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OST Paris Theater At 4010 Old Spanish Trl.


TheNiche

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There is a closed theater on the south side of Old Spanish Trail between Griggs and Scott Street. It is a pretty monolithic structure compared to everything that's around it and is considerably larger than the River Oaks Theater.

In the RO Theater thread, sevfiv had already provided pictures of it. Anybody got photos of it in its heyday? Anybody know the owner? What's up with this place?

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Well I suppose that makes sense, since the word "Juneteenth" is painted on the building.

On their website, I don't see any mention of the theater at all, however. Doesn't seem like the theater is seeing almost any use at all.

Anybody know Al?

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And is it me, or have they not paid their tax bill in a number of years totalling to $27K? Maybe I'm reading that wrong..

http://www.hctax.net/propertytax/deltax/De...t=0450640000170

nope - that looks about right...sheesh

what's really sad is the value:

214ujw6.jpg

about a third of its tax-worth is owed in taxes!

Edited by sevfiv
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Sure, it's probably bigger. But it's nowhere near as beautiful nor as important historically and architecturally. It'd be great to see it restored and thriving. But it has nothing to do with the River Oaks and it would sure be a shame for someone to try to make any kind of argument about the RO's future based on the OST.

Marty

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on another note, hcad lists the land use as "recreational/health," and building square ft. at 0

needless to say, i'm assuming it's been gutted

I'm not so sure about that. HCAD is really funny about listing square footages for uses that aren't residential, retail, or office. There are some enormous industrial facilities (especially manufacturing facilities) that have "0" square feet when they actually have hundreds of thousands. Civic or quasi-civic improvents are also subject to this funkiness.

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Yep. Probably.

Someone contact Al and find out.

This WAS the OST Theater for many years, until it was sold and started showing adult films sometime in the mid or late sixties. That's when the new owner renamed it the Paris Theater.

Most of its "adult" films were those innocent "nudie" movies, some soft core porn and foreign "art" films. It's where I saw I am Curious Yellow sometime in the mid sixties. It didn't start showing hard core porn until the 70s.

Edited by FilioScotia
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Sure, it's probably bigger. But it's nowhere near as beautiful nor as important historically and architecturally. It'd be great to see it restored and thriving. But it has nothing to do with the River Oaks and it would sure be a shame for someone to try to make any kind of argument about the RO's future based on the OST.

Marty

How about The Brunson in Baytown, how about The El Capitan in Pasadena. What makes TRO more important ? Is it because high-falootin old school money doesn't want new money peering down on them from a 13 story condo ?

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How about The Brunson in Baytown, how about The El Capitan in Pasadena. What makes TRO more important ? Is it because high-falootin old school money doesn't want new money peering down on them from a 13 story condo ?

for one, the river oaks is actually in use and not falling apart

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Cool. i really hope it happens. i always thought an ecclectic coffee shop would work on Texas Ave if you could make it a college hangout. My wife would have none of it though :(

Try the Purple Turtle near Sylvan Beach Park in La Porte. It's just what you're looking for.

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Cool. i really hope it happens. i always thought an ecclectic coffee shop would work on Texas Ave if you could make it a college hangout. My wife would have none of it though :(

They need to take out all the "S" curves in Texas Ave. and make it a straightaway again, then remodel everything to look like American Graffiti, and turn it into a tourist attraction. Have a Carhop Drive-In at each end of"The Strip".

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They need to take out all the "S" curves in Texas Ave. and make it a straightaway again, then remodel everything to look like American Graffiti, and turn it into a tourist attraction. Have a Carhop Drive-In at each end of"The Strip".

You need to take a road trip back "home". The snake is no more!

No sign of Suzanne Somers yet though. :lol: Richard Dreyfus might be there though! :wacko:

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funny the paint is coming up and the old paint is still there...verrry confusing (to me anyway)... that area is dead, no one has expendable income. Texas ave. would be great for college housing..but I think most students have family in the area. My parents recently moved there so I STILL frequent the area.

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This WAS the OST Theater for many years, until it was sold and started showing adult films sometime in the mid or late sixties. That's when the new owner renamed it the Paris Theater.

Most of its "adult" films were those innocent "nudie" movies, some soft core porn and foreign "art" films. It's where I saw I am Curious Yellow sometime in the mid sixties. It didn't start showing hard core porn until the 70s.

From the July 21, 1969, Houston Post. No comments about the color adjectives used here.

Paris-1969.jpg

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From the July 21, 1969, Houston Post. No comments about the color adjectives used here.

Paris-1969.jpg

Those films had to be soft-core. In 1969, the Houston Post wouldn't carry photo ads for hardcore films. That prohibition was later expanded to include photo ads for any X-rated film -- hardcore, softcore or mainstream. The films could be advertised, but with print ads only. No illustrations. Mrs Hobby made that decision. May she rest in peace. She was a great lady.

Edited by FilioScotia
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  • 8 months later...
There is a closed theater on the south side of Old Spanish Trail between Griggs and Scott Street. It is a pretty monolithic structure compared to everything that's around it and is considerably larger than the River Oaks Theater.

In the RO Theater thread, sevfiv had already provided pictures of it. Anybody got photos of it in its heyday? Anybody know the owner? What's up with this place?

I guess that the Paris Theatre can be placed on the same list as the Santa Rosa, Village, Kirby, Metropolitan, etc. If it's still standing, it will probably someday experience the same fate as the aforementioned cinemas. It seems that it spent its final days as an X-rated house just like the Santa Rosa did, seeing the ad in the other thread. I wonder why some theatres turned to porn then they closed down? Did the Village, Kirby, Metropolitan and others do the same thing? I read that the Red Bluff Drive-In Theatre in Pasadena did the same thing.

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I wonder why some theatres turned to porn then they closed down? Did the Village, Kirby, Metropolitan and others do the same thing? I read that the Red Bluff Drive-In Theatre in Pasadena did the same thing.

You're right about the Red Bluff Drive-in. It went porno sometime in the 80s, and ultimately went out of business. It sat there closed and decaying until a few years ago, when someone finally bought the property for other uses, and tore down the screen tower.

I worked at the Red Bluff when I was in high school in the late 50s, and every time I drive past that corner of 225 and Red Bluff Road these days I always have flash-backs to some "memorable" experiences I had there. Let's just say it's where I starting coming of age.

Edited by FilioScotia
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I wonder why some theatres turned to porn then they closed down? Did the Village, Kirby, Metropolitan and others do the same thing?

Ah, the age before widespread Beta and VHS, when a dying theatre turned to porn as a last resort. I'm assuming it was a short term solution to a chronic problem, the old theatres eventually had to compete with newer, little mini porn theatres and eventually adult videos that folks could watch at home. I don't recall the Village or Metropolitan turning to porn, having attended main stream films there in the early 70s. Houston had a law about sexually oriented business being so many feet from a church, school, etc. so some of these theatres may not been allowed to convert to porn even if they wanted.

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