Cinema 1 & 2 was opened by ABC Interstate on Christmas Day 1974 at 330 Bowden Drive. To show how the balance of theater-going had changed in Waco, the original Godfather played for months downtown at the Orpheum. Now the “Godfather 2” road show was the grand opening film for the suburban twin screener. Meanwhile, ABC Interstate would close its downtown Waco Theatre on Dec. 15, 1974.
The theatre was run by 40-year Interstate theater veteran Claude C.H. Stewart of Interstate’s 25th St. Theatre and Lake Air D.I. — as well as the deposed Waco. The 12,300 facility had identical 400-seat auditoriums for a total of 800 seats. Resplendent in red — from the wall-to-wall curtains, acoustic wall treatments and high back upholstered lounger chairs — even the leather seats in the waiting areas were red.
This was another of the twin-screen theaters by Interstate that had the turnstiles at the entrance in which patrons had to drop tokens to enter. The theater featured a Century Projector with Xenon lamps. The long-running “Jaws” was such a smash that the theater said it could have sold twice as many tickets per screen on some nights. From 1976 to 1980, the theater was advertised as Cinema Twin. This theater was supposed to become part of the 57-acre Sunset Mall. That delayed project wouldn’t open until 1980 then called the Richland Mall. With ABC-Interstate now in control of Plitt Theatre Circuit, Plitt would launch the Cinema 3 & 4 in Richland Mall at 6001 W. Waco Dr. And the Cinema Twin would return to its original name of Cinema 1 & 2.
Architected by David K. Mesbur opening August 1, 1986 as the Plitt Waco Square Six Cinemas. Cineplex Odeon had taken on the Plitt chain and opted for the Plitt nameplate at opening. Three auditoriums had Dolby Stereo at the launch.
The Gayety Picture Show renamed the Gayety Theatre at 115-117 Bridge was the first African American movie theater in Waco. Sometime in the late 1930s – most likely 1939 – the Gem Theatre opened and was the African American Theatre of choice on the square. But on March 29, 1953, the Gem ceases operation. After storm damaged 115-117 Bridge is repaired in 1953, the former Gayety location comes back to life as the “New” Gem Theatre beginning Dec. 19, 1953 and advertising until January 1962. It’s likely that the theater operated through a ten-year lease until March 1963 without advertising as the theater space is offered for lease in 1964.
Newman Theatres opened the Westview Drive-In in Waco with capacity for 475 cars launching in 1948 with the film, “Emperor’s Waltz.” The theater was said to have been at 731 North Valley Mills at the corner of Sanger; however, looking at Historic Aerials, the present address would be 815 N. Valley Mills where the Taco Bueno was as of the mid-2010s.
Though always in the hands of Mr. Newman, the circuit changed names to the Central Texas Theatres Circuit during the Westview’s ten year operation. The theatre closed just prior to Christmas in 1958 with the double feature of “Dunkirk” and “The Reluctant Debutante” on December 21, 1958. The next ad said closed for season and the final ad the following February said basically thanks for the memories. The theater was at the end of a lease cycle and the land sold to Colias Brothers to become the third location of Waco institution Elite Cafés with this location being the long-running Elite Steak House and other retail operations to be named. The demolition began February 4, 1959 by Wortman & Son of Houston.
Cinemas Southwest Theatre Circuit opened the Diamond Point Theatre on September 27, 1974 with “That’s Entertainment” and “Walking Tall.” The circuit would open the Ivy Square twin three weeks later giving Waco its first twin-screeners and first theater built since 1965. The seating capacity of each Diamond Point screen was identical at 273 in the 6,500 square foot facility. Waco Mayor Oscar DuConge was there for the opening along with Z.F. Cook, head of Cinemas Southwest. The theaters were automated and were originally supposed to have opened under the American Automated Theatres Circuit out of Oklahoma City.
The $35,000 Alpa Theatre opened in 1947 and got its name from a nearly twenty year old restaurant called the Alpha Café which moved from Austin Avenue to the 219 Clifton next to the Alpha Theater. The east-side Alphas served locals in the African American business district and marketed to the nearby Paul Quinn College student population. The area was served by the last-remaining electrified streetcar line upon opening.
The theater closed during what was likely a 20 year lease and was vacant for a period. The Alpha Café became the Alpha Grill which out survived its neighbor with live jazz music until the early 1970s. The theater became a hair products factory in 1976 when the building was renovated and received a slight extension. Its longest period was vacant with stored junk for a lengthy period. Cleaned up in 2015 for potential renovation as children’s theater and community center. It can be listed as renovating.
