Uptown’s Carolina Theatre has been closed to the public since 1978. It plans to open soon.
If it could go wrong, it did go wrong. That’s how it seemed construction was going for a while at the century-old Carolina Theatre in uptown.
There was asbestos and lead-paint abatement. Crews hit unexpected water as they drove foundation elements down into the earth to support a future hotel. Plans for that hotel were put on pause as the pandemic impacted the supply chain, labor market and travel. Original plans estimated the theater would open in fall 2021, with the hotel opening in spring 2022.
But now, the roughly $60 million project led by Foundation For the Carolinas appears back on track. The theater will likely be complete and open to the public next spring after lengthy renovations to the exterior and interior, said Laura Smith, the foundation’s executive vice president who’s been overseeing the theater work.
The 250-room Intercontinental Hotel will restart construction, likely in the fall, foundation president and CEO Michael Marsicano said during a Thursday afternoon Charlotte Center City Partners board meeting.
Construction on the upscale hotel, which will sit above the theater, was indefinitely paused last year, the Charlotte Observer reported at the time. Attempts to reach the Australia-based hotel developer Friday were not immediately successful.
Built in 1927, the Carolina Theatre closed to the public in 1978 and hasn’t seen the light of day since. It hosted acts like Bob Hope, Katherine Hepburn and Elvis Presley. The Charlotte City Council gave the foundation the theater building in 2012 for $1, and the organization first announced its plans in 2015. Construction began in 2018, according to Observer files.
“We want this to be the most beloved theater in town,” Marsicano said.
Theater will be ‘atmospheric’
The new design will give passersby a look at the facade of the old 1920s theater.
Tall, glass windows forming a box on the corner of 6th and Tryon streets will provide a clear view of the historic front of the theater. When you first walk through the glass doors, you’ll be in a newly-designed 4,000-square foot lobby. The original Carolina Theatre never really had a lobby, Smith said. There were a few stores that sat in front, then a wide hallway that ran behind the facade where you bought tickets.
In the newly-renovated theater, a marquee designed in the 1920s style will greet theatergoers as they go to sit down.
Workers are in the middle of restoring the inside of the 10,000-square foot theater to look like it once did. The foundation teamed up with a New York firm to best match paint colors to the original hues. People can expect to see a lot of gold, silver, blues and creams, Smith said.
It will be a Mediterranean flair, with six murals inside. That’s because the Carolina Theatre was known as an atmospheric theater, Smith said.
“They wanted you to come in and feel like you were being transferred to another part of the world,” Smith said.
The theater can seat 950 people. That’s actually smaller than the original 1,400. Smith attributed this change to people being, on average, taller than they were in the 1920s, so current-day seats require more legroom and space.
There will be some traditional theater seating, but the foundation is also bringing in couches as well as diner-like seating where larger groups can sit together with a drink and watch a performance.
Types of performances
The Carolina Theatre will serve Charlotte more as a civic theater, according to Smith. The stage was not built for large performances but rather individual acts. People can expect anything from comedians, lectures and holiday films.
Marsicano used other examples like a jazz trio, Saturday morning cartoons for kids and even livestreaming a Duke, North Carolina basketball game — like the big one played in the 2022 Final Four.
This story was originally published August 26, 2022 at 1:35 PM.
