visitRaleigh Creative Genius Blogging — Cary Theater Enhances Ambiance, Culture, and Nostalgia Downtown
- kristystevenson
- Jun 18, 2014
- 1 min read
Updated: Feb 28
Sampling of posts and photos promoting the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB)
The Cary Downtown Theater was once home to the town's first indoor movie theater, aptly titled The Cary. Built in 1946, the theater hosted live performances as well as a wide range of films for the price of just 40 cents. Lash LaRue, Ernest Tubbs and Patsy Cline are said to have appeared back in the day. 1947's The Voice of the Turtle, starring Ronald Reagan, was one of the earliest films shown.
Its launch fell during the Jim Crow Era of Segregation. As a result, The Cary's past included separate entrances, exits, seating and access to facilities for African-American guests. This history, along with actual pieces of the building's past, are on display in the balcony lobby.
Nightlife blossomed at the dating hot spot. The opening of The Car-Ral Drive-In, however, (often referred to as McSwain's for its operator, J.T. McSwain) — once at the corner of S.E. Maynard and E. Chatham Sts. — slowly ebbed at The Cary's business. And once television sets could be found in almost every home, the theater finally closed.
—Greater Raleigh CVB | 2013-2020