The Texas Theater launched in 1941. In 1958, with business waining, the Texas successfully tries an influx of art films and adult content. The result is so successful that it comes the Texas Art Theater in November of 1958. In March of 1963, the theater is renamed the Capri Arts Theater trying to become a more legitimate art house. It begins to lean heavily adult and is caught up in a daily raid scenario that takes place late in 1969 and into 1970. When raided in 1974, the theater was known as Capri Studio Adult Artfilm Theatre. The theater simply becomes the Capri Theater lasting as an adult film space until July 1983. In December of 1983, the Capri begins running first-run double feature Spanish language content. In the Fall of 1988, the theater becomes the River Theatre’s space for live plays. And then it becomes the Jubilee Theater.
The Imperial Theatre was new-build facility launched February 4, 1955 with “Young at Heart” at 810 Austin Avenue. While downtown theaters across the nation were being replaced by parking structures, the Imperial bucked the trend by becoming a theater replacing a short-lived parking area. And the results weren’t too good. The $200,000, 6,000 square foot facility would start with 950 seats and would be just 800 seats at closing due to renovations during its operation. It had a curved 42x23' screen.
This was the second Imperial Theatre in Waco as the first was a vaudeville house that would become the very short-lived home of the original Hippodrome in Waco which took over the Imperial space in 1912. (However, the Hippodrome would build a new facility in 1913 where it still was more than 100 years later.)
The “new” Imperial started under the auspices of Newman Theatre Circuit run by Ed and George Newman of Waco’s Orpheum Theatre. The theater wasn’t a home run and Newman ceased operation in 1962. It became the Waco Evangelistic Center early in 1963 before moving. Pre-Cinemark LeRoy and J.C. Mitchell took on the theater reopening on June 14, 1963 with “One Eyed Jacks” and “Sergeants 3.” It closes for a short period and re-opens. But the theater struggles mightily. The Imperial closes in October of 1965 as the Lake Air Cinema is set to become the first new indoor theater to open since the Imperial. The Imperial appears to close October 2, 1965 after “Move Over Darling” and “What a Way to Go.” And if that’s so, what a way to go.
After a period of vacancy, the final life for the Imperial is as its final name as the Roxie Adult Theatre. It joined the Capri and the Art 16 as Waco’s adult theaters. The Roxie theater opened December 11, 1970 and the constant, daily raids at the theater from the outset lead the employees to seek relief in Austin just four weeks after the grand opening and one day after an employee at one of the adult theaters reportedly committed suicide. The Roxie appears to cease operations after just two very turbulent months in February of 1971. The property is listed for sale by October of 1971 and would later be demolished returning to parking lot status.
This theater opened as the Grand Theatre in 1941, The Joy Theatre Cicuit of Louisiana bought the theater and changed it to the Joy Theater in 1948. On May 11, 1953, a tornado hit downtown Waco just after a double-feature had ended. The rain and wind kept patrons inside and reports said that they went under the seats in the auditorium when the twister came through. And everything might have been fine for the Joy though the roof buckled. But when the neighboring R.T. Dennis Building toppled onto the Joy Theatre, it felled its roof and two of the walls partially crumpled. But amazingly none of the patrons was injured in the Joy as there was enough time between the roof buckling and the building toppling to get people out of the theatre building.
However, the attraction sign came away from the facing, the building was a twisted mess, and that the Joy wouldn’t re-open as searchers went through brick by brick looking for survivors. One survivor from the Dennis Building was found alive 14 hours after the tornado hit. E.C. Houck Of the Joy Theatre Circuit had been told to expect the worst but received good news that all patrons escaped safely. However, the Dennis Building had decimated the theater and it wasn’t salvageable. Bulldozers came on May 14, 1953 to finish off the former Grand turned Joy Theatre and by September a parking lot replaced the Joy, the Chris' Cafe and the Dennis and Co. Furniture Store. That makes the last day of operation May 11, 1953 with the double-feature of “The Lusty Men” and “Follow the Leader.”
On December 18, 1920, the Strand to launched in Waco with “Once to Every Woman’.“ Final operator Abe Levy shuttered both the Strand and the Rivoli on August 22, 1955.
The Rivoli opened Thanksgiving Day 1929 in a converted retail space and ran just over 25 years shutting down August 22, 1955 as operator Abe Levy shuttered both the Strand and the Rivoli. In May of 1958, the building was demolished.
The Orpheum officially took over for the Cozy Theatre on August 2, 1915 though had been running under the moniker earlier in the summer. The Cozy Theatre had moved into the space that was formerly the original Hippodrome on March 31, 1913. The Cozy had been operating at 604 Austin only since January of 1912 but when the Hippodrome moved in June of 1912 to the former Imperial, the Cozy went from Cozy sized to larger. (The Hippodrome would construct a new builld theater launching in 1913 and surviving past its 100th anniversary.) The Orpheum Theater’s incredible run is to 1978. In 1983, the theater was demolished.
