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'People want to see what history was:' Pex Theatre in Eatonton to be revitalized

A grant from Atlanta's Fox Theatre Institute is helping the city of Eatonton restore the historical Pex Theatre

EATONTON, Ga. — Atlanta's Fox Theatre Institute is helping to bring an entertainment hub back to life in one central Georgia county.

The Pex Theatre in Putnam County has been closed for around 30 years, but the grant will help the doors reopen one day. 

"I love it, would not take anything for it," Sammy Wooten said.

For more than 50 years, Wooten has cut hair near downtown Eatonton.

"We have been in this building here since 1963," he said.

He started when he was young.

"Daddy started letting me come to the barbershop with him, and that is all I've  ever known," Wooten said.

Besides cutting hair, he remembers doing something else growing up.

"I would shine two or three pairs of shoes. To get 15 cents for a shoe shine boy, anything up to a dollar, you had all day at the Pex Theatre," he said.

The theatre can be found off South Jefferson Avenue. 

The Eatonton Downtown Development Authority says it opened in 1941 as a hangout spot for watching movies, hosting beauty pageants, and even having dancing contests.

"'Come on baby, let's do the twist.' My sister could really dance, and we came in third place man," Wooten reminisces.

By the mid-80s, Teresa Doster with the Development Authority says the Pex closed its doors. 

"And sat vacant for many, many years until the 2000s, when a local entrepreneur bought the building for renovations," Doster said.

Doster says overtime, they felt the Pex should be opened again as a theatre, so they purchased the property with help from a Fox Theatre Institute Emergency Grant.

"We were awarded $50,000 to help in the purchase of the theatre, so we are hoping that will help us pretty far to start the cleanup process," Doster said.

With money from the institute, they purchased the building for $95,000. She says they have plans to fix the marquee, the facade of the building, and clean up the inside.

"People want to see what history was, and Eatonton is a very historical town," Doster said.

She says they hope to start with within the next month or so. With a plan in place, Wooten is ready to see the Pex open again.

"I think it is great, I don't see anything negative about it," he said.

Doster says they do not have a timeline for when everything will be done, and they want to make it a public-private partnership, meaning they'll apply for more grants, so taxpayers don't have to foot the whole bill.

Credit: Wanya Reese

More history about the Pex:

  • The theatre served as the first air-conditioned building in the county. 
  • The Pex use to be segregated.
  • They say the Pex premiered 'The Color Purple.'
  • Wooten says you only had to pay a quarter back then to see movies. 

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