Samuel L. Banov’s Lincoln Theatre

601 King Street

In 1919, Sam Banov bought a two-story brick building that had been designed in 1906 as a retail shop. He remodeled it as a movie theatre/vaudeville house and opened it as a segregated facility exclusively for African Americans. The Lincoln Theatre was the only cinema in Charleston without separate seating for black patrons. The building no longer exists.

For more information see the history of the Lincoln Theatre at College of Charleston and Preservation Society of Charleston.

Lincoln Theatre, 1985, closed and in disrepair

Lincoln Theatre, 1985, closed and in disrepair

Samuel Banov purchased 601 King Street in 1919 and remodeled it as the Lincoln Theatre, a movie/vaudeville house for African Americans. City of Charleston Architectural Inventory (Geier Brown Renfrow Associates), SC Department of Archives and History, Columbia.
Lincoln Theatre concession stand

Lincoln Theatre concession stand

Photo courtesy of Avery Research Center, College Charleston, Charleston, SC.
Lincoln Theatre ticket stub

Lincoln Theatre ticket stub