Big Tex Storage At 730 E. 11th St.

[tmariar]

Does anyone know if the Resurrection Life Fellowship building at 730 E. 11th - not too far west of the instersection of 11th and Studewood - was once a movie theater? And, if so, what it was called?

I'll post this in the Heights subforum for now, but if a moderator wants to move it to Historic Houston, that's fine by me.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3134/3087129975_5dc65e5c09_b.jpg

[sevfiv]

According to Cinema Houston, it was the Stude Theater (625 seats built and run by Robert Z. Glass - Glass Theatre Corporation).

The grand opening was on November 16, 1939, featuring East Side of Heaven.

It has been a church since 1956, apparently.

[tmariar]

Thanks, Sev! The website just has this info:

"The year 1939 is generally considered to be Hollywood's true golden year. Four new theatres opened that year, all during the month of November, making the pre-Christmas season a busy one for moviegoers. Interstate's Alabama Theatre, was the first and largest out of the gate, and the only one that was not an independently owned house. This was followed by the Stude Theatre in the Heights, the Navaway, and the River Oaks Theatre."

"When it opened in 1939, the Alabama was Interstate's tenth theatre in the Houston area, the others being the Metropolitan, Majestic, Kirby, Delman, Eastwood, North Main, Tower, Bluebonnet, and the Yale. In addition, it was the first and largest of four November openings, with the independent Stude, Navaway, and River Oaks theatres following."

But I was also able to find this short piece from Boxoffice magazine, July 10, 1948:

"R.Z. Glass is now sole owner of the Stude Theatre. Glass, who has always owned half of the Stude, recently completed arrangements for the purchase of the other half from the Interstate circuit. He also owns the State, another suburban theatre in Houston. No changes in personnel are planned at the present. D.L. Murray will remain as general manager of both theatres, with F.A. Ross as treasurer. A parking lot next to the Stude accommodates 800 cars and further improvements are planned, including the installation of new seats. There will be no changes in policy or admission price. Before he built the Stude in 1939, Glass owned and operated three neighborhood houses in Dallas. He built the State in 1941. Prominent in aviation, Glass has been a pilot for 17 years. He does all his traveling by his own plane which he flies himself. He has won second and third places in two air races, the first in Miami in 1936 and the other in St. Louis in 1937."

[heights_yankee]

i would love to see it operate as theater again, but i know that is a pipe dream.

on a side note, i live a couple blocks away and never see "services" in action at that church... hate to admit it, but i'd rather see it be almost anything but a church. there are plenty of those in the heights...

[tanith27]

i would love to see it operate as theater again, but i know that is a pipe dream.

on a side note, i live a couple blocks away and never see "services" in action at that church... hate to admit it, but i'd rather see it be almost anything but a church. there are plenty of those in the heights...

I enjoy the artistic contribution the churches make to the neighborhood, but I'm with you on this one. This building needs to become something else.

[heights_yankee]

I enjoy the artistic contribution the churches make to the neighborhood, but I'm with you on this one. This building needs to become something else.

in some cases, yes. they are very pretty and i think churches add to a sense of community (even though i never step foot in them)

i guess i am just bitter b/c when DH and i bought our house, we saw a sign that said "the vinyard" and were all excited about the possibility that there was a wine bar so close to our house...

[Highrise Tower]

The historic church will be demolished for a 7-story self storage building.

 

[dbigtex56]

This building looks like it was originally a movie theater, which would account for the marquee and distinctive 'stepped' shape of the building to accommodate a sloped floor and and seating. 
Any idea as to what it was originally called? 
https://www.google.com/maps/place/730+E+11th+St,+Houston,+TX+77008/@29.7908659,-95.3884872,3a,75y,228.93h,82.27t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9rMIBPkBGPRsy8Ci6eapGw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!4m5!3m4!1s0x8640b8a3e13d48ad:0x3d7f7d15a95b7876!8m2!3d29.7905505!4d-95.3886791?hl=en

 

[Ross]

13 minutes ago, dbigtex56 said:

This building looks like it was originally a movie theater, which would account for the marquee and distinctive 'stepped' shape of the building to accommodate a sloped floor and and seating. 
Any idea as to what it was originally called? 
https://www.google.com/maps/place/730+E+11th+St,+Houston,+TX+77008/@29.7908659,-95.3884872,3a,75y,228.93h,82.27t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s9rMIBPkBGPRsy8Ci6eapGw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!4m5!3m4!1s0x8640b8a3e13d48ad:0x3d7f7d15a95b7876!8m2!3d29.7905505!4d-95.3886791?hl=en

 

Stude Theater. Scroll up to the top of the thread.

