WMS22 - Co-Ed Theater

Formerly Brevard Hardware and Furniture

The Co-Ed Cinema is Brevard’s only movie theater. It’s located at the southwest corner of West Main and Caldwell Streets. The marquee is above the sidewalk next to the former McNeely's Ace Hardware store and still has black letters that must be manually hoisted to the sign. Newer theaters are quickly transitioning to digital marquees, but the type and shape of this one is reminiscent of the old days.

The building is owned by the City of Brevard and leased to the owners of the Co-Ed. You can see first-run movies at the theater five days a week in the afternoons and early evenings. The Co-Ed is a single-screen theater with a small concession stand in the lobby just inside the front doors. Between the two front entrances is an old-fashioned ticket booth once used in the Clemson Theatre that was on the empty lot next door.

The theater auditorium is long and narrow, with two aisles that extend from each side of the lobby to the stage in front of the screen.

During the summers, morning matinées are offered for children at no charge. The cost to see a movie at the Co-Ed is less expensive than many other theaters, and the price of concession items is also lower than most - something that you might expect in a small town. Sometime after 2010, the projection equipment was upgraded to digital equipment. This was the first significant upgrade that had been made in many years.

When you leave the theater, you can imagine yourself being in a Hallmark movie: the old-fashioned theater with its historical ticket box, the (former) hardware store next door with its creaky wood floors, and the barber shop and bakery directly across the street.

In 2023, a small parcel of land between the east wall of the theater and Caldwell Street (WMS20) was re-purposed into a corner containing art and sitting areas. It was named Clemson Plaza after the property’s first owner and his son.  See the chapter about Clemson Plaza (WMS21) for more information.

History

This property where the Co-Ed stands today originally had two buildings, both owned by a man named Frank D. Clement. In what is now the park space at the corner, next to the Co-Ed Theater, Clement built the Clemson Theater in 1929 (WMS21). The building to the right of the Clemson housed Brevard Hardware and Furniture. In 1938, Clemson converted the Hardware store into the Co-Ed Theater. For almost 30 years, the two theaters operated side-by-side until the Clemson was closed in 1956. Nearly 40 years later, in 1995, the Clemson was torn down. Since then, the Co-Ed has been renovated and continues to operate today.

When the Clemson was demolished in 1995, the original ticket booth was kept and eventually ended up being owned by Timothy Hall, a local businessman who later gave the booth back to the City of Brevard when they bought the Co-Ed because of its historical significance to the area. The booth was installed at the front of the Co-Ed and is still there today. See the preceding "Clemson Plaza" chapter for more details about this.

Construction work on the Co-Ed began on December 5, 1938. Clements and his son Verne built the theatre, and the Henderson Construction company of Hendersonville were the contractors. The architect was E.G. Stilwell, also of Hendersonville. It was named "Co-Ed" because the nearby Brevard College, from which it might get many of its customers, had become a co-educational institution in 1934.

The two apartments over the front of the theatre were to be connected with another apartment on the second floor of the Clemson Theatre. A "cry room" was to be built at the front of the auditorium. This would be a place where mothers could take crying children, but still be able to hear the "talkies without disturbing other patrons."

A private box was to be built near the front at a semi-balcony level for parties or private shows, and a joint Clemson/Co-Ed office space near the front would connect with both theatres. It's not known whether or not these two concepts were every actualized.

The Co-Ed Theatre opened on June 26, 1939. In a substantial article in the Transylvania Times three days later, it was said that the facility "exceeded [the community's] expectations by far, in the manner of beauty, appointments and comfort." It could seat 499 people in seats that were described as a "spring to edge" type built especially for theatres. A 22'x10' stage was built at the front, with "heavy draperies as curtains."

Additional features included indirect lighting, air conditioning, and restrooms with tiled floors and walls. The theatre had a balcony, and arrangements were being made at the time for black patrons to use it, since there were no other theaters in the area that would serve them. A separate entrance on Caldwell Street, with its own ticket booth, was to be for their use. Particular mention was made that the balcony was "completely cut off from the main auditorium" and would seat about 160 people.

