Built in 1946, the vacant building at 718 E. Broad St. originally served as a movie theater for black residents during segregation. The former East Side Theater was designed by architect Oscar M. Hansen and built by Fred G. Weis, who also built what is now Trustee Theater on Broughton Street.
Some Savannah residents described their memories of the theater in a Jan. 12, 2020 article by Zach Dennis in the Savannah Morning News. Freddie Patrick, the executive director of the Eastside Concerned Citizens Inc., recounted seeing James Brown perform at the theater.
“I was with my sisters and they were like teenagers are and were just hollering, and he was doing his split with the robe and the whole bit. I thought it was just awesome,” he said.
In more recent years, the building housed the Hungry World Mission and a storage warehouse before being abandoned and left to deteriorate. The building’s owner, Omega Properties & Investments, also owns a number of other properties in Savannah, including 302 East Victory Drive, 115 East Victory Drive, 310 East Victory Drive, 1118 East Victory Drive and 1120 East Victory Drive. The state business registration lists Savannah-based Virginia Mock as the corporation’s CEO, CFO and Secretary.
– Updated Jan. 12, 2020