The front of the Colquitt Theatre, in 1942, with its marquee advertising the current movie.
An advertisement that ran in the May 27, 1942, edition of The Moultrie Observer. said an article that ran the day before it opened and also stated that the movie screen had been treated to make it fire-resistant.
Part of the“ modern” upgrade was that the seats were spaced 40” between the rows, which made it only one of two theaters in the state that had spaced the rows that far apart.( The Art Theatre in Atlanta was the other.) This reduced the seating from the original 1,250 to 1,000.
The new building also featured two 40-ton air conditioners, which I’ m sure was a little piece of heaven on a hot, summer day.
A story in the newspaper stated,“ A new feature of the Colquitt is an outgoing telephone. It will be located next to the water fountain and can be used by the kids to phone mother to come get them.”
A description of the decor of the newly renovated theater on the Downtown Moultrie website states,“ The color scheme of the heavily padded carpet was coral and beige to match the overall décor. The theatre had a Venetian mural. The
JUNE 2025 MoultrieScene 31