photo by Marcia Cirillo
Opened on San Jacinto Day, April 21, 1931, as the largest suburban theater in Dallas. Only the Majestic and the Palace Theaters in downtown Dallas exceeded the Texas’ capacity of 2000 patrons. It was touted as the first theater in Dallas to be constructed specifically for talking motion pictures, and it also featured a pipe organ played by Dwight Brown. The first week’s program included the Fox Movietone News, a Mickey Mouse cartoon, and the Buster Keaton talkie, “Parlor, Bedroom and Bath.” Price of admission: 35, 25, or 10 cents depending on which show you attended.
At left is an artist’s rendition of what the Texas looked like on opening night. with original sign and marquis. The bright lights and Italian Renaissance facade led some to label West Jefferson a new “Amusement Way.”
For more info see History of Texas Theater
Below, how the theater looked like on Nov 23, 1963.
photo courtesy of Steve Bonner
South Loop Drive-In opened March 31, 1950, with two showings of “On the Town” starring Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra. The theater was located at 3030 Ledbetter, on the north side of the road, just west of Bonnie View and southeast of the Veterans’ Hospital. The drive-in was part of the Adelman theater circuit, which operated movie houses in Houston, Fort Worth, and Tulsa, as well as the Delman Theater (not a drive-in) in Dallas. Cost of construction was $150,000, which included innovations such as indirectly lighted walkways, a patio with lounge chairs, and a playground for children. I don’t think they would have got away with that Snow White mural on their theater today!
Both the South Loop Drive-In and the Delman Theater closed about 1968, and no obvious trace remains of this theater in the field that still fronts Loop 12.
photo by Terry Houchins
The Vogue, at 2010 W. Jefferson, opened March 13, 1949, with “Blood on the Moon”. Its predecessor, The Bison, had been demolished by owners Robb & Rowley to make way for a more modern movie house. On opening night the manager received a telegram from actress Linda Darnell, which read in part, “The fact that there is a new theater on the site of the old Bison just shows how time marches on, and brings to me memories of the happy hours I spent there. In case you do not know, I was once a student at Sunset High just across the street. Although I felt that my chances of becoming a successful actress were might slim, I did spend all my spare time and spare nickels at the Bison, seeing every picture I could, and hoping my dreams might some day come true.”
The Vogue is now a church.
Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection
Just north of the “T” at the intersection of Cockrell Hill Rd. and Fort Worth Avenue,
Chalk Hill Drive-In opened in early July of 1941 and was the second outdoor drive-in built in Dallas. The setup was identical to its sister, the Northwest Drive-In, which opened two weeks earlier; a huge screen faced a 12 1/2 acre field arranged in graduated ramps. 204 loud-speakers were set in the ground with space for two cars between all speakers with a capacity for 408 cars. The opening attraction was “The Invisible Woman” with Virginia Bruce, John Barrymore, and John Howard.
The theater was in operation as late as 1976 but has since been demolished. Chalk Hill is now a Chalk Pit.
unknown photographer