The Leon Theatre launched June 29, 1942 after a freight delay caused a postponement of the scheduled June 26, 1942 launch. The Leon Brothers built the theater and had double-wide seats for “love birds and large persons.” Opening there was “The Bride Came C.O.D.” On July 21, 1942, the Leons would take on the Star Theatre and then they would take over the Rex for a modest portfolio in Amarillo and adding to their Texas holdings. A retail location for a jeweler, the Leons did a ten-year lease and the theater was remodeled back to retail usage.
The $13-million Western Plaza Shopping Mall was announced in 1965 and General Cinema signed on the provide the theater there in summer of 1966. The theater was set to open almost 20 years to the date of the last Amarillo constructed indoor theater, the Esquire. Though the entire project fell behind by a year, the 1,000 seat General Cinema Western Plaza was an exciting addition to the area with the traditional art gallery and smoking loge. At the mall, the anchors of Montgomery Ward’s and the cinema’s neighbor Woolco had made it to the August 1967 target date and the other 21 of the other 23 businesses worked hard to meet the February 29, 1968 grand opening target date. GCC missed both dates but four weeks after the Mall’s grand opening, March 26, 1968, the Western Plaza Cinema was open with a film that played well throughout Texas in “The Graduate.”
As classes went back into session in 1973, General Cinema shut down to deliver twins at the Western Plaza. The theater re-launched on October 24, 1973 after a two month hiatus as the General Cinema Western Plaza I & II opening with “Visions of Eight” and “The Day of the Jackal.” The theater was now fully automated and had a slightly remodeled lobby area. The theater was likely on a 25-year lease and decided against a re-up as the mall was in flux with Woolco leaving, Sakowitz coming and going, J.J. Wilson coming and being replaced by Service Merchandise. A twin-screener just couldn’t compete in a multiplex world. In 2007, the whole complex was finally razed and replaced by Western Crossing, a $40 million mall.
Interstate Theatres went on a building and spending spree in the late 1940s building theaters outside of downtown throughout Texas. In 1947, alone, Houston had the River Oaks, Dallas got the Forest, Inwood and Circle theaters. And for Amarillo, it would get its last indoor theater built for more than 20 years with the Esquire Theatre. You couldn’t miss the Esquire. It had a 38-foot sign with 1,500 feet of neon tubing and an attraction board that told you what was playing. Opening was the 40 cent admissioned, “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now” on October 27, 1947. Mayor Lawrence Hagy was there to get things going. Audiences were struck by the fabulous murals by Eugene Gilboe which were a doff of the cowboy hat to the Palo Duro Canyon area.
Nicknamed “the friendly theater,” by Jack King of Interstate Theatre, the only circuit to operate the theater, the idea may have been to be a nice neighborhood theater. But at 1,000 seats and with audiences ready, the theater at 18th and South Washington within two years was hosting road shows that Interstate might have considered for the Paramount. Road Show releases including those of “Hamlet,” “The Bible,” “The Sound of Music” (18 weeks), “The Royal Ballet,” “South Pacific,” “Around the World in 80 Days,” “Cheyenne Autumn,” “The Song of Norway,” “Patton,” “Tora, Tora, Tora,” “Oliver,” “The Sand Pebbles,” “Gone With the Wind (1968 Road Show), “The Taming of the Shrew,” “Grand Prix,” “A Man for All Seasons,” “The Great Race,” and “The Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines” made the Esquire a destination theater for decades.
Though the theater would close just shy of its 35th Anniversary reaching the end of a lease cycle, the quickly-demolished theater was a destination theater in the single-screen era and survived gracefully into the twin and multiplex eras.
On May 13, 1948, the Palo Duro Drive-In Theatre became the second drive-in theater in Amarillo. Its original mural of the Palo Duro Canyon was ready to go just in time for the first movie which was “California.“ The 400-car drive-in proved so successful that it was expanded in 1952 to 553 cars. Operated by Charles Weisenberg, Harold Wilson and Johnny Fagan, it would become a Wesienberg Theatre Circuit holding exclusively for much of its existence.
In 1953, the theater was expanded to accommodate CinemaScope. On a 20-year lease, the drive-in closed November 26, 1967 with a triple feature of “El Dorado,” “Your Cheatin' Heart,” and “The Rounders.” There was no coming back for the 21st year as the drive-in’s demolition took place less than two weeks after its last show. Original owner Johnny Fagan had come back in 1966 and 1967 to steer the Palo Duro to its closure as manager.
The Skyway Drive-In opened October 27, 1950. Days before, the aviation-centric drive-in advertised $100 for a parachute jumper to deliver the first film to the drive-in. The first film was “Sierra.” Midway through August of 1961, the Skyway converted to Spanish language films. On February 22, 1964, the Skyway played its final two features with “Aladino y la Lámpara Maravillosa” and “No soy monedita de oro.” It was the first of the Weisenburg Drive-Ins in Amarillo to close leaving the Trail, Palo Duro, Tascosa and Twin in the portfolio.
Amarillo’s third drive-in theater built in 1949 from the same folks who brought you the Trail (1948) and competing with the Palo Duro (1948). The theater got in trouble with locals in 1973 for playing an X-rated feature and an R-rated feature with objectionable content. The Sunset owners had to sign a promise along with a $2,000 letter of credit with the city that they would only show G or PG rated movies. The city had threatened to pass an ordinance that would have stated as such. The final showing at the Sunset appears to be November 7, 1976 with the 28-year old drive-in closing with the double feature of “Posse” and “Lifeguard.” No further advertisements or bookings are listed for the drive-in.
Launched with “The Lion and the Horse” in 1952 to become Amarillo’s fifth drive-in theater behind the Trail (‘48), Palo Duro (‘48), Sunset ('49), Skyway ('50), and Twin ('52). It would be followed by the long-running Tascosa ('53) which survived into the 21st Century.
The Texas Theatre opened January 17, 1933 on a 15-year lease showing “Red Dust” as its opening feature. The theater was next door to the former Olympic Theater, the first Amarillo theater to show films though burning down in 1919. The Texas Theater began as a 500-seat theater in a 30' by 140' space. Ben Golding started the theater. Underwood and Ezell Circuit took on the operation of the Texas and the Victory in 1945. It closed January 5, 1948 with “The Trouble with Women” as the theater reached the end of its lease. The building was repurposed for retail purposes.
