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Historic Houston Theaters


Subdude

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Guest danax
There's another old one standing but vacant on OST at Griggs.

The name The Pussycat come to mind on that one, but I don't think that's it. I believe there's another one down Telephone Rd. south of 610.

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Anyone remember the "Clear Lake Theater" in Clear Lake City?

It had a mega screen and a balcony and was built in 1965.

It folded and sat empty for a long time before becoming a night club that lasted for years. It is now an orential buffet.

The time capsule is still buried there last time I looked. I think it is scheduled to be opened in 2020 if I remember right.

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So my new thing is old canopies. Many look like they are made of brass.

Stowers had one and so does a Club Quarters on Fannin.

They look something like this and seem to be going the way of the do-do.

With Houston's rain, you think we'd see more of these.

majestic%20at%20night.jpg

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Yes, the theater was in the corner of El Camino Real and Reseda. I remember putting some Pop Rocks into the time capsule... I think I was 12 at the time.

The shopping center that Safeway was in was built with Elmers glue and particle board and almost fell down on it's own.

Weiner's was there and then Ross Dress For Less. Shortly after that they leveled the whole thing. There is a real nice stand alone Walgreen's there now. They relocated from the El Camino Shopping center. That whole effort was a nice improvement for the area.

Remember Piggly Wiggly grocery store across the street form the theater? That was the only place to shop in the area outside of Weingarten's in Nassau Bay.

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I was about 16 when they disappeared from Clear Lake City. One time I was in there close to closing time and saw the manager putting money in the safe. It was under the floor mat just inside the main entrance door!

After they closed up, a fabric store by the name of Hancock Fabrics moved in and is still there. It had to have looked strange but we were in there not long ago and the floor mat is still covering the safe. The employees must have thought I was out of my mind lifting the mat up to see if the safe was still there. It is.

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Subdude, did you notice this?

afJul.jpeg

txtsou501.jpg

The old South Main Drive-In!! I loved that place when I was little. Notice how it says And Kiddie Amusement Park on the sign? I remember going to the drive in movies as a kid, and the minute we arrived, I'd say Bye to the parents, and run off to play in the park. It had a bunch of swings & other typical playground equipment and it was located on a grassy area exactly in front of & underneath the screen. I'd play there for who knows how long, and only go running back to the car for a drink or a snack.

Funny, how you could let your kid go running off to some playground in the dark and never worry about them back in the 60s. Can you imagine anything like that today?

Oh, and I remember my parents getting dressed up to go to the movies at the Majestic when I was young. My father used to get tickets for movie debuts/previews which were apparently a big deal back then. The also went to the Gaylynn movie theatre in Sharpstown when it was brand new.

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Does anyone remember the old theater in Stafford?  It was on Main (90).  We drove by there about a year ago and it was gone.  My friend and I saw Saturday Night Fever there when we were 12 or 13 (we snuck in to see it because we were underaged).

Are you sure about one in Stafford? I lived in Mo City, right next to Stafford, and drove through there almost every day. Where was it? Maybe it was built after I left the area in 1978. I do remember one in Sugar Land on Hwy 90.

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57 TBird, I couldn't remember if it was in Stafford or Sugar Land. It was on 90 and you're right, it was in Sugar Land. Wasn't it across from the sugar factory somewhere? My brother and I drove by there looking for it about 4 years ago and it was no where to be found. We couldn't pin point the exact location it stood on. We just assumed it was demolished. I couldn't find any info on the net about it either.

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The old South Main Drive-In!! I loved that place when I was little. Notice how it says And Kiddie Amusement Park on the sign? I remember going to the drive in movies as a kid, and the minute we arrived, I'd say Bye to the parents, and run off to play in the park. It had a bunch of swings & other typical playground equipment and it was located on a grassy area exactly in front of & underneath the screen. I'd play there for who knows how long, and only go running back to the car for a drink or a snack.

Funny, how you could let your kid go running off to some playground in the dark and never worry about them back in the 60s. Can you imagine anything like that today?

Oh, and I remember my parents getting dressed up to go to the movies at the Majestic when I was young. My father used to get tickets for movie debuts/previews which were apparently a big deal back then. The also went to the Gaylynn movie theatre in Sharpstown when it was brand new.

I graduated from high school in Beaumont. There was a Gaylynn Theatre in that city, too. I remember having a good share of dates there. Sadly, it's now all gone.

Chet Cuccia

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The theaters I would have liked to have seen were the Loews State and Metropolitan on Main St.  From the pictures they must have been incredible.

