Elevated view of East Cabarrus Street in Raleigh, July 1961.
Lincoln Theatre, center frame, was one of Raleigh’s only Black owned and operated movie houses. Opening in 1939 at 126 East Cabarrus Street, the theatre was operated by Bijou Amusement Company who owned theatres in several locations across the southern United States.

In fact, there were two other Lincoln Theatres, one in Charleston and another in Charlotte.

The theatre closed in the early 1970s and became a disco bar and restaurant. It wasn’t until the early 2000s that it regained its original name. It now operates as a live music venue.

Just behind the theater, peaking out over the trees, is Estey Hall on the Shaw University campus.

Built in 1874, it is one of the first buildings constructed in the country for the higher education of African Americans. It served as a dormitory for women for nearly a century.

Civil Rights activist Ella Baker, a graduate of Shaw, returned to this building in 1960 and founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
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Narrative credit: State Archives of NC Photos fb post

Photo credit: NO.61.7.61
From the N&O Negative Collection, State Archives of North Carolina. Photo copyrighted by the News and Observer