The Mission Theatre launched on July 19, 1913 for R.C. Conn. D, F & R Enterprises — Dr. E.J. Dye, H.S. Ford, and Ross D. Rogers took on the theater in 1914 and ran the road show version of “Birth of a Nation.” Later, under new operator Raleigh Dent of Dent Theatres Circuit, Amarillo would get to hear the movies as Vitaphone entered into the mix. The Jazz Singer was an early but not the first Vitaphone heard in Amarillo. “Ham and Eggs at the Front” was that first talkie in Amarillo playing on March 17, 1928.
The theater would be subsumed by Publix which transitioned from Publix-Dent to Publix and would become Paramount Publix. It went into receivership in 1933 and the Mission would become part of the Interstate Circuit which took on much of the Paramount Publix and RKO southern theaters.And then the theater became the Capitol opening August 27, 1937 appropriately enough with “New Faces of 1937.” In 1952, Trans-Texas became the final owner of the Capitol. Unfortunately, just two years into the circuit’s run, the Capitol burned down and was no more in December of 1954. Demolished in 1955, the lime mortar constructed brick building’s bricks were re-used to build two new Amarillo homes.
The Rialto opened in July 1926. It had a major remodeling in 1942. And it had its last screenings on January 2, 1960 with “Dreamland Capers” and “Battle of the Teasers” as it went as as a downtrodden adult-centric theater (reports said the theater closed Thursday, Dec. 31, 1959 but there appear to have been showings of this double-feature on Jan. 1-2, 1960). The equipment was removed almost immediately by the city of Higgins, Texas which took the equipment, contents, and even the Rialto signage. The owner of the Rialto was its neighbor, the Army and Navy Store, which enlarged its store into the former Rialto with work beginning also in January of 1960.
The Schulman Theatre Group was almost 50 years old when it launched its latest Bryan theater in the Manor East Three Theaters. The theater was named after the Manor East Mall which was built in 1972 with Ward’s and Kroger’s as the anchors and 23 additional stores. The Manor East joined in the fun opening November 7, 1973 with “That’s Entertainment,” Papillion,“ and “The Mysterious World of Captain Nemo.” The theater had an external entrance for after-hours (Sunday night) ticketing and interior entrance, as well.
The Manor East Three’s ticket color corresponding with the auditorium’s name you were in: there was the Blue House, the Red House, and the Gold House each bathed in those colors. But make no mistake: the Blue House was the big house with seating for 420 patrons and a 16x40 screen. If you wanted to see 70mm films such as Revenge of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Trek, the Blue House would become equipped for your needs. The Red House was pigeonholed as the kids theater and had room for 175 patrons. And the Gold House was the high-class house with 220 high-backed rocker lounge chairs. Automated projection was at the theater from its opening day.
The Manor East fell into grey field status — a term akin to a dead mall. Some of the mall was demolished (Ward’s went down for the H•E•B store) and if you are looking for the Manor East Mall and the former cinema, look no further than the Tejas Center Shopping Center.
Located at 110 S. Cuyler Street in the former and flagship Standard Food Market, Phillip C. Crown took on the building as Standard would move a block to the north. Opening Nov. 27, 1936 with the Olsen & Johnson comedy, “The Country Gentlemen,” Pathé Newsreel, Major Bowes short, and “Robinson Crusoe” serial short, the 540-seat theater was underway. It was Pampa’s fourth theater but first non Griffith Amusement Circuit operation. Crown Theaters had various locations in Oklahoma and Texas. The $25,000 theater had an initial ten-year lease and was modest but had a fully-equipped stage.
On May 29, 1938, the Crown hosted a broadcast about the forthcoming “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” explaining multiplane technicolor. The film would show twice at the Crown, once in initial release and once in repertory. The theater closed for several months in 1942 for a remodeling. It was then closed shortly thereafter and acquired by the Griffith Amusement Circuit including new upholstery and screen. The management urged patrons to not abuse the furniture as the “pinch” of the War would make updating a challenge. They would re-up for another 10-year lease, the final for the Crown. On December 8, 1949, Video Independent Theatres (VIT) Circuit bought the Griffith Theaters including the Crown.
Continuing on as manager, VIT’s Paul West announced the closing of the Crown occurring on April 15, 1955. The chain opting not to renew the lease coming due. The employees switched to the new Pampa Drive-In that was having its grand opening the next night. Initially, the Crown was going to simply take summer hiatuses while the Drive-In was open but that plan was scuttled. The Crown was listed thereafter with leasing information and it said, “Will remodel.” It became the regional Cretney Drug Store chain. As for the Crown, it appears that a revival to cure blindness, deafness, and the infirm on April 25, 1955 was the final event for the theater.
Built by the Queen Amusement Company and supervised by the folks who built Dallas' Queen Theatre was the magnificent Queen Theatre in Abilene launching with “For a Woman’s Fair Name” on March 15, 1916. The pipe organ showed up a bit late to the $25,000 theater but patrons were impressed. The Queen played “The Birth of a Nation” with a symphony orchestra of 25. David S. Castle — who also architected Abilene’s Paramount — delivered a wonderful 600-seat auditorium that made it to its 50th birthday. But Year One, the theater changed hands 8 times as not everyone was sold on the Queen.
A May 31, 1935 fire cost $5,500 to repair and was said to have been ready to open that August. However, its operator decided against reopening it when the Majestic — dark for five years — reopened. Texas Consolidated Theatres would be positioned as a second-run house with “rock bottom” pricing. It relaunched on September 3, 1938 with “That Old Barn Dance” and"Torchy Blane in Panama.“ Interstate took on Texas Consolidated and ran the Queen nobly until it created the suburban Westwood Theatre that opened July 28, 1966. And the Queen bowed out gracefully and with a large crowd for its final showing July 27, 1966 with "The Sound of Music” which ended a 14-week run there.
