Abbeville's Archie Theatre on Doswell Street on the east side of the Courthouse Square held its grand opening on Thursday, July 1, 1948, with showings of Sitting Pretty at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. and formal opening ceremonies during an 8 p.m. showing. Mrs. Bessie Walker owned the theatre and named it for her son, Archie Mansville Walker Jr., who died in June 1944 from injuries suffered in Normandy during the D-Day invasion in World War II. The Archie replaced the Abbey Theatre, which had opened in April 1934 and closed on June 28, 1948; the Abbey had also been operated by Mrs. Walker and family, including Archie, and some of its equipment was moved into the Archie. The new theatre used a two-showing schedule at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., with Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday matinees, and it seated about 400 on the main floor and about 300 in the balcony, while the lobby offered cool drinking water and the outer lobby sold ice cream, popcorn, and candies. After being closed for a number of years, the Archie was purchased by Jimmy Rane of Great Southern Wood Preserving, Inc., and underwent renovations, and its front appearance today, with Welcome to Abbeville lettering on the marquee, resembles its appearance on opening day in 1948. Archie Walker Jr. left the Abbey Theatre business and joined the U.S. Army on January 16, 1941, transferred overseas in January 1944, received the highest certificate rating for rifle sharp shooting, and attained the rank of Staff Sgt in the 45 Division Co., 22nd infantry. His boat was among the first wave to land on Utah Beach at 6 a.m. on June 8, 1944, he was critically wounded there, and he died on June 13, 1944, at age 25 after being taken to the first medical aid station established on Utah Beach, where he was attended by his friend and fellow Abbeville native Captain Thomas J. Floyd Jr., a surgeon in the Medical Corps.