Luciann Theater - Memphis, TN
Posted by: 
saopaulo1
N 35° 09.049 W 089° 58.679
16S E 228712 N 3893828
The Lucian Theater in Memphis, TN.
Waymark Code: WM17WZR
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 04/14/2023
Views: 0
"Michael Cianciolo built the 1,014-seat Luciann Theatre in 1939-1940, and his son Augustine ran the theatre which opened on November 9, 1940 with Errol Flynn in “Virginia City”. The Luciann Theatre is named after sisters Lucy Cianciolo and Ann Cianciolo Angelo. In July 1958 it was closed and became a bowling alley.
Prior to the Luciann Theatre being built, in 1936 a Parkview Theatre was planned for the adjacent site, designed by architect R.B. Spencer for the Parkview Amusement Co., but it was never built. The site became the parking lot for the Luciann Theatre. In later years a bank was built on that site.
In 1966, the Luciann Theatre became a nightclub named ‘The Party’, which was very popular with Memphis Sound artists and the public. The Luciann Theatre perhaps had the first lighted dance floor in the city.
On March 23, 1971 it was sold to the Paris Adult Group, and for a number of years the concrete ‘Luciann’ name was covered by plywood, having been renamed Paris Adult Theatres I & II. About one quarter of the auditorium was being used for adult films in 2011, with a few of the ‘venetian blind’ side lights still intact together with some architectural details. Therefore, technically, there is still one screen operating under the Paris Adult Group management. It was closed in November 2017. In the summer of 2020 the building was sold, and work began to repurpose and renovate the theatre. It will revert back to its original Luciann Theatre name.
The exterior is amazingly well preserved as opposed to many other former neighborhood theatres in Memphis. Another Cianciolo operation, the Rosemary Theatre, was named for the third daughter, Rosemary. It did not survive in the 1960’s." (
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