Photos: Atlanta's 1940s movie theaters

The Paramount Theatre
The Loew's Grand Theatre
The Plaza Theatre
Bailey's Eighty-One Theatre
Bailey's Ashby Theatre
The Roxy Theatre
The Capitol Theatre
The Fox Theatre
The Madison Theatre
The Rialto Theatre
The Hilan Theatre
The Rhodes Theatre
The Rhodes Theatre
The Rhodes Theatre
The Erlanger Theatre
The Gordon Theatre
The Gordon Theatre
The Center Theatre
The Bankhead Theatre
The Buckhead Theatre
The Euclid Theatre
The Sylvan Theatre
1 / 22
The decade of the 1940s was arguably the height of Atlanta's era of movie palaces. Theaters were still clumped together in entertainment districts, or anchored for the city's independent neighborhoods. Soon the city would spread further out and televisions would move into residents' living rooms, gradually sending most of these businesses into decline. Some would find new life, and some would crumble to the ground. Here's a survey of some of those theaters, with information taken from the 1940 city directory, and from the CinemaTreasures.org website (http://www.CinemaTreasures.org) and its hive mind of commenters. Seen here is The Paramount Theatre on Peachtree Street. It was demolished in 1960, and the entire top part of its facade was reused as the front of a mansion in Moultrie, Ga. (AJC file) [Captions by Pete Corson]