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When the building was acquired by the present owner, a set of plans for a theatre prepared by architect Frank Cox of Chicago was found in the building. It was believed that these were the original plans for the Morton Building and Theatre, which would have been simplified in actual construction.
Mar 26, 2005 · Construction was completed in 1993 under the new ownership of Athens–Clarke County, with the architect J. W. Robinson leading the historic preservation of the Morton. The following year the theater officially reopened as a community performing arts center.
Pink Morton began construction on the Morton Building in 1909. It has been alleged that the design specifications for the Morton Theatre were adapted from an architectural design for a renovation to the nearby New Opera House.
- The Morton Building, Home of The Historic Morton Theatre
- Monroe “Pink” Morton
- Morton Building Origin
- Monroe Bowers “Pink” Morton’s Final Years
- More About Dr. Blanche Thompson.
- More About Dr. Ida Mae Hiram
Built in 1910 by Monroe Bowers (“Pink”) Morton, the Morton Theatre is one of the first, and the oldest surviving, vaudeville theatres in the United States, uniquely built, owned, and operated by an African American. In its heyday, the Morton Theatre hosted early acts such Butterbeans and Susie, Blind Willie McTell, Curley Weaver, Cab Calloway, and ...
The original builder, owner, and operator of the Morton Building, and founder of the Morton Theatre, Monroe Bowers Morton, was born in May 1853 in Athens. Morton was the son of a white father and an African American mother. (Morton’s mother was a former slave of mixed descent.) He acquired the nickname “Pink” among family and friends, which was ori...
In 1909, Morton purchased the land for the Morton Building for $2,175 in cash. The first floor would be for offices and retail, and the rest would be for the theater. It has been alleged that the design specifications for the Morton Theatre were adapted from an architectural design for a renovation to the nearby New Opera House, drawn up by Chicago...
By 1914 Morton was the owner, publisher, and editor of the Progressive Era, a local black newspaper. Unfortunately, few copies of the newspaper are known to have survived from the period of his ownership. Five years after establishing this newspaper Monroe Bowers “Pink” Morton died at the age of 66. Morton is buried in the Morton family lot at Gosp...
Dr. Thompson attended Atlanta University and following a short first marriage to Robert Saunders which left her a widow, she continued her education at Walden University in Nashville. Bishop Henry McNeal Turner of the A.M.E. church was so thoroughly impressed with her diligence and scholarship that he financed her medical education at Meharry Medic...
Early Years Ida Mae Johnson was born to Fayette and Short Johnson in Athens, Georgia. Her father was a former slave, who ran away from his bondage at a young age and established himself in Athens. At the age of six, Ida lost her mother, leading to her father raising her by himself. Her relatives would tell her stories of her grandfather and her gre...
The Morton Theatre, located in downtown Athens, Georgia, at 195 West Washington Street, is one of the first vaudeville theatres in the United States uniquely built, owned, and operated by an African-American businessman: Monroe Morton.
- October 22, 1979
- 1910
- Beaux Arts
- 199 W. Washington St., Athens, Georgia
Aug 17, 2023 · (Photo/Melanie Velasquez) The Morton Building and its famed vaudeville theater, the core of Hot Corner and downtown’s Black business district, give a glimpse into the long, rich cultural history...
Aug 27, 2006 · Although the Morton Theatre is architecturally significant, the architect is not known. When the building was acquired by the present owner, a set of plans for a theatre, prepared by architect Frank Cox of Chicago, was found in the building.
