Highrise Tower Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 I was browsing The Bellaire & Southwestern Texan dated September 23, 1964 and came across a business listing for Palms Theatre. Palms Theatre - Sugar Land, Texas 10 Min. Out On S-W Frway. I never even heard of this theater. I don't see anything on the famous cinematreasures.org archive website either. Was this possibly rebranded? Is there an exact address for this place? Looks like it's somewhere off 59 South/Southwest Freeway. Very cool find! Anyone ever been here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowboybud Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 It is on cinematreasures. http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/15583/photos/162439 Was actually located at Hwy 90 @ Ulrich. If you look at the daytime photo (with the Sugarland Express marquee), you can see in the background the building which is now the Foster Law Firm. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugtoaster Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 We went there in the late '70s-early '80s. It was known as the Palm Twin Theater at the time, because the balcony had been converted to an additional, smaller screen. The room with the larger main screen retained an old-timey, decorative appearance. Appropriately enough, we saw Flash Gordan and Raiders of the Lost Ark there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbleweed_Tx Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 I saw Star Wars there in the days before they converted the balcony to a second theater. It's where all the Sugar Land kids went to the movies. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugtoaster Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 On 10/10/2022 at 4:42 PM, Tumbleweed_Tx said: Star Wars there in the days before they converted the balcony to a second theater Which narrows down when they added the second screen - 1978, maybe? I remember the chairs and walls looking brand new at the time, but I don't remember it being under construction. It was definitely there by the end of 1980, because that's where I saw Flash Gordon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbleweed_Tx Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 11 hours ago, bugtoaster said: Which narrows down when they added the second screen - 1978, maybe? I remember the chairs and walls looking brand new at the time, but I don't remember it being under construction. It was definitely there by the end of 1980, because that's where I saw Flash Gordon. In March of 1980 I saw Coal Miner's Daughter at Palms. Flash Gordon came out in December. I think they were converting the balcony to a second screen then... I don't remember much of the movie since I was with this chick named Debbie..... . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 Photo in 1974: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowboybud Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 The "new" Imperial Sugar headquarters was later built at that intersection, it's now an empty parking lot and staging area for railroad construction. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nyc_tex Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Not sure what new building went in on the old Palms Theater footprint. The former shopping center that became the admin offices of Imperial had Gillery's grocery and the drugstore long before Palms was razed. I recall smoking cigs in the upper theater after the conversion but that was probably 1985. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbleweed_Tx Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 it's an empty space right now. Hmmm... going on memory, at The Palm Theater, we saw... Star Wars Alien Raiders Of The Lost Ark Coal Miner's Daughter Neighbors (John Belushi's last flick) and many more, it's been gone for almost 40 years, so the memory is fuzzy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugtoaster Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 On 3/18/2023 at 4:55 PM, Tumbleweed_Tx said: Neighbors (John Belushi's last flick) We saw Continental Divide on the upper screen in 1981. Not what I was expecting from a Belushi flick. And after you mentioned it, I might remember the stairs to the upper section being taped off for construction. Can't be sure if I am thinking of a different theater at Fuqua and Hiram-Clarke that was also converting its balcony at the time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbleweed_Tx Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 that sounds about the right timeline for the balcony conversion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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