In early 1928 O. C. Lam, the owner of
Lam Amusement Company, laid plans to construct a new movie
theatre in downtown Rome, Georgia. Lam wanted to build a
movie palace -- a luxurious theatre modeled after New
York's Roxy. Lam purchased a section of prime real estate
on the main street of downtown Rome for $50,000.
The building's
exterior and Georgian interior stylishly housed a number
of recent movie palace innovations. Designed as a "talkie"
theatre, it the first venue in the South to be designed
and built for sound pictures. Rome's new house boasted a
Vitaphone sound system. And, the theatre was heated and
cooled by an innovative blower-fan air conditioning and
tubular boiler system. Additionally, the theatre was
equipped with state of the art fire safety equipment.
Fitted with many exits, the theatre could be emptied in
two minutes.
Lam named his new
movie palace for Hernando De Soto, who was thought by many
historians to have passed through the area that is now
Rome in 1540. The DeSoto was completed at a cost of
$110,000 and opened in August of 1929. At that time, the
theatre seated well over 1000 patrons, making it one of
the seven largest movie venues in Georgia at the time. The
theatre was an instant success and the pride of Rome. The
DeSoto was one of the main sources of entertainment for
Northwest Georgia and Northeast Alabama for the next fifty
years.
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The Rome Little Theatre
In 1982 the
DeSoto closed as a movie theatre, but soon reopened as
the venue for Rome's local amateur theatre group. Now
seating 498 patrons, the
Rome Little Theatre has
staged dozens of plays
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in the 23 years it has owned the
DeSoto, and the theatre is one of the venues for the
annual Rome International Film Festival. The DeSoto
continues to be a source of entertainment in downtown
Rome. The DeSoto still retains its Art-Deco marquee,
French mirrored entrance hall, and Georgian interior
design, although the interior is deteriorating. |
Damage
Today
Today the DeSoto
Theatre is threatened by a deteriorating roof and
electrical system. The roof has developed numerous leaks
and heavy rains have caused serious damage to the walls
and floors. The electrical system, for the most part, is
the original 1929 system and it is in very poor condition.
The current owner, The
Rome Little Theatre Group, is a
non-profit organization and has very limited funds. The
group has estimated the cost for eliminating the threats
to the DeSoto at well over $1 million. To help repair the
damage to the DeSoto, and to restore the theatre to its
former splendor, funding must be secured to aid the
current owners. This financial assistance could come in
the form of private donations, government funding, or
preservation endowments.
