Miller Theater, Augusta
Opened in 1940 as one of Georgia’s largest movie palaces, the Miller Theater on Augusta’s Broad Street was reborn in 2018 as the city’s premier performing arts venue after a $25 million restoration, its Art Moderne marquee now announcing concerts by the Augusta Symphony rather than film premieres.
At a glance
Roy A. Benjamin designed the Miller Theater for Augusta’s main commercial artery, completing it in February 1940 with 1,600 seats — at the time the second-largest cinema in Georgia. After decades as a movie house and years of vacancy, a $25 million civic restoration returned it to life on January 6, 2018, as the permanent home of the Augusta Symphony and a leading venue for performing arts in the Georgia-South Carolina region.
Key facts
- Built: 1940 (opened February 1940)
- Style: Art Moderne
- Architect: Roy A. Benjamin
- Original capacity: 1,600 seats (second-largest cinema in Georgia at opening)
- Renovation: Reopened January 6, 2018 ($25 million restoration)
- Current use: Performing arts venue; home of the Augusta Symphony
- Address: 708 Broad Street, Augusta, Georgia 30901
- GPS: 33.47444, −81.96367
History
Roy A. Benjamin completed the Miller Theater in February 1940, positioning it as a destination cinema on Augusta’s Broad Street Historic District. With 1,600 seats, the theater was the second-largest in Georgia upon opening, built to serve a city that was one of the South’s significant commercial centers on the Savannah River. The design embraced Art Moderne’s idiom: streamlined surfaces, a bold marquee, and a vertical sign tower that made the building unmistakable on a busy commercial block.
The theater closed as a movie house after decades of operation and stood vacant as the broader challenge of sustaining downtown Augusta took hold. A broad coalition of civic supporters, preservationists, and philanthropists eventually assembled the $25 million needed for a full restoration. The Miller reopened on January 6, 2018, as the permanent home of the Augusta Symphony, transforming a mid-century cinema into one of the Southeast’s most intimate performing arts venues.
What you see
The street facade demonstrates Art Moderne’s approach to spectacle without historicist ornament. A bold marquee and vertical sign tower announce the entrance at street level, while the smooth stucco surfaces and horizontal banding above understate the mass of the auditorium behind. The composition is calibrated for Broad Street’s scale: visible from a distance, readable at walking speed, and neither pompous nor diffident.
Inside, the restored auditorium retains the curved balcony and original decorative plasterwork that marked the theater as a premium destination in 1940. The renovation preserved these features while upgrading the acoustic and technical infrastructure to the standards expected of a modern orchestral venue. The result is a hall with the warmth of mid-century character and the performance capabilities of a new-build space.
Practical information
- The Miller Theater presents concerts, recitals, and events year-round under the Augusta Symphony and guest presenters.
- Box office and schedule: millertheateraugusta.com
- The venue is wheelchair-accessible.
- Parking along Broad Street and in nearby municipal garages; street parking typically available evenings.
Getting there
The Miller Theater is located at 708 Broad Street in downtown Augusta. Augusta Regional Airport (AGS) is approximately 11 miles southeast of downtown. Interstate 20 connects Augusta to Atlanta roughly 150 miles west and to Columbia, SC, about 75 miles east. Broad Street runs through the center of downtown and is easily navigable on foot from the Riverwalk Augusta.
Nearby
- Augusta Canal National Heritage Area — antebellum industrial canal, now a recreational and cultural corridor
- Morris Museum of Art — American art with a focus on Southern artists, two blocks from the Riverwalk
- Augusta Cotton Exchange (1886) — Romanesque Revival landmark on Reynolds Street
- Aiken, SC — National Historic Landmark city, 17 miles southwest; known for equestrian culture and Gilded Age estates
Sources
- Wikipedia: “Miller Theater (Augusta, Georgia)”
- Augusta Symphony official website (millertheateraugusta.com)
- Broad Street Historic District, Augusta — preservation context
- Wikimedia Commons: The_Miller_Theater.jpg, CC BY-SA 4.0
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