Athens site flipped segregated seating, but how it began

Welcome back everyone, it's 9:25. You already know that Atlanta's Fox Theater is one of the region's most historic venues, but what you might not know is that it lends a helping hand to other historic theaters, awarding grants to ensure that they continue serving as beacons of their community. So get this, Paul Millican is live in Athens this morning at one of those historic theaters with the most incredible history. I had no idea, Paul. Oh. Oh, I can't wait to tell you more about it. Elise, this place is beautiful. It is fascinating. But it's very strange to be standing next to my friend Lee Burns and not be in the Fox Theater. We do this a lot, but we typically do it at the Fox Theater. So, of course, you are with Fox Gives, which is the philanthropic arm of the Fox Theater. And a big part of that mission is helping theaters like this survive and thrive. Why do you think that is so important? Why do towns like... Athens and Rome, Georgia and other places need historic theaters. Well, I think you need it. basically for the enjoyment of others, you know, camaraderie, celebration. But, you know, it really builds an opportunity to come somewhere that's different, that's neutral, that's a gathering space for all. And also, it just helps support the local economy. You know, you think about the people that work in the building, the goods and services they provide. It helps on so many layers. Yeah, for sure. So you give grants to theaters like this, and you just announced 12 of them. The Morton Theater is getting one of those grants. What kind of things are those grants Well, here at the Morgan Morton Strategic Planning, but we have some, we're going to help a community replace a terracotta roof on a historic building. We're going to do some repair with plaster and another. Also improvements to systems like sound and lighting. You know, we take for granted LED. The impact of having LED lighting can save a lot of money now in our historic theaters. So we tried to work with those two. Yeah. How proud are you when you walk into a theater like this one and you see the the fruits of the labor. You see what they've used them. So proud and so grateful that we get to be a part of these local partnerships. You know, we have probably more than 60 theater partners statewide. Mm-hmm. And the Morton has been special because we work with them on Georgia Presenters, our statewide... consortium of booking, but we also work with them on education and building a preservation ethic in their community and our shared Georgia community. It's very important. Yeah. Well, we are so glad to be here. I'm going to leave you here for a minute because somebody else who's very proud right now is Lynn Green, who's the managing director here. So Lynn, give us again, the little backstory. This theater dates back to 1910. It's named the Morton who is, or was Morton. Ah, Monroe Bowers, Morton, or Pink Morton as he was better known, was a phenomenal individual. He was a contractor by trade, but he also owned a newspaper, was on the Republican National Convention Committee that informed William McKinley. He was the nominee for president. He was postmaster general of Athens for five years, and he did all that with very little formal education. Yeah, unbelievable. And of course, this building stands in his name today. It was more than just a theater. What else was housed in this building? Oh, we had all African American businesses and a lot of professionals that were right here in Athens, like doctors and dentists. There was an insurance company here, barber shops and beauty shops, the pharmacy downstairs that we saw earlier, pool hall, and even two funeral homes, both of which still exist today. No kidding. That's incredible. And this corner where we are in Athens. is specifically important when it comes to black history, right? Absolutely. The Morton sits at the corner of West Washington and Hull Streets here in Athens, also known as the Hot Corner. And between the Morton building and two former buildings, Union Hall and the Samaritan building that were all next door, this formed the core of all African-American life here in Athens. Wow, that's amazing. Well, what are we standing in front of? What is this back here? Well, some of the things that we're able to keep from those eras, this is one of the original dressing room walls from the day, with, of course, what happens if you're caught smoking backstage. Of course, you know, you'd be hard-pressed to find someone to let you smoke backstage now. You don't want to smoke backstage. That's very dangerous. And of course, that last one is you're out. I love this. So first time, it's a dollar. Second time, it's three dollars. Third time, it's five dollars. Fourth time, you are out of the theater. And what about these down here? Now, these are two of our original theater seats. Our theater seated somewhere between seven and eight hundred. Excuse me, eight hundred people originally. It went down to the seven hundreds when they turned it in. I went to a film house, and today we seat 480. Very cool. And I wanted to ask you about that, too, because we talked about this off-camera. So when you think about theaters in the South back in the day, they were segregated venues. This was a black-owned, African-American-owned theater. Was it segregated, too? It was segregated. Well, first, it was one of the first, the only building here in Athens where white and black audiences could see an event. But when white audiences came, it was them who sat in the bleacher section. No kidding. Isn't that fascinating? Wow. What an incredible legacy this building holds. How proud are you of continuing that legacy, bringing new people, including students in here all the time? It is a joy for not just me, but our entire staff. It is one that, because we're a rental facility, we're only limited by the imagination of the person renting the space. So we get people here for film and for theater and for dance. You said circuses? Circus, yes. Circus Athena, one of my favorite events we've ever had. But because we touch on So many different events and types. We see all of Athens and the surrounding area through our doors. Yeah, it's an amazing place. Thank you for the personal tour this morning. Oh, any time. Yeah, this has been so much fun. So, again, this is just one of these historic theaters, Elise, that is being supported by the Fox Theater in Atlanta and Fox Gives. And I'll just give you one more look. Now, look, folks, all right, when you are backstage, there's a lot of wood, a lot of fabric. You don't want to be throwing your cigarette butts around. That's very dangerous. Fourth time, you're out. You're done. And you're out. I love it. This was so cool. I mean, learning the history of this place, right? Yeah. And it's just beautiful on top of that. Certainly worth preserving. All right, Paul, thank you. And by the way, the Morton theater where Paul is today is located at one 95 West Washington street in Athens. So for a list of upcoming events there, follow the links at Fox five Atlanta.com. Just look for the story under the good day section.