Lincoln Theatre

Front: In 1919, the Lincoln Theatre opened at 601 King St. and became Charleston’s lognest operating theater for African Americans. It was run for most of its history by African American manager Damon Ireland Thomas (1875-1955). For a time it was the only theater in the city where black patrons sat without restrictions. The Lincoln hosted movies, vaudeville troupes, public speakers, and local acts. It closed c.1971 and was razed in 1989 after sustaining damage from Hurricane Hugo. Reverse: In the first decades of the 1900s, Jewish-owned stores clustered along King St. in an immigrant neighborhood sometimes called “Little Jerusalem.” Businesses here included furniture and dry goods stores, shoe repair shops, Zalkin’s kosher meat market, and Mazo’s deli. One early arrival, Russian-born Samuel L. Banov (1870-1933), ran a successful clothing store at 595 King St. and invested in real estate nearby, including 601 King St., which he opened in 1919 as the Lincoln Theatre.