History of the Sunrise Theater

The Sunrise Theater is situated amidst the magnolias and long-leaf pines on Broad Street in Southern Pines, North Carolina.  The building, erected in 1898, began as a hardware store.  In the 1940s, the building became a movie theater which remained a staple of downtown Southern Pines for over 40 years.  When the movie house closed its doors, for what appeared to be its last time, in the early 1980s, the Arts Council of Moore County (ACMC) and the Sandhills Little Theater rallied enough community support to restore the building and give it a third life as the Performing Arts Center, owned and operated by ACMC.

In 1998, ACMC transferred the theater's operation to the Sunrise Preservation Group (SPG), citizens concerned with keeping the theater alive for the community.  SPG formed a not-for-profit organization and through dedicated effort, compromise and goodwill, the historical theater building has a new lease on life.

ACMC transferred ownership of the theater building to the Sunrise Preservation Group in 2005.