The Queen sat empty and by 1971 was seen as a fire hazard. Talk about removing the Queen were on and it was part of a beautification proposal. The Queen’s seats and equipment were removed in May of 1974 and was bulldozed in July 1974 to make way for the Vera Hall Minter Memorial Park.
The Majestic Theatre was built by C.E. Fulwiler. The Majestic’s Grand opening was September 7, 1925 with Mrs. H.D. Carsner at the Wurlitzer organ, Syd Chaplin’s “Charley’s Aunt” on the screen and would be operated in its formative months by W.O. Shackelford. The opening crowd was reportedly the largest single crowd for one indoor performance ever to that date. Raleigh Dent of Dent Theatres soon acquired the theatre from Shackleford. Dent would also be a short-term operator but would make history by playing the first talkies ever seen/heard in Abilene. It was a big event taking place on November 5, 1928 with the film, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”
On December 14, 1929, to announce its new operators in the Publix Theatre Circuit which had major stockholder interest in Dent Theatres. A Publix locomotive was greeted by Abilene Mayor Thomas Hayden Jr. KFYO radio showed up at each of the new Publix-held theaters for special broadcasts starting with the Rex, then the Queen and finally the Majestic. The Depression was taking its toll both on the citizenry and the theatre circuit. Publix went into severe financial difficulty and closed the Queen and then on March 7, 1931 closed the Majestic after showing “Way for a Sailor.”
Texas Consolidated took on the Majestic after a summer fire closed the Queen as one of Abilene’s first-run houses. Texas Consolidated now had the Paramount, Majestic, and Palace. Re-opening the theater on October 14, 1935. Mayor C.L. Johnson was on hand for the festivities and the first film, “Shipmates Forever.” Interstate would take on Texas Consolidated and assumed control of the Majestic.
On Feb. 25, 1954, the Majestic went from being in the Interstate Theatre Circuit to the Trans Texas Circuit. On its 50th Anniversary, the theater was between its adult period and its forthcoming Spanish Language period showing “Walking Tall II" and managed by Charles Wolfe. In 1977, Basil Huckabee subleased the theater from Wolfe converted to Spanish Language films; he had done the same previously at the Crescent Drive-In and was currently operating the Marine and Berry as Spanish language houses in Fort Worth.
151 Pine Street was the location of this theater which once housed the original Abilene home to J.C. Penney’s. The Phil Isley Circuit of Dallas launched Feb. 6, 1941 Grand Opening of the Bobby Walker Theatre in Abeline with “Maryland.” Nine month old Bobby Walker, Phil Isley’s grandson and son to actors Jennifer Jones and Robert Walker, was on hand to inspect the building — a 25' by 140' structure with seating reduced from 800 theater goers in the original plans to 700 patrons when fashionable-of-that-era love seats were installed.
In September of 1946, Tom Griffing of Griffing Enterprises and later the Video Independent Theatre Circuit would purchase the theater from Isley. He renamed it after his only niece from Oklahoma changing the Bobby Walker to the Linda Theater. The theater launched with the exploitation film, “Mom and Dad.” The final owner, John J. King of King Theatres kept the Linda moniker launching October 15, 1954 with “The Woman is Dangerous” and “Wonder Horse: Black Eagle” and advertising as “two hits for two bits.” King shuttered the Linda in January of 1958 and then in September 1960, the Texan Hotel was being demolished. That project took with it a footprint’s worth of buildings at the corner. Excised in that group of buildings was Linda / former Bobby Walker. A parking area now sits where the theater once stood.
The Metro Theatre was billed as Abielene’s first suburban theater. The south side suburban got off to a very rocky start and didn’t appear to be a theater which would be operational for more than thirty years. But it did just that. The theater was built by James H. Griffin and all 526 seats of the quonset hut styled theater were on the main floor. A brick front held the attraction sign, lobby, ticket area and the projection booth. Just prior to opening, Griffin sells out to I.B. Adelman’s circuit which consisted of the Adelman Theater in Houston, the forthcoming theater in Dallas, and a Fort Worth theater. Adelman launches the theater on October 17, 1946 with the film, “Ding Dong Williams.”
A year later, Adelman Circuit has had enough of the Metro and sells to Tom Griffing. Griffing would close the Metro less than six months later April 3, 1949. Its future was uncertain. But on Nov. 11, 1949 the theater would re-launch, find its audience, in part, by marketing and drawing crowds from nearby McMurry College. It featured “popular” priced runs of films such as “The Ten Commandments” and “Ben Hur.” These elements helped the Metro make it past its thirtieth anniversary as a successful suburban.
After a soft launch on September 29-30, 1938 of “Wake Up and Live,” the theatre’s gala grand opening was Oct. 1 with Mack Brown’s, “Guns in the Dark.” Nearly ten years later, the theater closed briefly to redecorate and had a grand re-opening on August 15, 1948. To accommodate widescreen, the theater was updated including its “wall to wall screen” on Nov. 28, 1954. Negative publicity hits on Nov. 27, 1959 when it’s revealed that African American patrons have no rest rooms afforded to them.
The city is experiencing a major, coordinated plan to bring urban renewal to downtown in the form of a shopping mall in early 1960. Downtown Abilene Markets, Inc. is acquiring property to build the center. The Texas Theatre’s last showings are February 22, 1960 with “Hound Dog Man” and “The Quiet Gun.” It’s revealed that the Texas Theatre property has been acquired by the Downtown Abilene Markets from the Alexander estate on July 30, 1960. The property is one of the first targeted for demolition in 1960 as the renewal plan commences but doesn’t occur until 1962 according to reports.
On October 13, 1922 the Palace Theatre opened in a three-year old building, converting the City Drug Store into a long-lasting theatre space. The entire building was renamed the Palace Theatre Building and the first film was “Too Much Business.” Two Motiongraph projectors also played a Harold Lloyd comedy short on opening night. H.T. Hodge of the first Gem Theatre in Abilene was in charge.
The theater switches to a Spanish Language theater. Bookings appear to end after the September 18, 1965 showings of “Buenos Dias Acapolco” and “Santo Contra el rey del Crimen.” The theater was targeted for demolition in November of 1969 and appears to have been demolished in January of 1970.
Grand Opening as twin-screener was July 6, 1973.On April 30, 1976, the third auditorium addition resulted in the Cinema I-II-III. And then the fourth rounded it out as a four-plex.
