BRISTOL 3415 Summer Av
 

Opened 1930   .  Closed 1970s    .  Seats 660   .  Demolished
The Bristol Theater was just West of Highland Street. According to Memphis old-timers, it got its name from the time when the area was way out in the suburbs and that section of Summer Avenue was called the "Bristol Highway." Bristol was considered "...clear at the other end of Tennessee, about as far away from Memphis as you can get and still be in the state". In the mid-to-late 1970s it was run by a Memphis movie buff named Mitchell Shapperkotter, probably more as a hobby than as a true commercial endeavor.  The theater was a rather standard design with Art Deco appointments and had a very long, narrow lobby running clear through the office block to the auditorium on the back side. 

 

 

The Bristol is listed in the 1930 through 1958 Memphis Directories.  That's as far as we've been able to verify a listing.
 
 

The Bristol 1958 

The Bristol Building Today

1940 Bristol Ad

1953 Bristol Ad
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

Credits
 

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