The Swan’s Rich History

In 1949, Jack Jones, Sr., Berinice Kiker Tilley, and W.H. Tilley, Jr. (known as "H" Tilley) purchased the Rialto and Royal theaters in Blue Ridge, Ga. from Willard and Betty Mowbray. Shortly after the purchase, Bernice sold her interest to Jack and "H." The Rialto Theatre had been built in 1946 and 1947, and shortly after it was completed, the old Royal Theatre was closed, and movies were shown only at the new Rialto. Mr. Mowbray had come to Blue Ridge in the late twenties or early thirties and had started showing movies in the brick building located on West Main Street where the fire department is now located. Mowbray showed movies in this building until he built the Royal Theatre on East Main Street. This theater was small and could only seat around 200 people. As the area grew, the seating capacity became too small, and the new Rialto was built that could seat 500 people. The Rialto was built on East Main Street on the same block the old Royal Theatre was located. At the time, Jack and "H" purchased the theaters, the Royal had been closed, and only the Rialto was in operation. There was no television in Blue Ridge at this time, and the movie-going crowd was so large that they opened the Royal Theatre again and showed movies at both places. The price of a ticket was .32 for adults and .15 for children. At the Saturday matinees, adult tickets were .25 and .10 for children.

In 1955 Jack and "H" built the Swan Drive In Theatre that is located on 651 Summit Street, Blue Ridge, Ga. Building this drive-in was a real challenge. Locating a piece of property large enough that was suitable for a drive-in theater would turn into a big problem. The first property purchased for the drive-in was on E. First Street where Blue Ridge Supply and several other buildings are now located. They would be forced to build a tall fence on the street side of this property to keep the car lights from shining on the screen and they were advised by engineers that the property was not suitable.