The Rex Theatre was a silent era theater opening in 1914 at 151 Chestnut that replaced a saddle and tack store. On March 15, 1933, new operators changed the theater to the Gem Theatre specializing in westerns. Under its new name of the Star Theater, the theater is remodeled by a new owner in May of 1941. A fire at the Star Theater on January 21, 1943 destroyed the interior but left the building intact.
Despite war shortages, the building owners were able to get the supplies needed to rebuild. On June 27, 1943 the “New” Star Theater re-opened. On October 12, 1949, the theater re-opened by the same operators as the Texas and Linda. With its new moniker as the State Theatre, its final name, it had a free preview open house with the Marx Brothers' “A Night at the Opera.” The theater switched to Spanish language films on March 7, 1953 and would drop to just two day a week operation beginning at the end of March 1953. Closing date is not certain.
Abilene’s ninth theater in operation in 1941 was the Grand Theater. It was a hybrid African American theater five days a week and turned into Teatro Grand two nights a week — Sunday and Wednesday (and sometimes more depending on the film) to play Spanish language films. The theater opened May 1, 1941 with a 26-piece high school band adding to the festivities. The Grand suffered an inordinate number of fires — eight minor blazes in less than eight years of operation.
That said, it donated money to African American college funds and screened rare African American films such as the Spencer Williams/Dallas-shot “Blood of Jesus” — just one of many “race” films that played here. It also participated in Juneteenth Emancipation Day festivities with special screenings which also had an exhibition semi-pro baseball game. But the theater would close after just six years of operation when its owner, Mrs. George Likins, noted that Camp Barkeley closed down while African Americans and Hispanics could get regular admittance in other theaters. and was auctioned off on April 6, 1948.
The 6,300 twin movie theater The Movies: Brookhollow was an automated theatre by the American Automated Theatres Circuit out of Oklahoma City and operated by Walt Mergenhagen, a first-time theater owner. It was at 3112 S. 27th Street and launched January 24, 1975 with “The Sting” and “One Little Indian” for $1. Abilene Mayor J.C. Hunter Jr. was among the dignitaries there for the opening. The Movies had two identical 273-seat auditoria and cost $210,000 to build. J.J. Aguilar & Associates of Fort Worth built the theater. The flatbed 35mm projectors projected the show automatically, taped music played between shoes, and both lighting and curtains were controlled as well.
The building still stands and was a Fuji Japanese Steak House until 2013.
The operators of the Tower Drive-In, O.M. Kirkeby and R.A. Erickson, decided to build a second drive-in in Abilene in 1951. The proposed name of their $100,000 ozoner was the Cedar Gap Drive-In. But by grand opening on February 5, 1952 the 350-car facility’s name was named after its neighborhood of Crescent Heights as the Crescent Drive-In launching with “Thunderhead: Son of Flicka.” With the Crescent opening, the operators closed the Tower briefly for some repairs.
New operator Katherine Jacobs and Duane Gates ran into some issues with the theater. Improvements made in 1960 were under scrutiny from the land owner. Further scrutiny came when the Crescent started showing adult films and in December of 1961 had its film, “Not Tonight, Henry” impounded by local police. That led to a censorship hearing in January 1962 that went to trial in March with the charges dropped with the film finally returned — albeit very late — to the Dallas Art Film Exchange. After returning to more family-friendly fare, the theater returned to adult films in 1968 rebranding the the theater as Crescent Arts Theater. On November 3, 1968, the Tower and Crescent were sold to Video Independent Theatres Circuit (VIT) which already owned the Key City Drive-In and a month later would also acquire the Town & Country.
In 1969, VIT switched the Crescent Arts back to the Crescent Drive-In Theater showing Spanish language films. It operated the Crescent until just after its 25th Anniversary closing on May 29, 1977. Likely a lease expiration, the Crescent closed as a Spanish-language drive-in with una doble función of “El misterio de la perla negra” and “Mil millones para una rubia.” The theater would quickly be demolido.
Billed as the “World’s Finest Drive-In” with the “World’s Largest Screen” in the city known as “the Key City” was Abilene’s Key City Super Drive-In Theatre operated by Maurice S. Cole. Its grand opening was October 8, 1952 launching with the film, “At Sword’s Point.” What made the $117,000 facility super was that it could accommodate 600 cars but also had two heated/cooled 150-seat enclosed viewing areas. The asbestos shingled screen tower stood 62 feet by 75 feet with its viewable screen at 60 feet wide and 50 foot high.
Cole built his first drive-in in Wichita Falls in 1945 followed by Corsicana and Fort Worth. In the Key City’s first year, it suffered a major lawsuit over an injury on its playground and Cole also ended up selling the theater to Mr. and Mrs. E.L. Williamson of All States Theatres Circuit. The Williamsons suffered a break-in in which the thief took three dollars in 1953, their first full year of operation.
The theater was rocked by a small tornado in 1962 causing minor damage and more extensive damage in a 1968 storm that toppled the attraction sign and damaged the tower. Within five years, the theater had reported 600 stolen speakers and suffered a break-in in which the robber took all of the hot dogs and hot dog buns though nothing else. Video Independent Theatres (VIT) Circuit of Oklahoma took on the the drive-in in its tenth year. Good news came for the Circuit when 15 years after the thief took the three dollars back in 1953, he or she returned the $3 with a note of apology in 1968.
And that may have been the impetus needed for the Key City Drive-In to become home to “Budget Vue,” a pricing policy that was just 49 cents per carload which the theater tried for six months in 1968. In November of 1968, Video Independent picked up the Tower Twin and the Crescent Drive-Ins. And then in December VIT picked up the Town & Country Twin Drive-In and that was simply one too many. VIT would abruptly close the Key City on a Friday night with another fine 49 cent carload double-feature of “The Magnificent 7” and “The Great Escape.”
The December 6, 1968 closing is the last mention of the Key Drive-In until the valuation of the property was challenged in 1971 and mentioned as the site of the “old drive-in.” No bookings or listings appear after the December 6, 1968 double feature.
