Rose Theatre
1730 Main Street,
Tahoka,
TX
79373
1730 Main Street,
Tahoka,
TX
79373
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Wallace Theaters
Architects: Harvey C. Allen, Howard C. Allen
Firms: Allen & Allen
Previous Names: New Ada Theatre
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The New Ada Theatre was opened on September 23, 1936 in former retail use. On June 9, 1944 it was taken over by Wallace Blankenship who renamed it Rose Theatre after his wife Rose. This theatre was housed in a unique brick building. It featured ornate inlaid brickwork, a scalloped roof line centered between scones on each side and many decorative windows. An angular sign with "Rose" in painted letters was attached vertically above an overhang that sheltered the entrance and ticket booth.
Although there was originally no marquee, in 1948 Wallace Theaters was celebrating its twenty fifth anniversary and the Rose Theatre had been updated with a tall new neon sign and marquee over the entrance. It was closed in 1968. It went into various other uses and sits vacant in the 2020’s.
Contributed by
Don Lewis
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Recent comments (view all 1 comments)
First of all - there was no Rose Theatre in 1930, period. D.B. English operated the town’s theaters - the Ada (named after Mrs. English) and the English - until June of 1944 when Wallace B. Blankenship purchased both venues. This venue had opened by the Englishes on September 23, 1936 in a converted retail space at 1730 Main Street. It was christened as the New Ada Theatre with the film, “Florida Special.”
Wallace removed English’s name from the big theater and it was renamed the Wallace Theatre on June 9, 1944. The Ada Theatre was renamed the Rose Theatre on June 9, 1944. Rose was the wife of Wallace Blankenship (which, if you think about it, makes sense why he’d rename it then and that but certainly not in 1930).
What doesn’t make sense from a homelife standpoint is that the lesser shows (billed as “Good Shows”) were played at the venue with the wife’s name - it all started with “Gildersleeve on Broadway” for the Rose on June 9, 1944 - while his theater billed “Great Shows” at the theater he named after himself beginning that day with “Pride of the Plains.”
The story now makes perfect sense. The Wallace Circuit bought the English venues. They turned the English into the Wallace. The wives' names switched on the second theater building from the Ada to the Rose. Tidy. Unfortunately - and it should best not be shared - but in the name of full disclosure, there was a third theater in the portfolio transferred to the Wallace Circuit.
The Englishes came to Tahoka in 1924 buying the Star Theatre. They changed it to the (original) English Theatre “#1”. They then built the larger, “new” English Theatre “#2” moving there for seven day a week operation. They renamed the former Star/English as the Lavelta Theatre basically running on weekends. The Wallaces now owned that inactive property, as well.
That third theater, which would have burned down mysteriously in any other town was renamed the Ada English Theatre aka the Ada to honor English’s wife after they had sold the theaters. With the Wallace Theatre carrying the “Great Shows,” the Rose Theatre carrying the “Good Shows,” clearly, the Ada English Theatre was designed to carry the “Rotten Shows”. The theatre was quickly renamed as the Lynn Theatre, quickly has a major fire gutting the building, and has its own Cinema Treasure entry.
Back to this entry of Rose, the Rose outlived the Wallace (both in human and theatrical timelines). The Rose Theatre stayed in bloom for its entire 30-year leasing period. It was then reopened by Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Roberts for its final stretch on January 23, 1967 with Jerry Lewis in “Way, Way Out.” It also programmed Spanish language fare on weekdays. Best guess is that the Rose wilted in 1968. It was repurposed for other purposes in the early 1970s and sits vacant in the 2020s.