortable seats and heating arrangement. It has a seating capacity of something over eight hundred and is equipped with the latest Western Electric sound and vision.\u201d<\/p>\n

– Forest-Blade, November 15, 1934<\/em><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces”][vc_column][vc_column_text][\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”569″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1744892595044{padding-right: 50px !important;padding-left: 50px !important;}”] First opening its doors in late 1934, the Karrh Center Theatre was one to be marveled. The theatre presented feature films in addition to a variety of vaudeville attractions. Many locals remember seeing picture shows for just 10 cents. The theatre was enjoyed by all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-18","page","type-page","status-publish","h-entry","hentry","h-as-page"],"yoast_head":"\nFind Out More About The Historic Dixie Theatre History<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Karrh\u2019s grandsons, Bill and Jim, donated the former theatre to the City of Swainsboro for redevelopment into a community arts center.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/?page_id=18\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Find Out More About The Historic Dixie Theatre History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Karrh\u2019s grandsons, Bill and Jim, donated the former theatre to the City of Swainsboro for redevelopment into a community arts center.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/?page_id=18\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Karrh Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-17T12:31:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/TheaterExterior.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" value=\"Written by\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" value=\"m3admin\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" value=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" value=\"3 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Karrh Center\",\"description\":\"Home of the Historic Dixie Theater\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/?page_id=18#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/TheaterExterior.jpg\",\"width\":1170,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/?page_id=18#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/?page_id=18\",\"name\":\"Find Out More About The Historic Dixie Theatre History\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/?page_id=18#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-21T17:46:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-17T12:31:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"Karrh\\u2019s grandsons, Bill and Jim, donated the former theatre to the City of Swainsboro for redevelopment into a community arts center.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/?page_id=18\"]}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18"}],"version-history":[{"count":92,"href":"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":579,"href":"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18\/revisions\/579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karrhcenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}