The Leon Theatre launched June 29, 1942 after a freight delay caused a postponement of the scheduled June 26, 1942 launch. The Leon Brothers built the theater and had double-wide seats for “love birds and large persons.” Opening there was “The Bride Came C.O.D.” On July 21, 1942, the Leons would take on the Star Theatre and then they would take over the Rex for a modest portfolio in Amarillo and adding to their Texas holdings. A retail location for a jeweler, the Leons did a ten-year lease and the theater was remodeled back to retail usage.
The $13-million Western Plaza Shopping Mall was announced in 1965 and General Cinema signed on the provide the theater there in summer of 1966. The theater was set to open almost 20 years to the date of the last Amarillo constructed indoor theater, the Esquire. Though the entire project fell behind by a year, the 1,000 seat General Cinema Western Plaza was an exciting addition to the area with the traditional art gallery and smoking loge. At the mall, the anchors of Montgomery Ward’s and the cinema’s neighbor Woolco had made it to the August 1967 target date and the other 21 of the other 23 businesses worked hard to meet the February 29, 1968 grand opening target date. GCC missed both dates but four weeks after the Mall’s grand opening, March 26, 1968, the Western Plaza Cinema was open with a film that played well throughout Texas in “The Graduate.”
As classes went back into session in 1973, General Cinema shut down to deliver twins at the Western Plaza. The theater re-launched on October 24, 1973 after a two month hiatus as the General Cinema Western Plaza I & II opening with “Visions of Eight” and “The Day of the Jackal.” The theater was now fully automated and had a slightly remodeled lobby area. The theater was likely on a 25-year lease and decided against a re-up as the mall was in flux with Woolco leaving, Sakowitz coming and going, J.J. Wilson coming and being replaced by Service Merchandise. A twin-screener just couldn’t compete in a multiplex world. In 2007, the whole complex was finally razed and replaced by Western Crossing, a $40 million mall.
Interstate Theatres went on a building and spending spree in the late 1940s building theaters outside of downtown throughout Texas. In 1947, alone, Houston had the River Oaks, Dallas got the Forest, Inwood and Circle theaters. And for Amarillo, it would get its last indoor theater built for more than 20 years with the Esquire Theatre. You couldn’t miss the Esquire. It had a 38-foot sign with 1,500 feet of neon tubing and an attraction board that told you what was playing. Opening was the 40 cent admissioned, “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now” on October 27, 1947. Mayor Lawrence Hagy was there to get things going. Audiences were struck by the fabulous murals by Eugene Gilboe which were a doff of the cowboy hat to the Palo Duro Canyon area.
Nicknamed “the friendly theater,” by Jack King of Interstate Theatre, the only circuit to operate the theater, the idea may have been to be a nice neighborhood theater. But at 1,000 seats and with audiences ready, the theater at 18th and South Washington within two years was hosting road shows that Interstate might have considered for the Paramount. Road Show releases including those of “Hamlet,” “The Bible,” “The Sound of Music” (18 weeks), “The Royal Ballet,” “South Pacific,” “Around the World in 80 Days,” “Cheyenne Autumn,” “The Song of Norway,” “Patton,” “Tora, Tora, Tora,” “Oliver,” “The Sand Pebbles,” “Gone With the Wind (1968 Road Show), “The Taming of the Shrew,” “Grand Prix,” “A Man for All Seasons,” “The Great Race,” and “The Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines” made the Esquire a destination theater for decades.
Though the theater would close just shy of its 35th Anniversary reaching the end of a lease cycle, the quickly-demolished theater was a destination theater in the single-screen era and survived gracefully into the twin and multiplex eras.
On May 13, 1948, the Palo Duro Drive-In Theatre became the second drive-in theater in Amarillo. Its original mural of the Palo Duro Canyon was ready to go just in time for the first movie which was “California.“ The 400-car drive-in proved so successful that it was expanded in 1952 to 553 cars. Operated by Charles Weisenberg, Harold Wilson and Johnny Fagan, it would become a Wesienberg Theatre Circuit holding exclusively for much of its existence.
In 1953, the theater was expanded to accommodate CinemaScope. On a 20-year lease, the drive-in closed November 26, 1967 with a triple feature of “El Dorado,” “Your Cheatin' Heart,” and “The Rounders.” There was no coming back for the 21st year as the drive-in’s demolition took place less than two weeks after its last show. Original owner Johnny Fagan had come back in 1966 and 1967 to steer the Palo Duro to its closure as manager.
The Skyway Drive-In opened October 27, 1950. Days before, the aviation-centric drive-in advertised $100 for a parachute jumper to deliver the first film to the drive-in. The first film was “Sierra.” Midway through August of 1961, the Skyway converted to Spanish language films. On February 22, 1964, the Skyway played its final two features with “Aladino y la Lámpara Maravillosa” and “No soy monedita de oro.” It was the first of the Weisenburg Drive-Ins in Amarillo to close leaving the Trail, Palo Duro, Tascosa and Twin in the portfolio.
Amarillo’s third drive-in theater built in 1949 from the same folks who brought you the Trail (1948) and competing with the Palo Duro (1948). The theater got in trouble with locals in 1973 for playing an X-rated feature and an R-rated feature with objectionable content. The Sunset owners had to sign a promise along with a $2,000 letter of credit with the city that they would only show G or PG rated movies. The city had threatened to pass an ordinance that would have stated as such. The final showing at the Sunset appears to be November 7, 1976 with the 28-year old drive-in closing with the double feature of “Posse” and “Lifeguard.” No further advertisements or bookings are listed for the drive-in.
Launched with “The Lion and the Horse” in 1952 to become Amarillo’s fifth drive-in theater behind the Trail (‘48), Palo Duro (‘48), Sunset ('49), Skyway ('50), and Twin ('52). It would be followed by the long-running Tascosa ('53) which survived into the 21st Century.
Amarillo’s fourth drive-in behind the Trail (‘48), Palo Duro ('48), and Sunset ('49).
The Texas Theatre opened January 17, 1933 on a 15-year lease showing “Red Dust” as its opening feature. The theater was next door to the former Olympic Theater, the first Amarillo theater to show films though burning down in 1919. The Texas Theater began as a 500-seat theater in a 30' by 140' space. Ben Golding started the theater. Underwood and Ezell Circuit took on the operation of the Texas and the Victory in 1945. It closed January 5, 1948 with “The Trouble with Women” as the theater reached the end of its lease. The building was repurposed for retail purposes.
