“The Joy”

It all begins with an idea. Two brothers, David and Charlie Cash, first planned for a theatre in the heart of Kings Mountain in 1942. They purchased the then Davis Easy-Pay store lot on Railroad Avenue and started to make plans. Blueprints for a theatre were drawn in early 1947 but then had to be redrawn in Sept 1948. The architect was Marion Rossiter Marsh.

The Cash family held a contest to name the theatre. Grace Nice Lower Page won the contest and name it “The Joy”.

The theatre officially opened on June 1, 1949 with the opening movie featured Betty Gable in “The Beautiful Blond from Bashful Bend”.

KMLT purchased “The Joy” in 2001 and began restoring it to its prior glory.