{"nrhp_refnum":"83001895","name":"Temple Theatre","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"120 Carthage St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sanford","county":"Lee County","state":"NC","lat":35.48114011800004,"lon":-79.17867835099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-09-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Other","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick theatre and movie house at 120 Carthage Street in downtown Sanford, Lee County, North Carolina, built in 1925 by the Joe W. Stout Company to a design by architect Eric G. Flanagan.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a typical example of the modest small-town theatres of the 1920s that hosted traveling vaudeville and road shows and early motion pictures. It also cites the combination of Colonial Revival and Art Deco forms and the colorful interior, especially the large stenciled wall panels.","narrative":"Opened on March 2, 1925, this 450-seat brick theatre on Carthage Street in downtown Sanford was built by J.R. Ingram, Sr., owner of the local Coca-Cola bottling company. Architect Eric G. Flanagan of Henderson designed it, and the Joe W. Stout Company of Sanford constructed it. The facade combines Colonial Revival and Art Deco elements with cut stone details. Inside, a segmental proscenium arch, an embossed metal ceiling and four large stenciled wall panels carry bands of cream, rose, gold, coral, brown and blue. The theatre hosted traveling shows and silent films, later talkies, and by the 1950s showed mostly movies. It closed in the 1960s as suburban cinemas grew popular. In 1981 Ingram's son donated the building, and by 1983 a community group was renovating it as a performing arts hall, adding a rear stage and storage wing. It was listed as an example of a small-town 1920s theatre with a distinctive interior.","period_of_significance":"1925","architect_builder":"Joe W. Stout Co./Eric G. Flanagan","architectural_style":"Blend of Colonial Revival and Art Deco","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Closed in the 1960s and left vacant and decaying; donated in December 1981 and undergoing renovation (estimated $375,000) at the time of the 1983 nomination, with a rear addition under construction.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:56.638314-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/34/7210/47721034/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/83001895.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001895/644cbf1b58-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001895/644cbf1b58-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jerrye &amp; Roy Klotz, MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TEMPLE_THEATER;_SANFORD;_LEE_COUNTY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jerrye &amp;amp; Roy Klotz, MD</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TEMPLE_THEATER;_SANFORD;_LEE_COUNTY.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"85002561","name":"Downtown Sanford Historic District (Additional Documentation)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/north-carolina/downtown-sanford-historic-district-additional-documentation-85002561/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47721034","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Theatre_(Sanford,_North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7698680"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/lee-county/temple-theatre-83001895/"}