Venue Information

The Pastime Theatre was built in 1937 by local contractors and laborers, and was operated for many years as a movie theatre with a stage large enough for vaudeville productions. The original building was not air-conditioned, but had a system of fans and air ventilation. The balcony was divided into three areas. The projector room was at the upper end of the balcony. The balcony seating area was divided into two partitioned sections. A part of local history also included the separation of blacks and whites in the theatre. The black theatre-goers bought their tickets on the opposite side of the ticket booth from whites at the bottom of a separate stairway that lead them directly up to a segregated area in the balcony.

During its heyday, the theatre was owned by George Thornton, who was also connected with the drive-in theatre in Gu-Win and the walk-in theatre in Carbon Hill. The Winfield and Carbon Hill theatres were mirror images of each other.

In 1965, Jack Lane Borde ...