Celebrating 100 years: The National Theatre entertains the community for a century
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The National Theatre celebrated their 100 birthday on April 23. The theater was built by Dr. W.F. Box, with construction starting in 1919. It has featured thousands of movies, hosted events and been a staple on Graham’s Downtown Square for 100 years. (Leader photo by Madalyn Heimann) -
The National Theatre’s main theater, The National, is one of three screening rooms that the now 100 year old theater offers. This room is their largest and features restored 1940s seat and newer seats. (Leader photo by Madalyn Heimann)
It was 1920, the population of Graham was 2,544 and The National Theatre had just opened its doors to the community. A lot has changed in 100 years, but still the theater is a staple on the square in 2020.
The National Theatre opened on April 23, 1920 with the showing of the silent film “Bill Apperson’s Boy.” Ticket prices were 10 cents for children and 35 cents for adults, including war tax. Though much has changed in terms of pricing, management and technology over the past 100 years, The National Theatre still holds a key role in the community and the livelihood of downtown Graham.
“I would hope that the community would see the theater as a part of an essential core to the downtown. I think it is vital in that area. I know that before we restored the theater, the downtown definitely needed a boost,” current owner of The National Theatre, Pam Scott said. “It has provided them (the square) a much needed entertainment aspect that really serves as an anchor, which is true in many small-medium sized communities. It just continues to be vital in the traffic flow it provides to downtown.”
It was the fall of 1919 when Dr. W.F. Box began renting the land that the theater sits on from Christine Pohlman. Pohlman’s husband, John, owned a boot, shoe and leather shop, but had died. According to Dorman Holub, a local historian, Box owned around 20 theaters at the time, and saw Graham as a potential location. Dr. Box borrowed $5,400 from Guaranty Bank to build the theater. In 2020, that is worth around $69,000.
For the full story, see the Saturday, April 25 edition of The Graham Leader.