The Melrose Theatre in south Waco held its grand opening on September 24, 1946 launching with the film, “Bad Bascomb.” Working on a ten-year lease, the theater closed in July of 1956. W.S. (Bill) McLemore re-opened the theater October 3, 1957 with the film “Bernadine.” The theater appears to go dark at the end of May 1958 as there are no further advertisements or bookings.
The Fox Theatre was located on Waco’s Square at 105 South Street. However, in 1926 owner J.A. Lemke expanded the Fox and its seating into the Rosenberg Building at 103 South Street. The theater survived a screen fire, a projection room fire, and the massive tornado of May 11, 1953 that caused death and destruction while destroying some of the 100 block of South Street. Somehow the Fox was spared as the twister opened only a major hole in the Fox’s roof.
As then-owner W.R. Phillips was repairing the roof, burglars went in during off-hours through the roof’s hole and stole the change from both the peanut vending machine and the penny scale. Undaunted, the Fox continued past its third decade of operation. The Fox tried Spanish language films on weekdays in the late 1950s, exploitation films on weekends, and appears to have finally thrown in the towel following the Feb. 28, 1959 screenings of “The Curse of Frankenstein” and “Johnny Trouble.” No further bookings or ads are carried. Likely an end-of-lease situation and probably a 35-year run though could be longer for the Fox. It was used later for other non-cinematric purposes into the early 1960s. After the Fox’s demolition, it became home to a parking lot; but the former theater’s location is now the Waco Chamber of Commerce constructed in 2008.
The Lake Air Mall opened theatre-less on March 16, 1961. But three years later, the mall would rectify that was General Cinema leased what would become an outparcel building behind the mall for a single screen theater. The Cinema at Lake Air Center missed its May 30, 1965 opening by five months but finally made it November 9, 1965 opening with “The Cincinnati Kid.” The theater had 822 with a 50x22 screen.
Guest’s Corner at Fifth St. NE and Tudor was Paris' African American business center and entertainment night spot from WWI and through the late 1950s. And the Alhambra Theatre on East Tudor was there from the beginning. Showing movies, hosting graduations, and live shows were all a part of the Alhambra which dated back to at least 1916. The theater closed down briefly in the early 1930s before re-opening and remodeled. The theater reportedly moves within Tudor Street newly listed on December 13, 1945 at 542 E. Tudor with the grand opening film, “Gunning for Revenge.” Some of the equipment was said to have been brought over from the old theater. The new Alhambra was operated by Imogene and Terry Griffis. The final operator takes on the old Main Theatre in 1960 operating it as the Parisian Theatre, a popular run theater and closing it in 1961 after rebranding it January 5, 1961 as another African American theater. The Alhambra continued but the final date is not verified.
Former Grand Theatre and Interstate engineer W.F. Shorthose was ready to open his new, independent 400-seat North Star Theatre Thursday, March 13, 1941. The 25' x 100' building would have all seating on the floor at open. Announced along with the unrelated Rex Theatre by Texas Consolidated Theatres Circuit, Shorthose was planning to compete with Interstate’s Dixie theatre. But in terms of optics, Texas Consolidated obviously wasn’t too happy that its new Rex just two weeks from its grand opening was across the street from the North Star. And almost magically, the day prior to the March 13th launch with the North Star ready to open, plans were abruptly postponed. Less than two weeks later Claude Musselman of Texas Consolidated Theatre said that they had taken on Shorthose’s theater including all of its contents and lease. The Rex opened without the North Star in its space. Texas Consolidated said a future date for the North Star would be forthcoming. Had you been able to buy tickets in advance for that grand opening, you would have been wise to put them in a safe place.
Not surprisingly, Texas Consolidated wasn’t in too big a hurry to open the North Star. As the opening was further delayed, Texas Consolidated’s portfolio was more clearly in Interstate Theatre Circuit Control. America entered World War II and the North Star stayed curiously ready to open yet completely unused. Nearly two years after the initial postponement of the grand opening, Interstate announced it would open the North Star, though a mere two days a week — just Fridays and Saturdays. And on January 30, 1943 the North Star finally launched with “Sherlock Homes and the Voice of Terror” — and no longer targeted as an African American theater. The wait must not have been worth it. On January 5, 1946, the theater just shy of its third anniversary is shut down following the showing of “Atlantic Flight” and its contents removed. It is quite conceivable that the Shorthose lease was a short term of just five years and Interstate packed up and left.
In early April of 1946, the North Star’s space was remodeled for Lloyd Robinson’s Home Furnishings Shop moving from elsewhere in downtown. The North Star faded without ever having much of a chance to be destination for Paris residents.
The theater launched independently in 1973. In August of 1979, Cineplex begins advertising the theater as Cineplex Theatres Cinema I & II. Trans-Texas acquired the theater in March of 1988 closing it down to remodel and hire a new staff. J.C. Mitchell’s group had a grand re-opening on April 8, 1988 with “Beetlejuice” and “Johnny Be Good.”
