The Park Theater

The glamour of Hollywood was recreated on October 18,1939, when the Park Theater staged its Grand Opening Gala with a crowd of over spectators. With movie reels rolling, the Red Carpet Ceremony played host to many celebrities as the Francis Craig Orchestra played well into the evening. Located on the old Broadway of American Highway, linking New York with Los Angeles, The Park was touted as the grandest movie palace between Nashville and Chattanooga. This multi-use theater was the venture of owner Cowan Oldham who wanted to promote more than just movies at The Park it was to become the centerpiece of culture and downtown entertainment for McMinnville. Always the showman, Oldham hosted weddings, recitals, concerts, country music venues, plays, graduations and even political debates from the stage of the art deco theater. Stage props, starlets, and stuntmen were all a part of the promotions to bring in the crowds and woo the audiences. A disastrous fire in 1947 did not hamper the dreams of Oldham and his Cumberland Amusement Company. He vowed to make the place bigger and better in a style grander than before. Renovations included new seats, an enlarged stage, the classic medallion lights and the vertical marquee which became a beacon for downtown McMinnville street life. For years, The Park remained the centerpiece of a small empire of theaters located across Tennessee and northern Alabama. Oldham died in 1969 in the theater that he loved. Sadly, one by one, his prized theaters were sold or closed. The family continued to operate The Park until 1986 when the doors were locked and lights went out in the people’s palace on Main Street. It was the end of an era. The theater was vacant for several years until a local contractor purchased the property and reconfigured the building into offices and suites. Much of the elegant interior was destroyed, but enough was left to inspire a new group of visionaries.