Unfortunately, not many historical Ritz photographs of the old movie theater exist, but the memories of times spent there are burned into the fond memories of generations. The Ritz Theater was built in 1929 by Joe Anderson and served as a movie theater until January 17, 1979. The last movie shown in the theater was "Buffalo River".
The mid 1970's saw the proliferation of multi screen movie houses while royalty rates skyrocketed. The industry was after big profits and the advent of the summer 'blockbuster', with movies such as Jaws and Star Wars, required large audiences to break even. The Ritz Theater was unable to compete andmeet these demands due to licensing, equipment costs and low attendance. Sadly the Ritz finally closed it's doors in 1979. Over time the building fell into disrepair from decades of neglect.
Over these decades, many had dreams of what the Ritz could become and were passionate about making sure it was preserved. A team was formed by the Town of Tabor City in 2012 to pursue this project. Clearly, the most beneficial use of the space would be as a flexible event center. A major federal grant was applied for and fund raising activities generated contributions from loyal citizens. This influx of funds began to make the dream of restoring The Ritz a reality!!!!! Between 2013 and 2014, and three phases of fund raising, the goals and designs finally converged to complete the Ritz Center. The result is Tabor City's Crown Jewel "The Ritz Center".
Classic car photos provided by Lori Leigh Photography.