What happened to the Belle Meade Theater, Art Deco Nashville palace?
The old magic faded, and the Art Deco cinema palace closed as a movie house in 1991.
But what a run.
For 51 years, the Belle Meade Theater lit up the night with its 80-foot neon tower gleaming like a lighthouse, beckoning moviegoers to dress to the nines for a night out.
The doors swung open for the first time May 1, 1940. The first movie: "Charlie McCarthy, Detective." That film was a comedy featuring ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummy, Charlie McCarthy. It was the beginning of an era that survived World War II and died weeks after the start of Operation Desert Storm in Iraq (1991).
The Belle Meade Theater was made sturdy, with white Georgia marble and red brick. The trim was granite and aluminum. It was known for its pictures and autographs of celebrities who had visited the place in person.
The stars who signed posters in the lobby were so bright, you almost needed sunglasses to read their signatures. Bob Hope, Doris Day, Jimmy Durante, Helen Hayes, Gene Autry -- just to name a few.
The record run for any film was 14 straight months. Any guesses? The record holder was "The Sound of Music" in 1965 and 1966. When "Gone With the Wind" screened there in 1967, they rolled a Civil War cannon into the lobby.
Robert Redford showed up with Tennessean editor John Seigenthaler for a screening of "All the President's Men" in 1976.
"Coal Miner's Daughter" was a huge hit in 1980, and Loretta Lynn, whom the film is about, was in the audience with her family.
The last movie on the Belle Meade screen was "The Godfather III," a lousy leg in a trilogy that summed up the Belle Meade Theater's existence, great early success with a dud at the end. "The Godfather III" made sure the Belle Meade Theater slept with the fishes.
The theater was built by Tony Sudekum, who also owned the Hippodrome Roller Skating Rink. Sudekum, who made his fortune as an ice cream salesman, had opened his first movie theater, The Dixie, in 1907 before there were such things as "talkies." At one time, Sudekum owned all the movie theaters in Nashville, except the one owned by Loews.
One of his prized possessions was a letter from the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who thanked Sudekum for his work as Tennessee's liaison to the motion picture industry.
Sudekum died in 1946 when his grand movie palace was barely six years old.
In 1991, the Belle Meade Theater was gutted and turned into a book store and then a grocery store. Today, what was once the main lobby is vacant. A building permit from 2014 is taped to the door. The rest of the building houses various retail including Top Hat Cleaners, a FedEx store and Epiphany, a design firm. A space once used as a salon is currently empty.
Crain Construction said in a news release that the plan is to keep the Belle Meade Theater's distinctive tower and marquee.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Longest running movie in Belle Meade Theater history? 'Sound of Music'