 

From the 1942 City Directory

[HouTXRanger]

On 12/9/2008 at 11:32 AM, heights_yankee said:

. . . hate to admit it, but i'd rather see it be almost anything but a church . . .

 

On 12/10/2008 at 9:08 AM, tanith27 said:

. . . this building needs to become something else . . .

That's a "be caureful what you wish for" 12 years in the making. For a self storage of all places . . .

[dbigtex56]

14 hours ago, Ross said:

Stude Theater. Scroll up to the top of the thread.

Thanks. Looks like this was merged with an earlier thread.

[j_cuevas713]

Wow, just wow. I was just in Memphis and that city knows how to save its history. I'm embarrassed. And this is all the wiggle room that is needed for those other historic buildings on 11th to see the same fate. Literally makes me sick to my stomach. When is this city going to do something about its Preservation Ordinance? 

Edited November 10, 2020 by j_cuevas713

[HouTXRanger]

11 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Wow, just wow. I was just in Memphis and that city knows how to save its history. I'm embarrassed. And this is all the wiggle room that is needed for those other historic buildings on 11th to see the same fate. Literally makes me sick to my stomach. When is this city going to do something about its Preservation Ordinance? 

Well, it's currently being sued for trying to enforce what little ordinance it has . . . so we'll have to wait for that to pan out first 😁

[j_cuevas713]

3 minutes ago, HouTXRanger said:

Well, it's currently being sued for trying to enforce what little ordinance it has . . . so we'll have to wait for that to pan out first 😁

Oh really? Any more details?

[tangledwoods]

Quote

Wow, just wow. I was just in Memphis and that city knows how to save its history. I'm embarrassed. And this is all the wiggle room that is needed for those other historic buildings on 11th to see the same fate. Literally makes me sick to my stomach. When is this city going to do something about its Preservation Ordinance? 

 

I'm sorry but there is nothing remarkable or worth preserving about an old movie theater that has been converted into a church.  Now, I will certainly admit that a 7 story self storage building on 11th street in the heights is a rather bold "only in Houston" maneuver.... at least the property will now contribute to the local tax base.  I am curious how they will manage with the new permitting requirements for stormwater detention.

 

Quote

Well, it's currently being sued for trying to enforce what little ordinance it has . . . so we'll have to wait for that to pan out first 😁

Oh really? Any more details?

 

https://theleadernews.com/leader-listings-real-estate/citys-preservation-ordinance-faces-legal-challenge/

[j_cuevas713]

19 minutes ago, tangledwoods said:

 

I'm sorry but there is nothing remarkable or worth preserving about an old movie theater that has been converted into a church.  Now, I will certainly admit that a 7 story self storage building on 11th street in the heights is a rather bold "only in Houston" maneuver.... at least the property will now contribute to the local tax base.  I am curious how they will manage with the new permitting requirements for stormwater detention.

 

 

https://theleadernews.com/leader-listings-real-estate/citys-preservation-ordinance-faces-legal-challenge/

I'm so done. Anyone have an opinion on the possible outlook of this?

[HouTXRanger]

1 hour ago, tangledwoods said:

 

I'm sorry but there is nothing remarkable or worth preserving about an old movie theater that has been converted into a church.  Now, I will certainly admit that a 7 story self storage building on 11th street in the heights is a rather bold "only in Houston" maneuver.... at least the property will now contribute to the local tax base.  I am curious how they will manage with the new permitting requirements for stormwater detention.

With all due respect, it's attitudes like this which end up completely erasing historic neighborhoods in cities like Houston. There's so much of the city that's been bulldozed for no reason other than "it's not remarkable," replaced with something that absolutely contributes less to the community than whatever was there before. We'd be so much better off if we had kept more 1936 movie theaters instead of paving another parking lot. This individual building might not be remarkable anymore (though I disagree), it used to be part of an entire community of similar structures, and only now that it's all that's left from the period it looks out of place.

[mkultra25]

That's probably not great for Bellagreen - they currently have some sort of arrangement with the church that allows diners to use the church's parking lot during times when the church isn't holding services (Bellagreen's own parking area is tiny). I can't imagine that will continue once a self-storage facility goes up.  

[Highrise Tower]

Demolition permit issued.

 

[twisterhunt]

Demo didn't take too long....

