The Plaza Theatre is an Atlanta landmark and the city’s oldest continuously operating movie theatre. It is home to several weekly and monthly events, including The Rocky Horror Picture Show

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...

and both the Silver Scream Spookshow and Splatter Cinema, mixed-media events featuring live performances and the screening of a classic sci-fi or horror film, respectively.

1939 - 2000

Designed by architect George Harwell Bond

George Harwell Bond

George Harwell Bond was an architect active in Atlanta, Georgia and worked at the firm of G. Lloyd Preacher.He designed the modernist Briarcliff Plaza shopping center in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood, the location of the Plaza Theatre, and Atlanta's first shopping center with off-street...

, the Plaza Theatre opened on December 23, 1939, as an art deco

Art Deco

Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...

 cinema and live theater space. It was the neighborhood cinema for the Druid Hills

Druid Hills, Georgia

Druid Hills is a community which includes both a census-designated place in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, as well as a neighborhood of the city of Atlanta. The CDP's population was 14,568 at the 2010 census...

, Virginia Highland and Poncey-Highland

Poncey-Highland

Poncey-Highland is a neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, located south of Virginia-Highland. It so named because it is near the intersection of east/west Ponce de Leon Avenue and north/southwest North Highland Avenue. This Atlanta neighborhood was established between 1905 and 1930,...

 neighborhoods of Atlanta. It is an anchor of the Briarcliff Plaza

Briarcliff Plaza

Briarcliff Plaza, also known as Ponce de Leon Plaza, is a strip mall-type shopping center designed by architect George Harwell Bond and built in 1939 at the southwest corner of Ponce de Leon Avenue and Highland Avenue in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood of Atlanta. It was Atlanta's first shopping...

 on Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta's first shopping center with off-street parking. The first film screened was the Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....

-Norma Shearer

Norma Shearer

Edith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...

 vehicle The Women

The Women (1939 film)

The Women is a 1939 American comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor. The film is based on Clare Boothe Luce's play of the same name, and was adapted for the screen by Anita Loos and Jane Murfin, who had to make the film acceptable for the Production Code in order for it to be released.The film...

.

In the 1970s, the Plaza became an X-rated adult cinema and live burlesque theatre, screening such risqué fare as Teeny Buns and Swinging Sorority, until the entire shopping center was renovated by current owner Robert Griffith.

In 1983, movie theatre entrepreneur George Lefont bought the theatre and renovated the 1000-seat space by converting the balcony area into a second auditorium. The Lefont era witnessed an influx of independent, foreign, and art-house movies that would become the norm from 1983 to the present. The 1990s and 2000s witnessed a financial struggle for the Plaza, and the theatre was put up for sale in 2006.

Resurgence

In late 2006, Atlanta natives Jonathan and Gayle Rej purchased the theatre, and in early 2010, the Plaza Theatre Foundation became a nonprofit organization. Still retaining the original marquee and many of the original furnishings, the Plaza Theatre is now the oldest continuously operating theatre in Atlanta.

Since 2000, the fan group Lips Down on Dixie has hosted Atlanta's contribution to The Rocky Horror Picture Show cult following

The Rocky Horror Picture Show cult following

The Rocky Horror Picture Show cult following describes the cultural phenomenon surrounding the large fan base of enthusiastic participants of the movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show, generally credited as being the best-known if not the first cinematic "midnight movie"...

, screening the film at midnight every Friday, with pre-show activities and a "shadow cast" live performance and audience participation simultaneous with the movie.

More recently, the Silver Scream Spookshow,has been hosted at The Plaza by Atlanta horror personality "Professor Morte". The show pairs live comic and burlesque performances with screenings of classic science fiction movies, including Creature from the Black Lagoon

Creature from the Black Lagoon

Creature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 monster horror film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Whit Bissell. The eponymous creature was played by Ben Chapman on land and Ricou Browning in underwater scenes...

, Frankenstein

Frankenstein (1931 film)

Frankenstein is a 1931 Pre-Code Horror Monster film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and adapted from the play by Peggy Webling which in turn is based on the novel of the same name by Mary Shelley. The film stars Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles and Boris Karloff, and features...

