Splendor reborn
Opening night of Tennessee Theatre's invitation-only event dazzles all within

DOUG MASON
KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL
JANUARY 15, 2005

Oct. 1, 1928 — the grand opening of the Tennessee Theatre — was a day to remember.

Jan. 14, 2005 — the grand reopening of the Tennessee Theatre — was a night to savor.

The birth of the Tennessee 76 years ago was an act of commerce — men of business decided that spending $2 million on a movie palace in downtown Knoxville was a good investment, one that was sure to pay off quickly and reap profits for many years to come.

But yesterday's rebirth of one the country's few remaining movie palaces, cherished relics of the days when the movies started working their magic in the lobby, didn't come from the head of a financier but from the heart of a public that didn't blink when asked to help an old friend in need.

When an expensive movie delivers the goods, in terms of spectacle and eye candy, it's said that all the money is right there on screen.

Well, the $23.5 million raised to restore and renovate the Tennessee Theatre is right there for all to see — and the 1,600-plus donors who attended the invitation-only opening-night festivities were dazzled by the renewed elegance and fresh splendor they saw in a house so many of them consider a home.

From her seat in the Tennessee Theatre balcony, 79-year-old Betty Anne Schmid remembered her first trip to the theater. It was 1939, and her family came from West Knoxville in a taxi to see "Gone With the Wind."

"It thought it was just a castle," said Schmid. "It was a fantastic place to be."

She thought the same thing last night, as she sat with her husband, Jim, once again soaking in the wonders of the fantasyland design of the auditorium's Spanish-Moorish interior.

The couple was also grateful for the modern improvements. Though Jim Schmid is in a wheelchair, he had easy access to the balcony thanks to a new passenger elevator and wheelchair-accessible seating areas.

Felicia Harris Hoehne is also a native Knoxvillian. But she doesn't have childhood memories of the Tennessee Theatre. The theater was segregated then, and Hoehne is black.

It's part of the theater's history, and not to be ignored. But it's not something Hoehne wants to dwell on on this night of celebration. "It was the times," she said.

Hoehne purchased two seats at the theater through the "Take A Seat" fund-raising campaign. They will bear plaques engraved with the names of her parents and grandparents.

Shortly after 6:30 p.m., the doors opened and a capacity crowd of 1,631 packed the Grand Lobby and seemingly every other inch of standing space in the theater — from the lower lobby to the balcony level.

Among those in attendance were Gov. Phil Bredesen, U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale — all of whom came on stage to welcome the Tennessee Theatre back.

They were introduced by News Sentinel publisher Bruce Hartmann, who is president of the Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation. The politicians praised the foundation's successful fund-raising efforts and teased about Hartmann's relentless pursuit of government dollars for the theater.

Ragsdale joked that when Hartmann told him a few years ago that he was going to raise more than $20 million to restore the Tennessee Theatre, "I thought that was just about as nutty an idea as someone trying to pass a wheel tax."

Shortly before 9 p.m., the gala performance "The Tennessee: Waltz Through Time" began. The show featured a variety of local talent, including the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, singers from Knoxville Opera, the Bethel AME Church Chancel Choir, bluegrass band Tim Worman and Clearbranch, and several others.

The show will be repeated for another capacity crowd at 8 p.m. today. The public may tour the theater at a Community Open House from 1-5 p.m. Sunday.