Ritz Theatre

dallasmovietheaters on May 24, 2025 at 10:48 am

A venue opened here as the Hippodrome but was shuttered due to major fire safety concerns. Owner Dr. Charles H. Hespe then ran a gambit where you could invest in the theatre. That got him the money to hire architect William Neumann who solidified the new building.

The Hespe Theatre had a $12,000 Kramer Pipe Organ and actually (!) opened June 29, 1921 with a Pauline Frederick film, “Salvage.” And that was the goal of Hespe’s creditors within months. Charles H. Hespe’s fortunes ran out - or perhaps he simply ran out with the money - by year’s end when the theatre was repossessed and the venue was force sold into new hands. As was the case in Hippodrome and Hippodrome-like ventures across the nation, the investors did not come out too well.

The Hespe Theatre was renamed the Ritz Theatre under new operators on January 30, 1922 with “The Ruling Passion” and vaudeville. And they even had to get a new organ later that year as creditors seized the Kramer unit. The Ritz converted to sound to remain viable. The Ritz would crumble in the TV age not converting to widescreen and closing on October 23, 1956 with “Killers” and “Sleeping City.” Stanley Warner Management offered their theater for sale and kids got in setting a fire that did minor damage to the property early in 1957. So it was quickly demolished for a parking lot.

kencmcintyre on December 24, 2008 at 9:37 pm

There is a photo of the Ritz on this Google site:
http://tinyurl.com/73p3ce

teecee on March 11, 2005 at 7:22 pm

Above is confirmed via the 1951 FDY.