, and many films in the Godzilla franchise. Similarly, Splatter Cinema has brought re-creations of grisly movie scenes to the Plaza's lobby, paired with screenings of classic horror films such as Herschell Gordon Lewis

Herschell Gordon Lewis

Herschell Gordon Lewis is an American filmmaker, best known for creating the "splatter film" subgenre of horror...

's Blood Feast

Blood Feast

Blood Feast is a 1963 American horror film directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis, often considered the first "splatter film". It was produced by David F. Friedman. The screenplay was written by Alison Louise Downe, who had previously appeared in several of Lewis' other films. Lewis also wrote the...

and Two Thousand Maniacs!

Two Thousand Maniacs!

Two Thousand Maniacs! is a low budget 1964 splatter film directed and written by Herschell Gordon Lewis. It is the second part of what the director's fans have dubbed "The Blood Trilogy", including Blood Feast and Color Me Blood Red...

, as well as movies in the Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street

A Nightmare on Elm Street (franchise)

A Nightmare on Elm Street is an American horror franchise that consists of nine slasher films, a television show, novels, and comic books. The franchise began with the film series created by Wes Craven. The franchise is based on the fictional character Freddy Krueger, introduced in A Nightmare on...

series. The Plaza routinely has screenings of other classic films, including Easy Rider

Easy Rider

Easy Rider is a 1969 American road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It tells the story of two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South with the aim of achieving freedom...

, Back to the Future

Back to the Future

Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...

, Five Easy Pieces

Five Easy Pieces

Five Easy Pieces is a 1970 American drama film written by Carole Eastman and Bob Rafelson, and directed by Rafelson. The film stars Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, and Susan Anspach. The cast also includes Billy 'Green' Bush, Fannie Flagg, Ralph Waite, Sally Struthers, Lois Smith, Toni Basil, and...

, as well as showcases of local independent films.

In 2010, the Plaza celebrated its 70th anniversary with screenings of 1939 films, including The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)

The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...

and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 American drama film starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart about one man's effect on American politics. It was directed by Frank Capra and written by Sidney Buchman, based on Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story. Mr...

; Robert Osborn of Turner Classic Movies

Turner Classic Movies

Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...

 co-hosted the event. The Plaza also hosted the Atlanta premiere for the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a 2010 comedy film directed by Edgar Wright, based on the graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley. The film is about Scott Pilgrim , a young Canadian musician, meeting the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers , an American delivery girl...

; Scott Pilgrim stars Michael Cera

Michael Cera

Michael Austin Cera is a Canadian actor best known for his roles in Arrested Development, Youth in Revolt, Superbad, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Juno. Cera received the 2008 Canadian Comedy Award for best male performance for his work in Superbad.-Early...

 and Jason Schwartzman

Jason Schwartzman

Jason Francesco Schwartzman is an American actor and musician. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Rushmore, Spun, I Heart Huckabees, Shopgirl, Marie Antoinette, The Darjeeling Limited, Funny People, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World...

 and director Edgar Wright

Edgar Wright

Edgar Howard Wright is an English film and television director and writer. He is most famous for his work with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost on the films Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, the TV series Spaced, and for directing the film Scott Pilgrim vs...

 were present at the premiere. Similarly, the director of the emerging cult film The Room

The Room (film)

The Room is a 2003 independent drama film starring Tommy Wiseau, who also wrote, directed, and produced the feature. In addition to Wiseau, the principal cast includes Juliette Danielle, Greg Sestero, Philip Haldiman, Kyle Vogt, Carolyn Minnott, and Robyn Paris...

, Tommy Wiseau

Tommy Wiseau

Tommy Wiseau is a screenwriter, director, producer, executive producer, and actor. He is the founder of the film production company Wiseau Films. Wiseau is best known for his film The Room which has been described as "one of the worst movies ever made" and has gained cult film status...

, made guest appearances at the theatre in 2010; The Room has been a monthly feature at the Plaza since early 2009.