Victory Theatre

dallasmovietheaters on August 15, 2025 at 2:55 pm

The Crown was built in 1914 to the plans of theatre architect E.W. Maynard of Boston - his 65th such set of plans. 350 bulbs gave off the effect of lighting the studs in the crown logo. This one could have been called the Jester or the Defeat as weekly controversies found deconstruction as common as construction over protests in the building’s design. During the long construction period New England Amusement passed the leased off to Walter T. Murphy. The programmatic mission shifted in construction to movie house which was probably economically sound.

The Crown finally opened after an open house the night before with Paul McAllister in “Scales of Justice” on August 24, 1914 supported by the shorts, “Who Seeks Revenge?” Love, the Clairvoyant,“ and “Money Talks.” The venue added new projection and a new $20,000 Marr & Colton pipe organ in 1926. He hired the founder of the Society of Theatre Organists, John Hammond, formerly of the Eastman Theatre and the Mark Strand, to play at Murphy’s Crown and Capitol - in which Murphy was also installing a new $25,000 Marr & Colton organ. For the period that Hammond was in town, he would rotate venues with an associate organists also rotating between the two venues. Murphy would then add sound in 1929 to remain viable.

Murphy stayed active all the way to 1943 by which time M&P Picture Corp. was running the Crown but sold it to the Victory Operating Company in June of 1943 which changed its name to the Victory Theatre. Its refresh cost the Crown Lunch its spot at 83 State (they moved to 73 State) and the arcade was extended as the Victory commanded a larger footprint. The former Crown organ was taken on by the Second Congregational Church locally.

The refresh was as bogged down as the original Crown and months of opening ads came and went. Joseph Klein was announced as the Victory’s first manager in June of 1943. He resigned the post on December 11, 1943… with the theater months behind and failing to open by Klein’s departure. The venue finally opened December 31, 1943 with “Where Are Your Children?” supported by “Taxi, Mister.” Despite the delay, the statement that this theater was named for the victory following World War II - simply not factual.

The theatre soldiered on to its ultimate defeat on May 23, 1955 closing permanently with “Yellow Mountain” and “Young at Heart.” The building was offered for sale and was split by the Salvation Army upstairs and Katz’s retail store downstairs after a major 1957 remodeling. They were told to vamoose in 1962 as the Winthrop Urban Renewal Project was coming right down Main Street. The former Crown was dethroned in a loss for downtown.