CityView Magazine

Photos courtesy of: Weeks Parker Jr. The Fayetteville Area Transportation Museum Steve Horne Above | Oscar Breece knew how to throw a party, and his landing on the Cape Fear River was the place to see and be seen. Right | Downtown Fayetteville once had a slew of movie houses including the Colony, New Dixie and Miracle theaters. that gave Oscar Breece his zest for life? ThereÕ s no telling now, but in the early 1940s, Oscar opened BreeceÕ s Landing, which quickly became the social hub of Fayetteville. In a wooden banquet hall overlooking the river, big-band musicians entertained the crowds who came to listen to the music and dance. On the river below, the Florida was moored to an old World War II submarine chaser, which served as a dock and a popular fishing spot. The sub chaser sank years ago, but its carcass still lies there on the banks of the river. Here or History? The memories arenÕ t far out of reach Ð just take a ride to the river. The Oscar P. Breece Bridge that carries Person Street over the Cape Fear gives a birds-eye view of that old chaser. Made for movies The Cameo Art House Theatre on Hay Street opened in October 2000, but the building already had a rich history in motion pictures. Beginning in 1914, it housed the New Dixie, the successor to the original Dixie, which stood across Hay Street and in the early 1900s offered early cinema fans silent movies. The 44|June/July • 2009 New DixieÕ s success encouraged other businessmen to open other theaters downtown, and in the middle decades of the 20th century, the cinematic choices on Hay Street were plentiful. Both the Colony and the Miracle theaters occupied space in the 300 block of Hay Street, where new shops and condominiums are being built now. The Carolina Theatre stood in the footprint of the police department, and the Broadway was situated where the Public Works Commission building now stands. Up Haymount Hill, where the Cape Fear Regional Theatre is today, the Hamont Theatre showed popular westerns on Saturday mornings for neighborhood children. Before the Civil Rights movement ended segregation, many businesses, including theaters, were off limits to blacks. In the early 1900s, the Eureka Theatre on Person Street catered to the cityÕ s African-American residents. The Plaza Theatre on Hillsboro Street served black customers as well. Only the ghosts of FayettevilleÕ s first movie theaters remain today, though. In the 1970s, as shopping shifted to the Skibo Road area and downtown sank into seediness, the old theaters met their demise. When adult entertainment took hold of Hay Street, the old theaters went from showcasing popular films of the day to playing X-rated productions and low-budget kung fu flicks. They eventually closed, along with downtownÕ s notorious strip clubs and bars. Little remains of FayettevilleÕ s old drive-in theaters either, though, in a couple of places, their skeletons remain. At 4025 Bragg Blvd., where KellyÕ s Auto Sales operates, the rusting hulk of an old drive-in screen towers among the trees. In the boulevardÕ s heyday, at least three drive-ins Ð the Boulevard, the Fox Twin and the Midway Ð entertained movie-goers. The Sky Vue Drive-In out on Gillespie Street could accommodate more than 400 cars before it shut down in the late 1950s and SteveÕ s Tower in the Sky moved into its space. Here or History? The Cameo thrives in the spot where movies once lived, but only nostalgia remains for the drive- in theaters. Film buffs may have to be satisfied with outdoor movies in Festival Park, Massey Hill and Fort Bragg.

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