"Focusing on the restoration of movie theaters in Atlanta, Biloxi, Birmingham, Durham, Memphis, and Tampa. Janna Jones provides a record of the architectural history and preservation of the opulent urban moving-picture palace. Reflecting our fascination with the past, she recreates the magic of the early years of theaters throughout the southern United States, their demise in the mid-twentieth century, and their renaissance in the 1970s as the preservation movement swept across the country.".

"From the 1920s through the 1950s, the magnificent movie theaters of the South beckoned to millions of urban patrons. By the 1960s, however, many downtown districts had experienced profound cultural and economic crises, and the wrecking ball destroyed scores of the grand old structures. Others barely survived by showing pornographic or racially exploitative movies. Those remaining today are often a critical component of downtown revitalization.".

"Jones discusses attempts to save, restore, and reuse the movie houses. She explores how and why people attempt to resurrect the past and reveals the complexity of cultural memory. Based on her interviews with preservationists, the book offers a cultural analysis of architectural preservation in the late twentieth century by examining the practices, philosophies, and politics of preservation today, shedding light on the ways that nostalgia often guides - and misguides - their work."--BOOK JACKET.