Just one year later, some Trans-Texas properties become Cinemarks including Paris' Cinema I & II in March of 1989. In 1996, Cinemark announced a new-build multiscreen theater. Cinemark closed the Cinema I & II on May 22, 1997 with “Anaconda” and “Father’s Day.” The chain said the Cinema I & II would remain open despite its newly-built Movies 8’s grand opening the next day elsewhere in the city. No further ads or bookings appear, however.
Let me know if I’m off base here but the Queen Theatre in the photo above is at 1148 E. Elizabeth. The first Queen Theatre was opened by Paco Betancourt in 1917. Bentacourt and Ed Brady then opened the “new” Queen Theater and the Queen Theater Building at 1146-1150 E. Elizabeth housing retail stores on either side of the theater’s entrance with the ticket booth and lobby housed at 1148. The building’s owner decades later said that the Queen took an existing foundation and building core that was from the 1880s to construct/ retrofit the “new” Queen.
The theater is overtaken by Publix which closed the Queen for remodeling in July of 1929. It re-launches Christmas of 1929 hoping to become the third theater to add sound. (Many references including Wikipedia say that Bentancourt’s Queen introduced talkies to the Rio Grande Valley but it was certainly not the first or even second to regularly show talkies in Brownsville and not even among the first four in the RGV to do so regularly.) The theater re-opens on Christmas showing “a better class of silent films.” Probably with audiences dissatisfied, the theater announces a new system with both disc and sound on film that will be in place during March of 1930. That’s when the former Betancourt’s Queen Theater became home to talkies.
When Publix goes into receivership, Interstate is the next owner of the Queen taking on Publix' portfolio of Texas cinemas. They operate the Queen until closing it on December 31, 1960. A classified ad in December says that the lease has expired on the Queen Theatre Building and that it can be occupied as of January 1, 1961 indicating end of life for the Queen. No further listings or bookings appear for the location.
Finally, as to the theater being a Spanish language theater, I’ve looked at hundreds of bookings and the theater can’t be categorized as a Spanish language theater due to more than 95% of its bookings and live shows being in English. So other than the location of the theater, the programming of the theater as English and not Spanish, the claims about the theater being a pioneer of talkies, and when the theater stopped advertising (seems unbroken until the end of 1960 and with Interstate from Publix forward), I agree with everything else.
One of the most important theaters of Texas was Teatro Victoria running more than 45 years opening November 25, 1946 as a Spanish language theater specializing in Mexican cinema. Air conditioned at the start, the theater was such a success that at the end of February, owner Ramon Ruenes would remove the stage adding 200 seats. Knowing that his audience wouldn’t necessarily read the local newspaper, Ruenes spent many hours in a van with a megaphone announcing the double-features. The Ruenes ran a number of theaters in the Rig Grande Valley including the Ruenes Drive-In in Brownsville. The theater shuttered in 1993 but the low-priced theater entertained generations of people in the area. Its Manley popcorn machine found a new home with the Brownsville Historic Association and the building still stands and — as of the 2010s — still had its projectors.
The Fiesta Drive-In, a Hispanic theater/English hybrid, was ready to launch on May 27, 1954 with the films, “Baile mi Rey” and “Copper Canyon.” The first film was in Spanish and the nightcap was in English. The 550-spot lot was augmented by a 200-seat area for walk-ups and those who just didn’t want to be in their cars. Texas Drive-In specialists Ezell and Associates Circuit who also owned the Star Drive-In in Brownsville were in charge. The theater would join the Stanley Warner Theatre Circuit and would go all Spanish-language. In February 1965, Ramon Runes Jr. On March 4, 1965, within his circuit the theatre became the Auto Cine Ruenes. Celebrating its 20th Anniversary and 31st overall, the Ruenes was the only Brownsville Drive-In remaining in 1985 and would be torn down prior to reaching its 25th Anniversary.
Underwood and Ezell (U&E) Circuit began the Victory Theatre in November of 1941. By June of 1948, U&E decided to close the Texas Theatre a block away and just a month later it would close the Victory. U&E had 15 drive-in theaters at that point and decided to concentrate on o-zoners. Hiram Parks of Lubbock took on the Victory for a brief period before selling it in 1950 to the Colorado Theatre Circuit run by the Benefiel family. In 1965, the circuit sold its last remaining property in the Victory to D.H. Laughler. The theater became the Tex-Art Theatre becoming an adult theater. Sold to George Kimble in 1971, Kimble changed the format to all G-rated family and repertory film hoping that’s what downtown preferred. It wasn’t so in 1973, the theater became the Victory Adult Theatre. The theater is charged with obscenity counts in December of 1973 and appears to either stop advertising or close. The theater was shuttered in 1976 set to be demolished for a project that failed to materialize.
