Main Street Theatre - Roanoke Rotary Club

Roanoke's first theaters, beginning in 1906, were mostly used for opera concerts using a white curtain with lit scenes.


By September of 1944, Roanoke have four theaters - the Martin, the Ritz, the Star, and the Auditorium Theater. Of all the theaters, Roanoke's most popular and longest running was the Martin Theatre, built in 1941.


In November 1968, the World War II movie, Tora, Tora, Tora was playing at the Martin Theatre and a reconstructed Japanese Zero fighter plane was brought to the Roanoke air strip for citizens to come see. This created a lot of enthusiasm for the locals. The movie Theatre was filled to capacity each night!


During the nights of the Christmas parade on Main Street, the Martin would play Christmas music from loud speakers so shoppers could hear the carols all over the street. Additionally, the Martin hosted Santa Claus in the lobby of the theatre for children to sit on Santa's lap and share their wish list.


In 1978, during a horrendous lighting storm, the beloved theater was struck by lighting and burned to the ground.


In 2011, the theater building was donated to the Roanoke Rotary Club Charities.


Roanoke Rotary Club's long term goal has been focused on the revitalization and restoration of downtown Roanoke. Initially, Rotary worked with the city to help encourage, discuss and develop plans for the beautiful streetscape project, currently being completed. Having the Martin Theatre property donated, the club now plans to make it the "crowning jewel" of the downtown district.


The first exciting of the restoration project was lighting the restored theatre sign which brought smiles to generations old and new. Today, the open air theatre is inviting to adults and children, Roanoke citizens and visitors. The property is available for a lunch hour, a family picnic or rental for a special event. Foremost, we hope that everyone will see that the possibilities are endless!