The Mission Theatre launched on July 19, 1913 for R.C. Conn. D, F & R Enterprises — Dr. E.J. Dye, H.S. Ford, and Ross D. Rogers took on the theater in 1914 and ran the road show version of “Birth of a Nation.” Later, under new operator Raleigh Dent of Dent Theatres Circuit, Amarillo would get to hear the movies as Vitaphone entered into the mix. The Jazz Singer was an early but not the first Vitaphone heard in Amarillo. “Ham and Eggs at the Front” was that first talkie in Amarillo playing on March 17, 1928.
The theater would be subsumed by Publix which transitioned from Publix-Dent to Publix and would become Paramount Publix. It went into receivership in 1933 and the Mission would become part of the Interstate Circuit which took on much of the Paramount Publix and RKO southern theaters.And then the theater became the Capitol opening August 27, 1937 appropriately enough with “New Faces of 1937.” In 1952, Trans-Texas became the final owner of the Capitol. Unfortunately, just two years into the circuit’s run, the Capitol burned down and was no more in December of 1954. Demolished in 1955, the lime mortar constructed brick building’s bricks were re-used to build two new Amarillo homes.
The Rialto opened in July 1926. It had a major remodeling in 1942. And it had its last screenings on January 2, 1960 with “Dreamland Capers” and “Battle of the Teasers” as it went as as a downtrodden adult-centric theater (reports said the theater closed Thursday, Dec. 31, 1959 but there appear to have been showings of this double-feature on Jan. 1-2, 1960). The equipment was removed almost immediately by the city of Higgins, Texas which took the equipment, contents, and even the Rialto signage. The owner of the Rialto was its neighbor, the Army and Navy Store, which enlarged its store into the former Rialto with work beginning also in January of 1960.
The Schulman Theatre Group was almost 50 years old when it launched its latest Bryan theater in the Manor East Three Theaters. The theater was named after the Manor East Mall which was built in 1972 with Ward’s and Kroger’s as the anchors and 23 additional stores. The Manor East joined in the fun opening November 7, 1973 with “That’s Entertainment,” Papillion,“ and “The Mysterious World of Captain Nemo.” The theater had an external entrance for after-hours (Sunday night) ticketing and interior entrance, as well.
The Manor East Three’s ticket color corresponding with the auditorium’s name you were in: there was the Blue House, the Red House, and the Gold House each bathed in those colors. But make no mistake: the Blue House was the big house with seating for 420 patrons and a 16x40 screen. If you wanted to see 70mm films such as Revenge of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Trek, the Blue House would become equipped for your needs. The Red House was pigeonholed as the kids theater and had room for 175 patrons. And the Gold House was the high-class house with 220 high-backed rocker lounge chairs. Automated projection was at the theater from its opening day.
The Manor East fell into grey field status — a term akin to a dead mall. Some of the mall was demolished (Ward’s went down for the H•E•B store) and if you are looking for the Manor East Mall and the former cinema, look no further than the Tejas Center Shopping Center.
Located at 110 S. Cuyler Street in the former and flagship Standard Food Market, Phillip C. Crown took on the building as Standard would move a block to the north. Opening Nov. 27, 1936 with the Olsen & Johnson comedy, “The Country Gentlemen,” Pathé Newsreel, Major Bowes short, and “Robinson Crusoe” serial short, the 540-seat theater was underway. It was Pampa’s fourth theater but first non Griffith Amusement Circuit operation. Crown Theaters had various locations in Oklahoma and Texas. The $25,000 theater had an initial ten-year lease and was modest but had a fully-equipped stage.
On May 29, 1938, the Crown hosted a broadcast about the forthcoming “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” explaining multiplane technicolor. The film would show twice at the Crown, once in initial release and once in repertory. The theater closed for several months in 1942 for a remodeling. It was then closed shortly thereafter and acquired by the Griffith Amusement Circuit including new upholstery and screen. The management urged patrons to not abuse the furniture as the “pinch” of the War would make updating a challenge. They would re-up for another 10-year lease, the final for the Crown. On December 8, 1949, Video Independent Theatres (VIT) Circuit bought the Griffith Theaters including the Crown.
Continuing on as manager, VIT’s Paul West announced the closing of the Crown occurring on April 15, 1955. The chain opting not to renew the lease coming due. The employees switched to the new Pampa Drive-In that was having its grand opening the next night. Initially, the Crown was going to simply take summer hiatuses while the Drive-In was open but that plan was scuttled. The Crown was listed thereafter with leasing information and it said, “Will remodel.” It became the regional Cretney Drug Store chain. As for the Crown, it appears that a revival to cure blindness, deafness, and the infirm on April 25, 1955 was the final event for the theater.
Built by the Queen Amusement Company and supervised by the folks who built Dallas' Queen Theatre was the magnificent Queen Theatre in Abilene launching with “For a Woman’s Fair Name” on March 15, 1916. The pipe organ showed up a bit late to the $25,000 theater but patrons were impressed. The Queen played “The Birth of a Nation” with a symphony orchestra of 25. David S. Castle — who also architected Abilene’s Paramount — delivered a wonderful 600-seat auditorium that made it to its 50th birthday. But Year One, the theater changed hands 8 times as not everyone was sold on the Queen.
A May 31, 1935 fire cost $5,500 to repair and was said to have been ready to open that August. However, its operator decided against reopening it when the Majestic — dark for five years — reopened. Texas Consolidated Theatres would be positioned as a second-run house with “rock bottom” pricing. It relaunched on September 3, 1938 with “That Old Barn Dance” and"Torchy Blane in Panama.“ Interstate took on Texas Consolidated and ran the Queen nobly until it created the suburban Westwood Theatre that opened July 28, 1966. And the Queen bowed out gracefully and with a large crowd for its final showing July 27, 1966 with "The Sound of Music” which ended a 14-week run there.