Back when VCRs came out back in the late 1970s/early 1980s, I thought that that technological advance would put ALL movie theatres out of business. We all know that most people would rather stay at home and watch a movie than to have to get all dressed up to go out.

Well, I was half right. Most drive-in theatres bit the dust. But there's still walk-ins around. But I know of no one screeners that I went to when I was a kid. Most of them all have 10-20 screens.

Chet Cuccia

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The old theater in the circle at Broadway and 45 is currently the Circle Pawn Shop.  I don't believe it was ever an adult theatre.  I do know some history of it though. It opened in about 1941 as the Plaza Theater.

The Santa Rosa opened nearby in 1947 (on Telephone Road) and, The Plaza, faced with the new competition from the Interstate-owned competitor, struggled and was sold.  The new owner renamed it the Vogue and it became an art theater, showing French and Italian imports.  This experiment did not last long and it reverted back to The Plaza. It only remained a theater until about 1951.

The Santa Rosa was an adult theater/movie rental place until recently.  A medical office building is to be built next door and in the old theater parking lot.  There are rumors that the theater will be saved and turned into a community center or something to benefit the nearby neighborhood.

It was also a Spanish movie theatre during the 70s and early 80s. Saw (more like sat through) a few of them as a kid. Not voluntarily of course. :P

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  • 2 weeks later...
I remember Haystack Calhoun on the West Coast in the 60s, along with Ray Stevens. Danny McShane would be considered positively skinny these days, wrestler or not.

How about "Gorgeous George" who came into the ring throwing gold hair pins from his flowing blond hair. Then there was Ray Gunkel & Cyclone Anaya. Now that was REAL show biz!

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  • 3 weeks later...
No, it's on 75th just north of Lawndale, between Mason Park and Pecan Park. It's a church now and went from the Bluebonnet to a peep show to the church. Thanks for that picture Subdude! I've been looking for one for awhile cause the old-timers in my neighborhood have mentioned "the picture show" and I knew it was the church but always wondered what the theater looked like. The facade, minus the signage, is still pretty much the same. I'll have to check the interior to see if the any of the original features are still there.

I had relatives living just a couple of blocks from there so went by it so many times but didn't remember the name. I think it also showed Spanish language films at one time.

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How about "Gorgeous George" who came into the ring throwing gold hair pins from his flowing blond hair. Then there was Ray Gunkel & Cyclone Anaya. Now that was REAL show biz!
Anyone know how George came up with the idea of his "identity"? It was Bob Hope. Hope told him that if he wanted to make it big, he needed an act, something to distance himself from the rest.
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No, it's on 75th just north of Lawndale, between Mason Park and Pecan Park. It's a church now and went from the Bluebonnet to a peep show to the church. Thanks for that picture Subdude! I've been looking for one for awhile cause the old-timers in my neighborhood have mentioned "the picture show" and I knew it was the church but always wondered what the theater looked like. The facade, minus the signage, is still pretty much the same. I'll have to check the interior to see if the any of the original features are still there.

Okay, the Bluebonnet was at 1015 Broadway, just off 45.

The theatre on 75th, just off Lawndale, near the Mason Park subdivision, was something else.

I was looking through cinematours this morning and the name Al Ray Theatre rang a bell, but I haven't been able to find out anything else about it.

There was a Rexall drug store on the corner of Lawndale and 75th, probably a Madings, and a Weingarten's, iirc, across 75th, also facing Lawndale. The theatre was basically behind the drug store on 75th.

One other thing I remember from many trips to that area to visit an aunt and uncle in Mason Park was a drive-in (ice house, burger stand?) on Lawndale, just back towards town from 75th, that had the name or slogan "U Toot 'em and We Tote 'em."

I'll have to add this to one of my Sunday morning driving tours.

According to HCAD this must be the Living Hope Church, 741 75th, described as an auditorium type building, built in 1930.

Edited by brucesw
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The church is a former movie theater. I remember passing by it on our way home from visiting family in that area. I was really little but I do remember around the mid to late 70s it being an X rated movie theater (didn't know what that meant then). I remember asking my dad if we could go see a movie there and he told me no because the movies there were dirty. First thing that came to mind was that there was probably alot of naked people in those movies. Which raised my curiosity even more...... :)

The website of the church has a slide show of the interior; one shot from the stage shows the auditorium.

http://www.g12houston.com/about.htm

I was hoping for an exterior view.

No naked people either. :(

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