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The purpose of the South Carolina Picture Project is to celebrate the beauty of the Palmetto State while preserving some of its vanishing landscapes.

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Theatre on the Green

SC PICTURE PROJECT 1 Comment

SC Picture Project / Chesterfield County / Theatre on the Green

On Christmas morning of 1920 the residents of Cheraw received a novel gift from local pharmacist John Ladd, who opened the town’s first movie theater on that day. Ladd called the silent movie house on the Town Green the Lyric Theater, charging visitors 11 cents a ticket. Legend has it that Cheraw native Dizzy Gillespie got a job at the Lyric catching young people sneaking into the theater – after he was caught doing the same thing.

Theatre on The Green

David Sides of Cheraw, 2014 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

In 1929 people were treated to the theater’s first talking picture, The Broadway Melody. Ticket prices jumped to 25 cents by the beginning of WWII, and the venue became known as the Cheraw Theater. The business continued to draw audiences through the decades, though it changed hands several times. By the 1980s the theater was called the Cheraw Cinema, and the brick building which once created such a buzz on a Christmas morning in 1920 closed its doors in 1987. The following year the building was purchased by the Cheraw Development Corporation, and the old movie house reopened as the Theatre on the Green, a performance arts center and community gathering place.

SCIWAY thanks Cheraw’s Director of Tourism and Community Development, David Sides, for the above photo and much of the information.

Plan Your Trip: Theatre on the Green

Where is Theatre on the Green located?
Address: 200 Market Street, Cheraw, SC 29520
GPS Coordinates: 34.696803,-79.883767
What else should I see?
Inglis-McIver Law Office 0 mile
Merchants' Bank of South Carolina 0.1 mile
Market Hall 0.1 mile
Cheraw Town Hall 0.1 mile
Show me more like this!
  • Cheraw Historic Sites
    Theatre on the Green Map

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    Comments

    1. Jearmey says

      May 31, 2019 at 11:40 AM

      Is this theatre still in used to this very day? Do people still go and watches movies? Is the inside of the building a lot different to how we see our theatres now?

      Reply

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    We are a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to preserve the history of South Carolina’s historic, natural, and cultural landmarks before they are lost to time. This website serves as a permanent digital archive of over 2,300 South Carolina landmarks – and counting. Learn more about our work.

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    ABOUT US

    We are a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to preserve the history of South Carolina’s historic, natural, and cultural landmarks before they are lost to time. This website serves as a permanent digital archive of over 2,300 South Carolina landmarks – and counting. Learn more about our work.

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