Cinema 1 & 2 was opened by ABC Interstate on Christmas Day 1974 at 330 Bowden Drive. To show how the balance of theater-going had changed in Waco, the original Godfather played for months downtown at the Orpheum. Now the “Godfather 2” road show was the grand opening film for the suburban twin screener. Meanwhile, ABC Interstate would close its downtown Waco Theatre on Dec. 15, 1974.
The theatre was run by 40-year Interstate theater veteran Claude C.H. Stewart of Interstate’s 25th St. Theatre and Lake Air D.I. — as well as the deposed Waco. The 12,300 facility had identical 400-seat auditoriums for a total of 800 seats. Resplendent in red — from the wall-to-wall curtains, acoustic wall treatments and high back upholstered lounger chairs — even the leather seats in the waiting areas were red.
This was another of the twin-screen theaters by Interstate that had the turnstiles at the entrance in which patrons had to drop tokens to enter. The theater featured a Century Projector with Xenon lamps. The long-running “Jaws” was such a smash that the theater said it could have sold twice as many tickets per screen on some nights. From 1976 to 1980, the theater was advertised as Cinema Twin. This theater was supposed to become part of the 57-acre Sunset Mall. That delayed project wouldn’t open until 1980 then called the Richland Mall. With ABC-Interstate now in control of Plitt Theatre Circuit, Plitt would launch the Cinema 3 & 4 in Richland Mall at 6001 W. Waco Dr. And the Cinema Twin would return to its original name of Cinema 1 & 2.
Architected by David K. Mesbur opening August 1, 1986 as the Plitt Waco Square Six Cinemas. Cineplex Odeon had taken on the Plitt chain and opted for the Plitt nameplate at opening. Three auditoriums had Dolby Stereo at the launch.
The Gayety Picture Show renamed the Gayety Theatre at 115-117 Bridge was the first African American movie theater in Waco. Sometime in the late 1930s – most likely 1939 – the Gem Theatre opened and was the African American Theatre of choice on the square. But on March 29, 1953, the Gem ceases operation. After storm damaged 115-117 Bridge is repaired in 1953, the former Gayety location comes back to life as the “New” Gem Theatre beginning Dec. 19, 1953 and advertising until January 1962. It’s likely that the theater operated through a ten-year lease until March 1963 without advertising as the theater space is offered for lease in 1964.
Newman Theatres opened the Westview Drive-In in Waco with capacity for 475 cars launching in 1948 with the film, “Emperor’s Waltz.” The theater was said to have been at 731 North Valley Mills at the corner of Sanger; however, looking at Historic Aerials, the present address would be 815 N. Valley Mills where the Taco Bueno was as of the mid-2010s.
Though always in the hands of Mr. Newman, the circuit changed names to the Central Texas Theatres Circuit during the Westview’s ten year operation. The theatre closed just prior to Christmas in 1958 with the double feature of “Dunkirk” and “The Reluctant Debutante” on December 21, 1958. The next ad said closed for season and the final ad the following February said basically thanks for the memories. The theater was at the end of a lease cycle and the land sold to Colias Brothers to become the third location of Waco institution Elite Cafés with this location being the long-running Elite Steak House and other retail operations to be named. The demolition began February 4, 1959 by Wortman & Son of Houston.
Cinemas Southwest Theatre Circuit opened the Diamond Point Theatre on September 27, 1974 with “That’s Entertainment” and “Walking Tall.” The circuit would open the Ivy Square twin three weeks later giving Waco its first twin-screeners and first theater built since 1965. The seating capacity of each Diamond Point screen was identical at 273 in the 6,500 square foot facility. Waco Mayor Oscar DuConge was there for the opening along with Z.F. Cook, head of Cinemas Southwest. The theaters were automated and were originally supposed to have opened under the American Automated Theatres Circuit out of Oklahoma City.
The $35,000 Alpa Theatre opened in 1947 and got its name from a nearly twenty year old restaurant called the Alpha Café which moved from Austin Avenue to the 219 Clifton next to the Alpha Theater. The east-side Alphas served locals in the African American business district and marketed to the nearby Paul Quinn College student population. The area was served by the last-remaining electrified streetcar line upon opening.
The theater closed during what was likely a 20 year lease and was vacant for a period. The Alpha Café became the Alpha Grill which out survived its neighbor with live jazz music until the early 1970s. The theater became a hair products factory in 1976 when the building was renovated and received a slight extension. Its longest period was vacant with stored junk for a lengthy period. Cleaned up in 2015 for potential renovation as children’s theater and community center. It can be listed as renovating.
