The front of the Colquitt Theatre, in 2020, after the Moultrie Senior Center, which was housed there, finally closed its doors.
mural was a reproduction of an oil painting depicting a view of old Venice, complete with camels, antique buildings, and bridges.”
For its time, the 1958 version of the Colquitt Theatre was state-of-the-art and one of the most impressive theaters in South Georgia. Once again, thanks to the Powells, who wouldn’ t let the devastating fire beat them but built an even better theater than the one they had built before.
Eventually, C. H. Powell sold his interests in the theater to Georgia Theatres, which he had been partnering with already for a number of years. The Moultrie
Twin Cinemas opened its doors in the Sunset Plaza Shopping Center in June of 1978. I think this must have put the“ nail in the coffin,” so to speak, for the Colquitt Theatre during that time. It closed in October of that year with Edwin Hill, who was the manager of the local theaters for the Georgia Theatres Company, telling The Observer that its future would“ depend on economic conditions in the theatre business.”
The Moultrie Twin Cinemas is the movie theater experience that I grew-up with as the Colquitt Theatre closed when I was in first grade. When I was a teen-ager, the Sunset Plaza was on our circuit of places that we drove through every weekend when we were“ riding around.” We drove past the theater to see who was there and who was there with who. I’ m sure there are many of you who spent part of your weekends the same way.
Then, just like its forbearer, the Moultrie Twin Cinemas made way for the Moultrie Stadium Cinemas and closed in May of 2007, the same month the new theater opened.
As for the Colquitt Theater, it sat vacant, neglected by the owner that bought it from Powell. In 1987, it had deteriorated so much, the City of Moultrie considered condemning it. In January of that year, the Moultrie City Council had asked the owner to either give them the building or set a purchase price but no movement was made to do either.
Then, in February of 1988, the City must have reached its tolerance limit and the owner was summoned to the Moultrie
32 MoultrieScene JUNE 2025