Midway Theatre
1805 Broadway,
Lubbock,
TX
79401
1805 Broadway,
Lubbock,
TX
79401
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Additional Info
Functions: Housing
Previous Names: Midway Theatre, Centre Theatre, Gay 90's Theatre, El Tejas Theatre, Continental Fine Arts Cinema, Grande Theatre, Bijou Theatre
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Opened as the Midway Theatre in April 1940. It was closed on March 30, 1957. It reopened as an arthouse theatre on July 9, 1957 renamed Centre Theatre, screening “La Strada”. That closed in June 1959. In September 1959 it became a burlesque dinner theatre named Gay 90’s Theatre.
On June 30, 1961 it began screening movies, renamed El Tejas Theatre. The opening movie was “The Young Ones”. On October 28, 1964 adult movies had taken over and it was renamed Continental Fine Arts Theatre. We would sneak into the theatre to watch movies which were very tame compared to today’s fare. It was briefly renamed Grande Theatre in 1976. It was renamed Bijou Theatre from November 24, 1976 with Jason Robards in “Addie and the King of Hearts”. It closed on March 26, 1977 with “Warren Beatty in "Shampoo” & James Caan in “Harry and Walter Go to New York”. Following was a special midnight screening of Joe Cocker in “Mad Dogs and Englishmen”. It was converted into an apartment building which is currently in use.
Contributed by
Don lewis
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
The Midway Theatre was listed as seating 500 people.
Many Lubbock theaters shown. El Capitan; Plaza; Clifton; Lindsey; Cactus; Westerner Drive-In; Corral; Broadway; Midway; Plains Drive-In; Arnett-Benson; Arcadia.
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From the drop-down box choose: Buildings-Commercial-Movie Theaters
Search theatre and drive-in and there are other arial shots of other drive-ins, etc.
ENJOY!
B&W photo of the MIDWAY courtesy of the Texas Tech Library.
Probably taken around 1940.
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Photo at this new story in the Lubbock paper:
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Thanks for posting above link Robert!
Don…
The Midway was a favorite with the Tech student crowd in the 1940s, according to my mother anyway. It was ‘midway’ between Tech and downtown. Beginning in the 1950s it changed names quite a few times—the Centre Theatre, the Gay Nineties, the Tejas, and finally the Varsity. I may have even missed a few names. When I was in college in the 60s, the theater had a deal with Tech to show foreign film festivals (like Ingmar Bergman films) and other ‘art’ and historical films to supplement some of the classes at Tech.
1940 photo as Midway Theatre added, and below additional history credit Historic Lubbock County.
“Lubbock theater history is sketchy, but historian Lawrence Graves said Lubbock’s first movie theater, the Orpheum, opened in 1909. It lasted only one year but more theaters followed in the 1920s and ’30s, with most in the downtown area. At one point, Lubbock had 22 walk-ins and six drive-ins. The building at 1805 Broadway opened as the Midway Theater in 1940. As the theater changed hands, so did the name. The Midway later was the Centre, the Gay 90s, the El Tejas, the Varsity and the Continental in 1964. It was renamed the Bijou in 1976 and was converted into an apartment building in 1977. The photo (added) is not dated but “Cherokee Strip” was released in 1940. Perhaps the bicycles are from kids wanting to see “The 3 Stooges” for 9 cents! The time period was during World War II as evidenced by the pile of paper. Encouraged by the government, towns had paper drives, rubber drives and scrap metal drives for the war effort. People collected scrap paper so it could be used for packing around equipment and weapons.”
The Midway Theatre was the ninth movie theater in Lubbock built by contractor J.B. Maxey for Lassater & Mauldin for a mere $14,000. It opened in April of 1940. Joe Bryant took it over just three months later. In 1956, it was remodeled with widescreen projection to present CinemaScope titles but closing due to television’s impact on March 30, 1957.
Under new operators, it reopened as an art house called The Centre on July 9, 1957 with “La Strada.” That lasted two years with the venue folding in June of 1959. It became a burlesque dinner theatre called Cafe Gay 90’s on September of 1959. In 1961, it went back to full-time movies as the Tejas Theatre on June 30, 1961 with “The Young Ones.” In 1964, it became the Continental Fine Arts Theatre showing on a porno chic policy and art film policy. It closed in June of 1974 at the end of a 10-year subleasing agreement.
After a hiatus, it returned briefly as the Grande Cinema in 1976, a $1 discount sub-run theater showing recent past Hollywood fare. It opened one last time as the Bijou under Don Bollinger as a repertory / art house including “Creature from the Black Lagoon” in 3D, “A Hard Day’s Night,” an “Amarcord.” The Bijou opened on November 24, 1976 with “King of Hearts.” Midnight classic rock concert films were added in 1977. The Bijou appears to have given up as a $1 discount house on March 26, 1977 with a double-feature of “Shampoo” and “Harry and Walter Go to New York” and a final repertory rock concert screening at midnight of Joe Cocker in “Mad Dogs and Englishmen.”
As the Bijou was its name for just four unsuccessful months, the entry’s name should likely be the Midway which it was for 17 years.