601 W. FRANKLIN ST. / THE STANDARD THEATER

The Standard Theater opened July 4, 1924, and was originally owned by local African American enterpreneur Durwood O'Kelly; other business partners were Charles Brooks (the builder/contractor of the building), and Jesse Kirkland (the brick mason for the project). It had seating for 300. The theater also hosted social events and monthly dances, and the space was occasionally used for Sunday church services by various church congregations that did not have a building of their own.

Circa 1933, the business was owned and/or managed by J. W. Thompson and J. Wesley "Wes" Thompson.

Sanborn map excerpt, June 1925

The theater closed sometime between 1937 and 1939; afterwards the building housed the Carolina Produce Company. By 1953 it was Williams Upholstering (the building can be seen on the 1955 aerial photograph of Chapel Hill) and in 1957 part of the property was utilized as a Sun Oil Company service station; by 1959 it was Harriss-Conners used cars; by 1968 the property was Merritt Motors; by 1973 it was Village Auto; by 1978 it was Brooks & Tobin Motors.

It may was likely demolished by the time Harriss-Conners utilized the property as a used car lot, sometime between 1957 and 1959. Today, the site is (still) a used car lot at 601 West Franklin Street.

Sanborn map excerpt, December 1945