Milestones: A State of Historic Firsts

1788		Thalian Association, one of the oldest community theaters in the nation, is established in Wilmington. It is named the Official Theater of North Carolina in 2006.
1795		The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill becomes the first state university in the country to open its doors to students.
1858		Thalian Hall, Wilmington houses the town government, library and opera house. It is placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.
1891		St. Joseph's AME Church is established, becoming the center of the thriving Durham business district known as the "Black Wall Street." It is placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and is today part of the Hayti Heritage Center.
1906		Gallery Theater, Ahoskie, opens as a "nickelodeon."
1913		Turnage Theater, Washington, opens as a Vaudeville house.
1917		Thelonious Monk, pianist, is born in Rocky Mount.
1918		UNC-Chapel Hill campus theater group Carolina Playmakers is established.
1923		Percy Heath, bassist, is born in Wilmington.
		Smith Hall on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus becomes Playmakers Theatre, the country's first state-supported theater dedicated to the development of American drama.
1924		Max Roach, percussionist, is born in Newland.
1925		Temple Theater, Sanford, opens as Vaudeville house. It is designated a National Historic Site in 1983.
1926		Carolina Theatre, Durham, opens as the Durham Auditorium with a local stage show entitled, The Kiwanis Jollies.
		John Coltrane, tenor saxophonist, is born in Hamlet.
		Actor and musician Andy Griffith is born in Mt. Airy.
1927		Carolina Theatre, Greensboro, billed as "the showplace of the Carolinas," opens on Halloween night.
		Theatre Charlotte begins operation and is today the oldest continually active community theater in North Carolina.
1932		Memorial Auditorium, Raleigh opens. Today it is home to the North Carolina Symphony and the North Carolina Theatre.
		The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra is founded by Spanish conductor and composer Guillermo de Roxlo.
		The Little Theater in Winston Salem opens its doors to provide "an avenue for education and development in all aspects of theatrical arts and to provide entertainment for the community."
1933		Black Mountain College attracts avant garde artists including Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell, John Cage, Alfred Kazin, Buckminster Fuller and Merce Cunningham.
		Nina Simone, pianist and vocalist, is born in Tryon.
1936		Brevard Music Center inaugurates a summer festival to give music students the opportunity to study with distinguished professional musicians as well as to perform.
1937		The first and longest-running outdoor symphonic drama, *The Lost Colony*, premieres in Manteo.
		Roberta Flack, vocalist, is born in Asheville.
		Chuck Davis, founder and artistic director of the African American Dance Ensemble, is born in Raleigh.
1940		Flat Rock Playhouse opens its doors.
1946		The North Carolina Symphony, Raleigh, is the first state-supported symphony in the United States.
		Winston Salem Symphony grows from two dozen musicians who assembled to play special church programs.
1948		Opera Carolina mounts its first production in Charlotte.
		Children's Theater of Charlotte is born and today occupies ImaginOn, a state-of-the-art performance space and public library.
		Asheville Community Theater opens its doors with Dark of the Moon, the first amateur production of this Appalachian tale.
1950		*Unto These Hills* debuts in Cherokee, making it one of the nation's oldest Native American outdoor dramas.
1958		Asheville Symphony is born with an all-volunteer roster of musicians.
1962		Eastern Music Festival, Greensboro brings together top-rated professional music artists and pre-professional students.
1963		North Carolina School of the Arts (today UNC School of the Arts) in Winston-Salem is the first state-supported conservancy in the United States.
1978		American Dance Festival, founded in 1934, moves from New London, Connecticut, to take up residence on the campus of Duke University in Durham.
1987		Bull Durham Blues Festival, Durham, becomes a popular annual presentation of the St. Joseph's Historic Foundation.
1989		National Black Theatre Festival is founded in Winston-Salem.
1992		North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, designed by architect Cesar Pelli, opens in Charlotte.
1997		Raleigh Dance Theater, founded in 1984, is transformed into a professional dance company, Carolina Ballet, under founding artistic director Robert Weiss.
2002		Triad Stage opens with Tennessee Williams' modern classic, Suddenly Last Summer.
2004		Actors Theater of Charlotte moves into a new facility: a renovated gas station.
2007		The renovated Turnage Theater reopens in Washington as a performing arts center.
2008		Burning Coal Theatre Company opens its new venue in Raleigh, at the Murphy School.
		Durham Performing Arts Center opens.
2009		Knight Theatre, part of the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, hosts its first performance at the new Wells Fargo Cultural Campus in Charlotte.