East Lake Theatre

The East Lake Theater was movie theater located at 7611 1st Avenue North in East Lake, in a business district frequented by students of nearby Howard College.

The first East Lake Theater was constructed in the late 1920s or early 1930s. Its business was threatened with the opening of the new, larger College Theatre across the street in 1947.

The 700-seat single-screen cinema was built before 1950 and operated as part of the Frank Merritt's Community Theaters circuit. Merritt retained ownership of the building, but operation of the cinema was turned over to the Waters Theatre Company in Community Theaters' 1950 merger with Waters.

By the 1960s the cinema no longer screened films and was converted into a skating rink. In 1974 Fashion Dinettes furniture store began operating in the building and later became the home of Estate Liquidators.

References

• "Waters announces theaters' merger." (August 1950) Birmingham News - via Birmingham Rewound