CROSSTOWN 400 N. Cleveland
 

Opened  May 1951  .  Closed 1983  .  Seats 1400  . 

The Crosstown Theatre opened in May 1951.  With 1400 seats, it had the distinction of being the largest and most luxurious suburban theatre in the metropolitan Memphis area.  The Crosstown was on the East side of Cleveland, a little South of North Parkway and the huge Sears Roebuck store. Old-timers said it had been started in 1941 and construction was suspended during WWII so it was just a hole in the ground until 1946. It was still in business in 1973, playing things like "Towering Inferno" and re-releases of "2001-a Space Odyssey."   Elvis Presley used to rent the theater our in the 1960s and 1970s for all-night movie sessions.

 

Malco, which owned the Crosstown, wasn't pleased with the cash flow, but didn't want to let anybody else run it for fear of the competition,  so they let it sit vacant for awhile in the late 70s.   They were looking for a way to unload it to someone who wouldn't use it a movie theater.  Enter the Jehovah's Witnesses. By 1983, they had taken over not only the theater for a conference center, but the entire surrounding block for offices, classrooms, and so forth. They left the marquee and the huge vertical "Crosstown" sign in place.   In 2005, after the photo above was taken, the vertical marquee was removed and destroyed, and the church began constructing a new look (awful) to replace the marquee. 

 The Crosstown is listed in the 1955-1957 Memphis Directories..
 

       Crosstown 1950      
 

Crosstown Lobby   

1953 Ad

Ticket

Crosstown Auditorium
     

      

       

       

1964 Ad       

 
 
 
 

 

Historic Memphis Website

 

Credits
 

The Historic-Memphis website does not intentionally post copyrighted photos and material without permission or credit.  On occasion a "non-credited" photo might possibly be posted because we were unable to find a name to give credit.  Because of the nature of our non-commercial, non-profit, educational website, we strongly believe that these photos would be considered "Fair Use.  We have certainly made no monetary gain, although those using this website for historic or Genealogy research have certainly profited.  If by chance, we have posted your copyrighted photo, please contact us, and we'll remove it immediately, or we'll add your credit if that's your choice.  In the past, we have found that many photographers volunteer to have their works included on these pages and we'll  also do that if you contact us with a photo that fits a particular page. 

 

The "Historic-Memphis" website would like to acknowledge and thank the following for their contributions which helped make this website possible:  Memphis Public Library, Memphis University Library, Memphis Law Library, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Memphis Press Scimitar, Shelby County Register of Deeds, Memphis City Schools, Memphis Business Men's Club, Memphis Chamber of Commerce, Memphis City Park Commission, Memphis Film Commission, Carnival Memphis, Memphis Historical Railroad Page, Memphis Heritage Inc, Beale Street Historic District, Cobblestone Historic District, Memphis Historic Districts, Vance Lauderdale Family Archives, Tennessee State Archives, Library of Congress, Kemmons Wilson Family, Richard S. Brashier, Lee Askew, George Whitworth, Woody Savage and many individuals whose assistance is acknowledged on the pages of their contributions.  Special thanks to Memphis Realtor, Joe Spake, for giving us carte blanche access to his outstanding collection of contemporary Memphis photos.

We do not have high definition  copies of the photos on these pages.  If anyone wishes to secure high definition photos,  you'll have to contact the photographer  or the collector.  (To avoid any possibility of contributing to SPAM, we do not maintain a file of email addresses for anyone who contacts us).