Since opening as the Hillsboro Theatre in 1925, Nashville’s Belcourt Theatre has hosted vaudeville, live theater, concerts, and films, establishing itself as a cornerstone of local entertainment and serving as an incubator of talent by helping to foster the careers of generations of stage, radio, film, and television professionals, such as Lark Taylor, Madge West Joseph, Delbert Mann, Dinah Shore, and Minnie Pearl. Throughout many decades, it has endured and adapted to industry shifts, including the rise of television and global cinema and the emergence of multi-screen cineplexes.

And yet, its story has remained largely untold. Now, T. Minton has penned the definitive history of one of Nashville’s most beloved cultural institutions.

T. Minton is a public historian who is currently serving as the oral historian for the Belcourt Stories Project, a celebration of the theater’s centenary.

Introduction

Chapter 1: How Cinema Came to Nashville

Chapter 2: Becoming Nashville’s Neighborhood Theater

Chapter 3: Nashville’s Silenced Cinema History

Chapter 4: Being Nashville’s Playhouse

Chapter 5: Being the Opry’s Stage

Chapter 6: Becoming Nashville’s Arthouse

Chapter 7: Nashville’s Film Culture

Chapter 8: Losing the Belcourt

Chapter 9: Saving the Belcourt

Chapter 10: Becoming Nashville’s Film Center

Epilogue

Appendices

Notes

References

Index