Carolina Theatre

The Carolina Theatre is a Mediterranean Revival structure designed by the renowned theatre architects R.E. Hall of New York and C. C. Hook of Charlotte and constructed between 1926 and 1927. The theatre was designed with a lavish, atmospheric, Spanish Renaissance-inspired interior. Like many historic theaters of its era, the Carolina Theatre went into decline as audiences gravitated to new cinemas in the suburbs; it closed its doors on November 27, 1978.

The Carolina Theatre gained a new lease on life in 2012, when the city of Charlotte deeded the property to Foundation For The Carolinas. Construction to restore and renovate the theater began in 2017. The intent was to restore the theatre to its original grandeur and create a vital civic engagement space, with the addition of a new hotel space above the theatre.

EverGreene was retained by the Foundation For The Carolinas to perform a complete restoration of the auditorium’s interior, which was fairly deteriorated. All plaster features were either restored or recreated; the flat, three-coat plaster finishes were repaired wherever necessary, and the ornamentation was either restored or remolded when required. All decorative finishes were recreated by EverGreene onsite staff as well as at the EverGreene Design Studio. The Design Studio recreated or redesigned the decorative finishes, which were applied to the plaster surfaces by EverGreene onsite staff, which they had prepped, painted, and glazed. The Design Studio also recreated the six murals which previously adorned the walls of the auditorium. The murals were scaled down to 1/4 of the original size and were painted by hand by our muralists; they were enlarged, printed on acoustic fabric, and installed by an outside company.