Tech Theatre
1211 University Avenue,
Lubbock,
TX
79401
1211 University Avenue,
Lubbock,
TX
79401
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The Tech Theatre had a ‘soft’ opening on June 2, 1936 with Clark Gable in “After Office Hours”. It had a grand opening on June 3, 1936 with Bella Lugosi in “The Death Kiss”. It was located across from Texas Tech University on what was then called College Avenue. The single screen theatre closed in January 1958.
It was converted into a drug store. Since at least 2007 it has operated as a sports grill & bar.
Contributed by
Chuck Van Bibber
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
The Tech Theatre seated 500 people.
In the late 1940s, the Tech Theatre was the venue for a regular Saturday morning live radio (I think it was KFYO) show featuring a live talent contest for children. I used to go down every Saturday morning to try and win the contest by singing the latest song. I think Bob Nash was the Master of Ceremonies. It was a very popular radion show of the times.
This opened on June 3rd, 1936. ad to come at movie-theatre.org
Actually the Tech was open later than 1955. I went there (the only time) in 1957 or 1958 to a double feature of war movies. I never went back because it had the worst entrance of any theater in town. It was hard to get inside because of the poorly constructed door. And it was a TINY and cramped theater, too.
PS After it closed, the Tech was remodeled into Snell Drugs which lasted for a long time. If you look at the building today, you can still tell it was a little theater from the metal supports across the top of the building.
Mr. and Mrs. Preston Smith, both graduates of Texas Tech University, opened the Tech Theatre on June 2, 1936, according to an article about the opening of their fourth theater, the Arnett-Benson, that appeared in the August 5, 1950 issue of the Lubbock Morning Avalanche. The Tech was the Smiths' first theater venture.
The June 2, 1936 soft launch of the New Tech Theatre by three Texas Tech alums, Wendell O. Bearden and Preston E. Smith and Irma Mae Smith, took place with Clark Gable in “After Office Hours.” The official opening took place on June 3, 1936 with Bela Lugosi in “The Death Kiss.” The theater owners received an unwelcome present of a stink bomb not long after courtesy of the unnamed parties (the union projectionists). The total cost of the remodeling and equipping for the 350-seat venue was a mere $7,500.
The Tech closed in January of 1958. A building construction permit was granted in March of 1958 converting it to a retail drug store. And if the name Preston E. Smith rings any bells, it’s because he went on to become the Governor of Texas in 1969. And Tech remained important long after the theater’s demise as a mounted masked Texas Tech Red Raider rode in the governor’s inauguration to help both Preston and Irma Smith celebrate the day.