The Texas Theater launched in 1941. In 1958, with business waining, the Texas successfully tries an influx of art films and adult content. The result is so successful that it comes the Texas Art Theater in November of 1958. In March of 1963, the theater is renamed the Capri Arts Theater trying to become a more legitimate art house. It begins to lean heavily adult and is caught up in a daily raid scenario that takes place late in 1969 and into 1970. When raided in 1974, the theater was known as Capri Studio Adult Artfilm Theatre. The theater simply becomes the Capri Theater lasting as an adult film space until July 1983. In December of 1983, the Capri begins running first-run double feature Spanish language content. In the Fall of 1988, the theater becomes the River Theatre’s space for live plays. And then it becomes the Jubilee Theater.
The Imperial Theatre was new-build facility launched February 4, 1955 with “Young at Heart” at 810 Austin Avenue. While downtown theaters across the nation were being replaced by parking structures, the Imperial bucked the trend by becoming a theater replacing a short-lived parking area. And the results weren’t too good. The $200,000, 6,000 square foot facility would start with 950 seats and would be just 800 seats at closing due to renovations during its operation. It had a curved 42x23' screen.
This was the second Imperial Theatre in Waco as the first was a vaudeville house that would become the very short-lived home of the original Hippodrome in Waco which took over the Imperial space in 1912. (However, the Hippodrome would build a new facility in 1913 where it still was more than 100 years later.)
The “new” Imperial started under the auspices of Newman Theatre Circuit run by Ed and George Newman of Waco’s Orpheum Theatre. The theater wasn’t a home run and Newman ceased operation in 1962. It became the Waco Evangelistic Center early in 1963 before moving. Pre-Cinemark LeRoy and J.C. Mitchell took on the theater reopening on June 14, 1963 with “One Eyed Jacks” and “Sergeants 3.” It closes for a short period and re-opens. But the theater struggles mightily. The Imperial closes in October of 1965 as the Lake Air Cinema is set to become the first new indoor theater to open since the Imperial. The Imperial appears to close October 2, 1965 after “Move Over Darling” and “What a Way to Go.” And if that’s so, what a way to go.
After a period of vacancy, the final life for the Imperial is as its final name as the Roxie Adult Theatre. It joined the Capri and the Art 16 as Waco’s adult theaters. The Roxie theater opened December 11, 1970 and the constant, daily raids at the theater from the outset lead the employees to seek relief in Austin just four weeks after the grand opening and one day after an employee at one of the adult theaters reportedly committed suicide. The Roxie appears to cease operations after just two very turbulent months in February of 1971. The property is listed for sale by October of 1971 and would later be demolished returning to parking lot status.
This theater opened as the Grand Theatre in 1941, The Joy Theatre Cicuit of Louisiana bought the theater and changed it to the Joy Theater in 1948. On May 11, 1953, a tornado hit downtown Waco just after a double-feature had ended. The rain and wind kept patrons inside and reports said that they went under the seats in the auditorium when the twister came through. And everything might have been fine for the Joy though the roof buckled. But when the neighboring R.T. Dennis Building toppled onto the Joy Theatre, it felled its roof and two of the walls partially crumpled. But amazingly none of the patrons was injured in the Joy as there was enough time between the roof buckling and the building toppling to get people out of the theatre building.
However, the attraction sign came away from the facing, the building was a twisted mess, and that the Joy wouldn’t re-open as searchers went through brick by brick looking for survivors. One survivor from the Dennis Building was found alive 14 hours after the tornado hit. E.C. Houck Of the Joy Theatre Circuit had been told to expect the worst but received good news that all patrons escaped safely. However, the Dennis Building had decimated the theater and it wasn’t salvageable. Bulldozers came on May 14, 1953 to finish off the former Grand turned Joy Theatre and by September a parking lot replaced the Joy, the Chris' Cafe and the Dennis and Co. Furniture Store. That makes the last day of operation May 11, 1953 with the double-feature of “The Lusty Men” and “Follow the Leader.”
On December 18, 1920, the Strand to launched in Waco with “Once to Every Woman’.“ Final operator Abe Levy shuttered both the Strand and the Rivoli on August 22, 1955.
Correction 1920
The Rivoli opened Thanksgiving Day 1929 in a converted retail space and ran just over 25 years shutting down August 22, 1955 as operator Abe Levy shuttered both the Strand and the Rivoli. In May of 1958, the building was demolished.
The Orpheum officially took over for the Cozy Theatre on August 2, 1915 though had been running under the moniker earlier in the summer. The Cozy Theatre had moved into the space that was formerly the original Hippodrome on March 31, 1913. The Cozy had been operating at 604 Austin only since January of 1912 but when the Hippodrome moved in June of 1912 to the former Imperial, the Cozy went from Cozy sized to larger. (The Hippodrome would construct a new builld theater launching in 1913 and surviving past its 100th anniversary.) The Orpheum Theater’s incredible run is to 1978. In 1983, the theater was demolished.
The Melrose Theatre in south Waco held its grand opening on September 24, 1946 launching with the film, “Bad Bascomb.” Working on a ten-year lease, the theater closed in July of 1956. W.S. (Bill) McLemore re-opened the theater October 3, 1957 with the film “Bernadine.” The theater appears to go dark at the end of May 1958 as there are no further advertisements or bookings.