The Queen sat empty and by 1971 was seen as a fire hazard. Talk about removing the Queen were on and it was part of a beautification proposal. The Queen’s seats and equipment were removed in May of 1974 and was bulldozed in July 1974 to make way for the Vera Hall Minter Memorial Park.
The Majestic Theatre was built by C.E. Fulwiler. The Majestic’s Grand opening was September 7, 1925 with Mrs. H.D. Carsner at the Wurlitzer organ, Syd Chaplin’s “Charley’s Aunt” on the screen and would be operated in its formative months by W.O. Shackelford. The opening crowd was reportedly the largest single crowd for one indoor performance ever to that date. Raleigh Dent of Dent Theatres soon acquired the theatre from Shackleford. Dent would also be a short-term operator but would make history by playing the first talkies ever seen/heard in Abilene. It was a big event taking place on November 5, 1928 with the film, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”
On December 14, 1929, to announce its new operators in the Publix Theatre Circuit which had major stockholder interest in Dent Theatres. A Publix locomotive was greeted by Abilene Mayor Thomas Hayden Jr. KFYO radio showed up at each of the new Publix-held theaters for special broadcasts starting with the Rex, then the Queen and finally the Majestic. The Depression was taking its toll both on the citizenry and the theatre circuit. Publix went into severe financial difficulty and closed the Queen and then on March 7, 1931 closed the Majestic after showing “Way for a Sailor.”
Texas Consolidated took on the Majestic after a summer fire closed the Queen as one of Abilene’s first-run houses. Texas Consolidated now had the Paramount, Majestic, and Palace. Re-opening the theater on October 14, 1935. Mayor C.L. Johnson was on hand for the festivities and the first film, “Shipmates Forever.” Interstate would take on Texas Consolidated and assumed control of the Majestic.
On Feb. 25, 1954, the Majestic went from being in the Interstate Theatre Circuit to the Trans Texas Circuit. On its 50th Anniversary, the theater was between its adult period and its forthcoming Spanish Language period showing “Walking Tall II" and managed by Charles Wolfe. In 1977, Basil Huckabee subleased the theater from Wolfe converted to Spanish Language films; he had done the same previously at the Crescent Drive-In and was currently operating the Marine and Berry as Spanish language houses in Fort Worth.
151 Pine Street was the location of this theater which once housed the original Abilene home to J.C. Penney’s. The Phil Isley Circuit of Dallas launched Feb. 6, 1941 Grand Opening of the Bobby Walker Theatre in Abeline with “Maryland.” Nine month old Bobby Walker, Phil Isley’s grandson and son to actors Jennifer Jones and Robert Walker, was on hand to inspect the building — a 25' by 140' structure with seating reduced from 800 theater goers in the original plans to 700 patrons when fashionable-of-that-era love seats were installed.
In September of 1946, Tom Griffing of Griffing Enterprises and later the Video Independent Theatre Circuit would purchase the theater from Isley. He renamed it after his only niece from Oklahoma changing the Bobby Walker to the Linda Theater. The theater launched with the exploitation film, “Mom and Dad.” The final owner, John J. King of King Theatres kept the Linda moniker launching October 15, 1954 with “The Woman is Dangerous” and “Wonder Horse: Black Eagle” and advertising as “two hits for two bits.” King shuttered the Linda in January of 1958 and then in September 1960, the Texan Hotel was being demolished. That project took with it a footprint’s worth of buildings at the corner. Excised in that group of buildings was Linda / former Bobby Walker. A parking area now sits where the theater once stood.
The Metro Theatre was billed as Abielene’s first suburban theater. The south side suburban got off to a very rocky start and didn’t appear to be a theater which would be operational for more than thirty years. But it did just that. The theater was built by James H. Griffin and all 526 seats of the quonset hut styled theater were on the main floor. A brick front held the attraction sign, lobby, ticket area and the projection booth. Just prior to opening, Griffin sells out to I.B. Adelman’s circuit which consisted of the Adelman Theater in Houston, the forthcoming theater in Dallas, and a Fort Worth theater. Adelman launches the theater on October 17, 1946 with the film, “Ding Dong Williams.”
A year later, Adelman Circuit has had enough of the Metro and sells to Tom Griffing. Griffing would close the Metro less than six months later April 3, 1949. Its future was uncertain. But on Nov. 11, 1949 the theater would re-launch, find its audience, in part, by marketing and drawing crowds from nearby McMurry College. It featured “popular” priced runs of films such as “The Ten Commandments” and “Ben Hur.” These elements helped the Metro make it past its thirtieth anniversary as a successful suburban.
After a soft launch on September 29-30, 1938 of “Wake Up and Live,” the theatre’s gala grand opening was Oct. 1 with Mack Brown’s, “Guns in the Dark.” Nearly ten years later, the theater closed briefly to redecorate and had a grand re-opening on August 15, 1948. To accommodate widescreen, the theater was updated including its “wall to wall screen” on Nov. 28, 1954. Negative publicity hits on Nov. 27, 1959 when it’s revealed that African American patrons have no rest rooms afforded to them.
The city is experiencing a major, coordinated plan to bring urban renewal to downtown in the form of a shopping mall in early 1960. Downtown Abilene Markets, Inc. is acquiring property to build the center. The Texas Theatre’s last showings are February 22, 1960 with “Hound Dog Man” and “The Quiet Gun.” It’s revealed that the Texas Theatre property has been acquired by the Downtown Abilene Markets from the Alexander estate on July 30, 1960. The property is one of the first targeted for demolition in 1960 as the renewal plan commences but doesn’t occur until 1962 according to reports.
On October 13, 1922 the Palace Theatre opened in a three-year old building, converting the City Drug Store into a long-lasting theatre space. The entire building was renamed the Palace Theatre Building and the first film was “Too Much Business.” Two Motiongraph projectors also played a Harold Lloyd comedy short on opening night. H.T. Hodge of the first Gem Theatre in Abilene was in charge.
The theater switches to a Spanish Language theater. Bookings appear to end after the September 18, 1965 showings of “Buenos Dias Acapolco” and “Santo Contra el rey del Crimen.” The theater was targeted for demolition in November of 1969 and appears to have been demolished in January of 1970.
