Johanna Warwick
The historic Lincoln Theater in Baton Rouge
Swing by Baton Rouge’s historic Lincoln Theater in its heyday, and you might have caught a performance by Louis Armstrong or Cab Calloway, chatted with neighbors and local business leaders at the pharmacy, or attended a civil rights meeting.
Built in the 1940s under the guidance of Dr. Aristotle Chatman, the Lincoln Theater stood at the center of a bustling social and entertainment scene for the city’s Black community in the mid-twentieth century, creating a vibrant, inclusive space for Black performers, visionaries, and locals in a segregated, pre-Civil Rights Louisiana. Here, audiences took in performances by James Brown and Lionel Hampton by night, and by day they shopped at a deli, got a haircut at a barbership, or visited business offices geared toward community services. The theatre served as a landmark for other seismic events, too, such as meetings to organize the 1953 Baton Rouge bus boycott.
When the city's downtown district began to hemorrhage occupants and business in the 1980s, the Lincoln closed. It fell into disrepair, and remained that way for several decades. The iconic illuminated marquee, directing audiences to the theatre on Myrtle Walk at the corner of Eddie Robinson Sr. Drive, went dark.
Now, due to efforts that have been underway since 2009, the historic Lincoln Theater is slated to reopen as a fully renovated and restored facility by the end of this year. Beyond the theatre itself, the transformed site will incorporate a cultural education center featuring an exhibition on the 1953 Baton Rouge Bus Boycott, and the Louisiana Black History Hall of Fame Museum.
“To have those two cultural icons back and thriving in our community is going to be really huge. And I think that is going to spur and catalyze additional development around those areas, in addition to restoring a really profound community pride that you still see there. Once these buildings are returned to commerce and returned to the community, I think you’re really going to see that blossom.” —Whitney Hoffman Sayal, executive director of the Baton Rouge Downtown Development District.
“The vision was, of course, to save a historical beacon,” said Brenda Perry, the founder of the museum and visionary of the new, multi-use space. “We wanted to bring it back, not just as a theatre, but as a culture center, where you could have different types of arts and programming to give back to the community.”
Through a combination of state, city, and community funding, the theatre, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has undergone extensive construction in recent months. UpStage Theatre Company, led by Dr. Ava Brewster-Turner, will settle into the facility as the resident theatre company when it opens to the public—hopefully just in time for a Christmas show. And under the direction of Donna Butler, the director of film & video productions, the cultural center will host screening events of documentaries and other significant films.
Efforts are also underway to restore the nearby Lincoln Hotel, where, historically, traveling Black performers were granted a safe place to stay in Baton Rouge during segregation—a move that local leaders hope will bring life back into the area.
“To have those two cultural icons back and thriving in our community is going to be really huge,” said Whitney Hoffman Sayal, executive director of the Baton Rouge Downtown Development District. “And I think that is going to spur and catalyze additional development around those areas, in addition to restoring a really profound community pride that you still see there. Once these buildings are returned to commerce and returned to the community, I think you’re really going to see that blossom.”
It was Perry’s dream to bring the theatre back, and she has praised the vast numbers of committee members and leaders who have supported her, revealing “the magnitude of the unity of people” dedicated to preserving this jewel of the city’s Black history.
“If we don’t treasure our landmarks,” Perry asked. “Who will?”