The Fox Theatre was located on Waco’s Square at 105 South Street. However, in 1926 owner J.A. Lemke expanded the Fox and its seating into the Rosenberg Building at 103 South Street. The theater survived a screen fire, a projection room fire, and the massive tornado of May 11, 1953 that caused death and destruction while destroying some of the 100 block of South Street. Somehow the Fox was spared as the twister opened only a major hole in the Fox’s roof.
As then-owner W.R. Phillips was repairing the roof, burglars went in during off-hours through the roof’s hole and stole the change from both the peanut vending machine and the penny scale. Undaunted, the Fox continued past its third decade of operation. The Fox tried Spanish language films on weekdays in the late 1950s, exploitation films on weekends, and appears to have finally thrown in the towel following the Feb. 28, 1959 screenings of “The Curse of Frankenstein” and “Johnny Trouble.” No further bookings or ads are carried. Likely an end-of-lease situation and probably a 35-year run though could be longer for the Fox. It was used later for other non-cinematric purposes into the early 1960s. After the Fox’s demolition, it became home to a parking lot; but the former theater’s location is now the Waco Chamber of Commerce constructed in 2008.
Final showing was July 4, 1982. Owner Plitt Theatres had considered making the theater a dollar house but reconsidered.
The Lake Air Mall opened theatre-less on March 16, 1961. But three years later, the mall would rectify that was General Cinema leased what would become an outparcel building behind the mall for a single screen theater. The Cinema at Lake Air Center missed its May 30, 1965 opening by five months but finally made it November 9, 1965 opening with “The Cincinnati Kid.” The theater had 822 with a 50x22 screen.
Guest’s Corner at Fifth St. NE and Tudor was Paris' African American business center and entertainment night spot from WWI and through the late 1950s. And the Alhambra Theatre on East Tudor was there from the beginning. Showing movies, hosting graduations, and live shows were all a part of the Alhambra which dated back to at least 1916. The theater closed down briefly in the early 1930s before re-opening and remodeled. The theater reportedly moves within Tudor Street newly listed on December 13, 1945 at 542 E. Tudor with the grand opening film, “Gunning for Revenge.” Some of the equipment was said to have been brought over from the old theater. The new Alhambra was operated by Imogene and Terry Griffis. The final operator takes on the old Main Theatre in 1960 operating it as the Parisian Theatre, a popular run theater and closing it in 1961 after rebranding it January 5, 1961 as another African American theater. The Alhambra continued but the final date is not verified.
Former Grand Theatre and Interstate engineer W.F. Shorthose was ready to open his new, independent 400-seat North Star Theatre Thursday, March 13, 1941. The 25' x 100' building would have all seating on the floor at open. Announced along with the unrelated Rex Theatre by Texas Consolidated Theatres Circuit, Shorthose was planning to compete with Interstate’s Dixie theatre. But in terms of optics, Texas Consolidated obviously wasn’t too happy that its new Rex just two weeks from its grand opening was across the street from the North Star. And almost magically, the day prior to the March 13th launch with the North Star ready to open, plans were abruptly postponed. Less than two weeks later Claude Musselman of Texas Consolidated Theatre said that they had taken on Shorthose’s theater including all of its contents and lease. The Rex opened without the North Star in its space. Texas Consolidated said a future date for the North Star would be forthcoming. Had you been able to buy tickets in advance for that grand opening, you would have been wise to put them in a safe place.
Not surprisingly, Texas Consolidated wasn’t in too big a hurry to open the North Star. As the opening was further delayed, Texas Consolidated’s portfolio was more clearly in Interstate Theatre Circuit Control. America entered World War II and the North Star stayed curiously ready to open yet completely unused. Nearly two years after the initial postponement of the grand opening, Interstate announced it would open the North Star, though a mere two days a week — just Fridays and Saturdays. And on January 30, 1943 the North Star finally launched with “Sherlock Homes and the Voice of Terror” — and no longer targeted as an African American theater. The wait must not have been worth it. On January 5, 1946, the theater just shy of its third anniversary is shut down following the showing of “Atlantic Flight” and its contents removed. It is quite conceivable that the Shorthose lease was a short term of just five years and Interstate packed up and left.
In early April of 1946, the North Star’s space was remodeled for Lloyd Robinson’s Home Furnishings Shop moving from elsewhere in downtown. The North Star faded without ever having much of a chance to be destination for Paris residents.
Architected by Pettigrew & Worley
The theater launched independently in 1973. In August of 1979, Cineplex begins advertising the theater as Cineplex Theatres Cinema I & II. Trans-Texas acquired the theater in March of 1988 closing it down to remodel and hire a new staff. J.C. Mitchell’s group had a grand re-opening on April 8, 1988 with “Beetlejuice” and “Johnny Be Good.”