Grand Opening as twin-screener was July 6, 1973.On April 30, 1976, the third auditorium addition resulted in the Cinema I-II-III. And then the fourth rounded it out as a four-plex.
The Rex Theatre was a silent era theater opening in 1914 at 151 Chestnut that replaced a saddle and tack store. On March 15, 1933, new operators changed the theater to the Gem Theatre specializing in westerns. Under its new name of the Star Theater, the theater is remodeled by a new owner in May of 1941. A fire at the Star Theater on January 21, 1943 destroyed the interior but left the building intact.
Despite war shortages, the building owners were able to get the supplies needed to rebuild. On June 27, 1943 the “New” Star Theater re-opened. On October 12, 1949, the theater re-opened by the same operators as the Texas and Linda. With its new moniker as the State Theatre, its final name, it had a free preview open house with the Marx Brothers' “A Night at the Opera.” The theater switched to Spanish language films on March 7, 1953 and would drop to just two day a week operation beginning at the end of March 1953. Closing date is not certain.
Abilene’s ninth theater in operation in 1941 was the Grand Theater. It was a hybrid African American theater five days a week and turned into Teatro Grand two nights a week — Sunday and Wednesday (and sometimes more depending on the film) to play Spanish language films. The theater opened May 1, 1941 with a 26-piece high school band adding to the festivities. The Grand suffered an inordinate number of fires — eight minor blazes in less than eight years of operation.
That said, it donated money to African American college funds and screened rare African American films such as the Spencer Williams/Dallas-shot “Blood of Jesus” — just one of many “race” films that played here. It also participated in Juneteenth Emancipation Day festivities with special screenings which also had an exhibition semi-pro baseball game. But the theater would close after just six years of operation when its owner, Mrs. George Likins, noted that Camp Barkeley closed down while African Americans and Hispanics could get regular admittance in other theaters. and was auctioned off on April 6, 1948.
The 6,300 twin movie theater The Movies: Brookhollow was an automated theatre by the American Automated Theatres Circuit out of Oklahoma City and operated by Walt Mergenhagen, a first-time theater owner. It was at 3112 S. 27th Street and launched January 24, 1975 with “The Sting” and “One Little Indian” for $1. Abilene Mayor J.C. Hunter Jr. was among the dignitaries there for the opening. The Movies had two identical 273-seat auditoria and cost $210,000 to build. J.J. Aguilar & Associates of Fort Worth built the theater. The flatbed 35mm projectors projected the show automatically, taped music played between shoes, and both lighting and curtains were controlled as well.
The building still stands and was a Fuji Japanese Steak House until 2013.
The operators of the Tower Drive-In, O.M. Kirkeby and R.A. Erickson, decided to build a second drive-in in Abilene in 1951. The proposed name of their $100,000 ozoner was the Cedar Gap Drive-In. But by grand opening on February 5, 1952 the 350-car facility’s name was named after its neighborhood of Crescent Heights as the Crescent Drive-In launching with “Thunderhead: Son of Flicka.” With the Crescent opening, the operators closed the Tower briefly for some repairs.
New operator Katherine Jacobs and Duane Gates ran into some issues with the theater. Improvements made in 1960 were under scrutiny from the land owner. Further scrutiny came when the Crescent started showing adult films and in December of 1961 had its film, “Not Tonight, Henry” impounded by local police. That led to a censorship hearing in January 1962 that went to trial in March with the charges dropped with the film finally returned — albeit very late — to the Dallas Art Film Exchange. After returning to more family-friendly fare, the theater returned to adult films in 1968 rebranding the the theater as Crescent Arts Theater. On November 3, 1968, the Tower and Crescent were sold to Video Independent Theatres Circuit (VIT) which already owned the Key City Drive-In and a month later would also acquire the Town & Country.
In 1969, VIT switched the Crescent Arts back to the Crescent Drive-In Theater showing Spanish language films. It operated the Crescent until just after its 25th Anniversary closing on May 29, 1977. Likely a lease expiration, the Crescent closed as a Spanish-language drive-in with una doble función of “El misterio de la perla negra” and “Mil millones para una rubia.” The theater would quickly be demolido.
Billed as the “World’s Finest Drive-In” with the “World’s Largest Screen” in the city known as “the Key City” was Abilene’s Key City Super Drive-In Theatre operated by Maurice S. Cole. Its grand opening was October 8, 1952 launching with the film, “At Sword’s Point.” What made the $117,000 facility super was that it could accommodate 600 cars but also had two heated/cooled 150-seat enclosed viewing areas. The asbestos shingled screen tower stood 62 feet by 75 feet with its viewable screen at 60 feet wide and 50 foot high.
Cole built his first drive-in in Wichita Falls in 1945 followed by Corsicana and Fort Worth. In the Key City’s first year, it suffered a major lawsuit over an injury on its playground and Cole also ended up selling the theater to Mr. and Mrs. E.L. Williamson of All States Theatres Circuit. The Williamsons suffered a break-in in which the thief took three dollars in 1953, their first full year of operation.
The theater was rocked by a small tornado in 1962 causing minor damage and more extensive damage in a 1968 storm that toppled the attraction sign and damaged the tower. Within five years, the theater had reported 600 stolen speakers and suffered a break-in in which the robber took all of the hot dogs and hot dog buns though nothing else. Video Independent Theatres (VIT) Circuit of Oklahoma took on the the drive-in in its tenth year. Good news came for the Circuit when 15 years after the thief took the three dollars back in 1953, he or she returned the $3 with a note of apology in 1968.
And that may have been the impetus needed for the Key City Drive-In to become home to “Budget Vue,” a pricing policy that was just 49 cents per carload which the theater tried for six months in 1968. In November of 1968, Video Independent picked up the Tower Twin and the Crescent Drive-Ins. And then in December VIT picked up the Town & Country Twin Drive-In and that was simply one too many. VIT would abruptly close the Key City on a Friday night with another fine 49 cent carload double-feature of “The Magnificent 7” and “The Great Escape.”
The December 6, 1968 closing is the last mention of the Key Drive-In until the valuation of the property was challenged in 1971 and mentioned as the site of the “old drive-in.” No bookings or listings appear after the December 6, 1968 double feature.