ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP) - While the City of Orangeburg considers the possibilities for revitalizing Railroad Corner, some residents are hoping the State Theatre will be preserved or at least remembered.
The former theater “represents our heritage and our legacy,” Orangeburg resident William Green said.
“It was not just a theater. It was more like a community center,” he said.
Railroad Corner is located where Russell, Boulevard and Treadwell streets meet. In December 2019, the city purchased a block of business property there for the purpose of revitalization.
In September 2020, city council unanimously approved hiring the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s Development Finance Initiative to help the city plan for the area’s redevelopment.
Orangeburg Mayor Michael Butler said the city has not decided what to do with the buildings on Railroad Corner yet.
“We are using the UNC in Chapel Hill and they are doing a study on that property for us to see what is suitable and fit to go there,” Butler said.
The study will include input from the residents in the city, he said.
“The architects are looking at the buildings. I know they have asbestos in there and the plumbing is so bad. They have been neglected for over 40 years,” Butler said.
“We have not gotten findings and the determination of that study yet as to the appropriate process or how we are going to revitalize,” Butler continued. “However we revitalize the Railroad Corner, we will always commemorate the history of the Railroad Corner.”
Sonyia Turner, the Development Finance Initiative’s project manager, said the group has no specific plans in place for the buildings.
“We are still listening to the community, gathering information and are at the beginning of the feasibility analysis process,” Turner said. “We will be looking at both the preservation and adaptive reuse of existing buildings as well as new construction as part of the pre-development process.”
“Our analysis will explore the feasibility and tradeoffs of restoration, demolition and a combination of the two,” Turner said. A cost analysis will also be done.
“We expect to share the results of our financial feasibility analysis later in the year,” she said.
Butler expressed his excitement about revitalizing the corner.
“That is one of the things I wanted to see and is one of my pillars to revitalize the City of Orangeburg,” Butler said. “The Railroad Corner is the gateway of the city.”
THE STATE THEATRE
The State Theatre opened on Sept. 14, 1940 with the western movie, “Roarin’ Guns,” according to Orangeburg County Historical Society records. A second feature was the first episode of “Wild Bill Hickok,” a western serial.
The theater had 400 seats and fireproof construction.
While The State Theatre’s original owners are unknown, a corporation was organized in 1942 with principals E. J. Haley and Louise J. Haley.
The theater entrance and lobby were next door to the College Soda Shop run by Paul and Clemmie Webber. There was even a door connecting the two businesses. The theater and the soda shop cooperated and promoted the other’s business to their mutual benefit.
Movies were an important part of the social life in Orangeburg in the 1940s to 1960s, with westerns being the most popular genre in the early years, along with “cliff-hanger” serials that encouraged patrons to visit weekly or daily, according to the Orangeburg County Historical Society.
In addition to playing films, The State Theatre was an important gathering place in the Black community for about 20 years, supporting the war fund in 1944 and sponsoring summer camp programs in 1947.
Occasionally there was live entertainment, including in 1951 a famous and long-running touring vaudeville show, “Sugar Foot Sam from Alabam.”
The State Theatre closed in 1960 around the same time the next-door College Soda Shop closed.
“As a race of people, that is the only thing we have left in Orangeburg,” Green said. “We don’t have Goff Avenue, we don’t have the West End. The only thing we have left is that corner.”
‘EXTERIORS OF BUILDINGS MEAN A LOT’
Dr. Barbara W. Jenkins, who is a charter member of the S.C. African American Heritage Commission, spoke before Orangeburg City Council about Railroad Corner.
It was home to several prominent African American businesses that came into being shortly after segregation came into being, she said.
“Exteriors of buildings mean a lot,” Jenkins said.
She noted that federal grants are available to preserve historic buildings through the S.C. Department of Archives and History. She cited the University of South Carolina campus and the historic Horseshoe, saying the buildings were gutted and the exteriors were preserved.
“It is the integrity you want to save,” Jenkins said. “There are a lot of economic advantages on historic designations. Money can be made from history.”
Area resident Geoffrey Fine said he, too, would like to have the buildings preserved. If they are not, he would like for a historical marker placed at the site.
“It was a historical gathering point for African American people,” Fine said. “You don’t want to lose the overall significance of the gathering point. We need a historical marker.”
Fine says he envisions a nice plaque that will tell visitors the historic nature of the area.
“I think it should happen,” Fine said. “I hope it can happen and be done professionally, properly and respectfully.”
Green said he is not satisfied with just a marker at the theater.
“I think the building needs to be preserved and a plaque put on the building or in front of the building,” he said.
Green said historic buildings are preserved and renovated elsewhere in recognition of their historic significance.
“The building is in very good condition. If the building is put on the historical register, there are several grants they can get to restore that building,” he said.
Eric Powell, the Orangeburg County Historical Society director, says he is in favor of restoring the buildings.
“It would serve the citizens of Orangeburg to preserve and reuse the State Theatre and the rest of Railroad Corner to provide a living focus of information about and remind future generations of the struggles and history of the Black community at the same time as developing new business and community opportunities into the future,” Powell said. “Preserving historic buildings is vital to understanding our local heritage and the greater history of our nation.”
Rehabilitating buildings is also environmentally responsible, he said.
“Existing buildings can often be energy efficient through good ventilation, durable materials and spatial relationships. An immediate advantage of older buildings is that a building already exists; therefore, energy is unnecessary to demolish a building or create new building materials and the infrastructure may already be in place,” he said.
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