The projection room was built to be "fireproof", with the article stating that "there is no possible danger of fire from this department".  You can see this today because every wall is more than a foot of very thick concrete.

The basement, which was separated from the auditorium, held the heating plant. The second floor of the building's front had two living spaces, one for Frank Clement and the other for his son Verne and his wife.

At the time the Co-Ed opened, the store to its right was the Abercrombie Furniture store.

On February 25, 1942, Clements and his son Verne announced that they were selling the Clemson and the Co-Ed theatres. The buyers were C.B. Carter, H. B. Shiflet and "parties of Morganton". The transaction became official on March 2, 1942. Carter was a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina and Shiflet was "connected…with a manufacturing firm in Morganton." Neither of the Clements gave a reason for selling.

The theater remained popular, receiving a lot of support from local businesses.  Ford's Corner, a snack shop at the corner of next-door's Clemson Theater (WMS21a), often provided snacks and sodas for people attending movies at the Co-Ed.

In 1953, the Co-Ed made the news when the first panoramic screen was installed. It was reported that it was "twice as large and considerably brighter." The first movie shown on the new screen was "Mogambo", starring Clark Gable.

Long-time local residents have said that in the 1970's, when twin theaters became popular, a wall was built halfway down the aisle – splitting the theater into two halves, a front and a back. The wall was made of wood framing, and a screen was mounted on the front side facing the lobby. This created two theaters within the original single auditorium space. A narrow aisle was made along one side wall (perhaps the left side). The second "theatre" used the original screen at the front, although its not known how the projection or sound were accomplished.  Some years later, the theatre was remodeled (with the involvement of Cindy Platt) and restored to its original size. 

In March 1980, the City of Brevard bought the "old Clemson Theater" and the Co-Ed next door from owner Dick Carter. It was sold for $79,500.  The vote to approve the purchase was split by the City Aldermen (2-2), with the tie broken by Brevard's Mayor, Charles Campbell. The two votes against the proposal were made mainly because they believed that the city shouldn't "get into the real estate business."  Due to the property's large parking lot behind the building's, there was a lot of discussion about the City protecting future parking downtown by making the purchase.

Brevard moved quickly to get the two properties, since Carter had three prospective buyers lined up almost immediately.  The Clemson Theater had been vacant for some time and was in disrepair.  The City planned to demolish it and lease the Co-Ed to allow its continued use as a movie theater. As part of the transaction, Brevard also acquired ownership of the entire block between Caldwell and England - with the exception of the property belonging to the Harris Hardware Company. According to reported news, Mabry Harris told the City Manager that the City would have an opportunity to buy his property should he ever sell it.

It didn't take long for the City to find a new theater operator.  On May 5, 1980, the Aldermen awarded a lease for the Co-Ed to Henderson Drive In Theaters, Inc.  The new tenants had promised to create a new exterior, and a new lobby, drapes and screen.  They were also going to bring in new sound and projection equipment, as the equipment at the time had been in use since 1936.

Still more changes happened in early 1985.  By then, the operators were Steve and Martha Hendrix. One item they mentioned was that they planned to have additional supervision in the theater because a lot of their patrons had been "bothered in the past by the noisy and continuous running up and down the aisles of unruly and sometimes unattended youngsters."  They renovated the entire building by re-upholstering all 350 seats, repainting the floors, installing draperies on the bare auditorium walls, adding new projector lenses and adding a new Dolby Stereo surround sound system. 

In 2015, the City of Brevard leased the building to Abby Steel.  Although only 19 years old at the time, Abby took over the management of the Co-Ed and continued to operate the historic theater as it had been in the past. Today, her and husband Eli handle everything - including all aspects of theater management and business ownership. 

In early February 2026, a passer-by noticed that there was water coming out of the theater and notified authorities. The theater was temporarily closed due to a broken water line in the auditorium. By late April (the time of this writing), it was still closed. Work had begun and a re-opening date was unknown.