Just one year later, some Trans-Texas properties become Cinemarks including Paris' Cinema I & II in March of 1989. In 1996, Cinemark announced a new-build multiscreen theater. Cinemark closed the Cinema I & II on May 22, 1997 with “Anaconda” and “Father’s Day.” The chain said the Cinema I & II would remain open despite its newly-built Movies 8’s grand opening the next day elsewhere in the city. No further ads or bookings appear, however.
Let me know if I’m off base here but the Queen Theatre in the photo above is at 1148 E. Elizabeth. The first Queen Theatre was opened by Paco Betancourt in 1917. Bentacourt and Ed Brady then opened the “new” Queen Theater and the Queen Theater Building at 1146-1150 E. Elizabeth housing retail stores on either side of the theater’s entrance with the ticket booth and lobby housed at 1148. The building’s owner decades later said that the Queen took an existing foundation and building core that was from the 1880s to construct/ retrofit the “new” Queen.
The theater is overtaken by Publix which closed the Queen for remodeling in July of 1929. It re-launches Christmas of 1929 hoping to become the third theater to add sound. (Many references including Wikipedia say that Bentancourt’s Queen introduced talkies to the Rio Grande Valley but it was certainly not the first or even second to regularly show talkies in Brownsville and not even among the first four in the RGV to do so regularly.) The theater re-opens on Christmas showing “a better class of silent films.” Probably with audiences dissatisfied, the theater announces a new system with both disc and sound on film that will be in place during March of 1930. That’s when the former Betancourt’s Queen Theater became home to talkies.
When Publix goes into receivership, Interstate is the next owner of the Queen taking on Publix' portfolio of Texas cinemas. They operate the Queen until closing it on December 31, 1960. A classified ad in December says that the lease has expired on the Queen Theatre Building and that it can be occupied as of January 1, 1961 indicating end of life for the Queen. No further listings or bookings appear for the location.
Finally, as to the theater being a Spanish language theater, I’ve looked at hundreds of bookings and the theater can’t be categorized as a Spanish language theater due to more than 95% of its bookings and live shows being in English. So other than the location of the theater, the programming of the theater as English and not Spanish, the claims about the theater being a pioneer of talkies, and when the theater stopped advertising (seems unbroken until the end of 1960 and with Interstate from Publix forward), I agree with everything else.
One of the most important theaters of Texas was Teatro Victoria running more than 45 years opening November 25, 1946 as a Spanish language theater specializing in Mexican cinema. Air conditioned at the start, the theater was such a success that at the end of February, owner Ramon Ruenes would remove the stage adding 200 seats. Knowing that his audience wouldn’t necessarily read the local newspaper, Ruenes spent many hours in a van with a megaphone announcing the double-features. The Ruenes ran a number of theaters in the Rig Grande Valley including the Ruenes Drive-In in Brownsville. The theater shuttered in 1993 but the low-priced theater entertained generations of people in the area. Its Manley popcorn machine found a new home with the Brownsville Historic Association and the building still stands and — as of the 2010s — still had its projectors.
The Fiesta Drive-In, a Hispanic theater/English hybrid, was ready to launch on May 27, 1954 with the films, “Baile mi Rey” and “Copper Canyon.” The first film was in Spanish and the nightcap was in English. The 550-spot lot was augmented by a 200-seat area for walk-ups and those who just didn’t want to be in their cars. Texas Drive-In specialists Ezell and Associates Circuit who also owned the Star Drive-In in Brownsville were in charge. The theater would join the Stanley Warner Theatre Circuit and would go all Spanish-language. In February 1965, Ramon Runes Jr. On March 4, 1965, within his circuit the theatre became the Auto Cine Ruenes. Celebrating its 20th Anniversary and 31st overall, the Ruenes was the only Brownsville Drive-In remaining in 1985 and would be torn down prior to reaching its 25th Anniversary.
Underwood and Ezell (U&E) Circuit began the Victory Theatre in November of 1941. By June of 1948, U&E decided to close the Texas Theatre a block away and just a month later it would close the Victory. U&E had 15 drive-in theaters at that point and decided to concentrate on o-zoners. Hiram Parks of Lubbock took on the Victory for a brief period before selling it in 1950 to the Colorado Theatre Circuit run by the Benefiel family. In 1965, the circuit sold its last remaining property in the Victory to D.H. Laughler. The theater became the Tex-Art Theatre becoming an adult theater. Sold to George Kimble in 1971, Kimble changed the format to all G-rated family and repertory film hoping that’s what downtown preferred. It wasn’t so in 1973, the theater became the Victory Adult Theatre. The theater is charged with obscenity counts in December of 1973 and appears to either stop advertising or close. The theater was shuttered in 1976 set to be demolished for a project that failed to materialize.