Colonial Theater
Why it's listed
Opened on June 6, 1932, this brick movie theater on Park Street in downtown Canton was the first building in the town designed specifically for modern motion pictures. Benton & Benton of Wilson, North Carolina, designed it, and local businessman Marion C. Sprinkle built it. The front section was styled to resemble a residential building, with a slate side-gable roof, pedimented dormers and six-over-six windows, while the auditorium behind is plain commercial brick. Inside, about 650 seats, stucco walls, a balcony, a second-floor lounge and a projection room survive largely original. The theater is notable as a rare Colonial Revival movie house in a state where most were Art Deco. It also served as a social center for a mill town grown up around the Champion paper plant, hosting movies, vaudeville and country music shows, bank nights and Screeno games. Seating was segregated, with a separate entrance and balcony section for Black patrons.
Significance in brief: The theater was the first building in Canton constructed specifically as a modern motion picture house and was a central focus of the town's social life through the 1960s. It is a rare use of the Colonial Revival style for a theater, when most theaters of the period in the state were Art Deco. It remains highly intact inside and out.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 00000226, listed March 15, 2000. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 55-57 Park St., Canton |
|---|---|
| County | Haywood County |
| Listed | March 15, 2000 |
| Reference number | 00000226 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1932-1949 |
| Architect / builder | Benton & Benton (architects, Wilson, N.C.); Marion C. Sprinkle (builder) |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Entertainment/Recreation, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Current function listed as work in progress (theater); interior and exterior described as highly intact, with some 1960s storefront and ticket booth changes. |
| Acreage | 0.8 |
| Within district | Canton Main Street Historic District |
| Coordinates | 35.53237, -82.83984 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 00000226.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5148388
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.