Loew’s State Theater on Canal Street closed its balcony to Black patrons in September 1950. They no longer had to face mice and three flights of a “rickety” staircase, but they also lost a place to go to watch movies.
Fortunately, the Carver Theater opened on Orleans Avenue at the same time.
“It was the ‘ultimate’ all-Black movie house,” the National Register of Historic Places states. “In contrast to the older Black theaters, which had ‘tired’ seats and out-of-date equipment, the Carver had the latest in everything – state-of-the-art projection and sound equipment, air conditioning, concessions.”…