[j_cuevas713]

This thing better look like the neighborhood and have GFR. I’m honestly more worried about the neighborhood as a whole. When stuff like this happens, it’s only a matter of time before it’s another historic structure.

Edited December 15, 2020 by j_cuevas713

[thedistrict84]

Is there any better mascot for short-sighted American consumerism run amuck than a seven-story self storage place being shoehorned into the middle of a historic neighborhood? 

[gmac]

I am way late to this one, but an interesting 2014 piece in the Chronicle about the church:

 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/God-s-own-marquee-5814731.php

[SMU1213]

Someone should have converted it into a comedy club...The fact that all Houston has is The Improv at the Marq*E is embarrassing. 

[j_cuevas713]

6 hours ago, SMU1213 said:

Someone should have converted it into a comedy club...The fact that all Houston has is The Improv at the Marq*E is embarrassing. 

The Secret Group is another one but yeah I wish The Improv was downtown.

Edited December 16, 2020 by j_cuevas713

[s3mh]

This is why forcing everything into going up and off of the relevant neighborhood message board is a major mistake by HAIF.  This demo and development pretty much blindsided everyone in the Heights.  

This is truly the worst project in the Heights since Walmart.  It is almost as if this developer is doing this just to piss off people in the Heights.  There are at least a half dozen different lots up and down N. Shep and Durham that would work just fine for a storage facility.  But it almost seems like someone purposefully sought out a historic building in the middle of the Heights to have the doubly crushing blow of tearing down a historic theater and putting up a giant storage facility right in the heart of the neighborhood.  

[hindesky]

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/neighborhood/bellaire/news/article/Heights-residents-fear-demolition-of-historic-15822312.php

Heights’ residents fear demolition of historic buildings after Stude Theater becomes storage facility

By Ryan Nickerson, Staff writer Dec. 22, 2020

The Heights’ Stude Theater was demolished and will be replaced by a seven-story Big Tex Storage Facility, according to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Having opened in 1939, the building was an independent movie theater until 1957, when it became the church for the Resurrection Life Fellowship. The building retained its authentic marquee and vintage theater structure, but the church’s crown with the words “Our God Reigns” remained above the marquee until the building’s demolition.

Some Heights residents have been concerned about the destruction of many historical buildings over the past decade, while others are more concerned about what is replacing the buildings.

 

“It’s bad enough we lost another piece of history here,” Heights resident Fred Lindner said. “But what’s even worse is what’s taking its place, which is affront to this community.”

Although the Stude Theater wasn’t as devastating of a loss for the community as the demolition of Fitzgerald’s or the Ashland Tea House, residents hope they are not being desensitized to historic buildings getting torn down due to area development.

“I think there should be some sort of, if not historic protection for these buildings, at a minimum, I think there needs to be some sort of ordinance on it,” Lindner said.

One of the biggest concerns about the anticipated storage facility is that it is going to be the tallest structure in the area — a tall, black, windowless structure that residents fear is going to be an eyesore.

“Something like this just doesn’t belong in the neighborhood,” Lindner said.

“It can go up on a major thoroughfare and go up on the loop on a highway, but not in the middle of the neighborhood.”

Resident Viula Torgerson is also more concerned about the storage facility than the church’s destruction.

She fears the walkability of the neighborhood is threatened by the storage facility because most of the buildings in the area are old enough to not have “busy driveways and parking lots.”

 

“It’s going to be this giant, windowless, corrugated metal monster right there towering over all the buildings around it,” Torgerson said.

“And it’s just really sad.”

Torgerson remembers a time, before the pandemic, when her two sons could walk around the neighborhood and shop at local bakeries and restaurants, but she feels like the increase in area development hinders their ability to do that.

“It’s sad when Houston loses its history, which it does every day,” Torgerson said.

“This is not the worst of those situations but when you take away something historic and put something that adds no value to the community at all in its place, it’s like the worst of the worst.”

ryan.nickerson@hcnonline.com

Edited December 23, 2020 by hindesky

[j_cuevas713]

I emailed the Mayor. I’d encourage everyone else in this forum to do the same. Enough is enough. We need to revise the preservation ordinance ASAP before we start to see other structures destroyed. 

[gmac]

Would you feel any different if this was replaced with a dozen (or more) condos to increase density?

[jmitch94]

25 minutes ago, gmac said:

Would you feel any different if this was replaced with a dozen (or more) condos to increase density?

There are an absurd amount of empty lots in this city that can be filled up first, then the surface lots, then the shitty stucco strip malls, then...

We have so much space to add density without destroying historic structures.