Back When Movies Meant Something

"Back in the day" the local movie house and cinema was the place to be. Before television and air conditioning in the home, a local movie house provided a place to escape the dull life of hometown America and adventure to exotic places via newsreels, cartoons and feature films with stars like Garbo, Cagney, Gable, and Hepburn - so many years ago, but not so far away.


Opened in 1945, Woodlawn Theater in San Antonio, Texas, was one of first suburban theatres that was built just after WWII just north of the downtown area.


Alameda Theater in downtown San Antonio opened in 1949. It was designed by Straus Nayfach in an Art Deco style and seats almost 2,500!


The Grand Theater, about the biggest thing in Electra, Texas. Features a "COMING SOON!" sign promising "A NEW FLOOR!" It was built in 1919 for $135,000. This Spanish Colonial styled theater was first used as a vaudeville house.


The Historic Ramona Theater in Frederick, Oklahoma designed by George Kadane, also in the Spanish Colonial style. It opened in 1929.


Wichita Theater in Wichita Falls, Texas styled in the Art Moderne school, survived today as a performing arts center. This Texas Historical Landmark was built in 1908 and features beautiful historical details including original ceiling murals.

Information on these theaters comliments of CinemaTreasures.org and CinemaTour.com

Here are a few more small town Texas theaters:


The Rialto in Sinton, Texas, was apparently part of a chain of "Rialto's" in the coastal bend of Texas. Today it suffers the worst of fates for a movie theater...it is a video rental store.


Whorton, Texas' Plaza Theatre operated as a movie theatre from 1942 until its closing in the 1970's. The Plaza reopened in 1995 as a live entertainment theatre. Here's how it looked in its heyday (at night).



The Texan in Cleveland, Texas, built in 1939,is a quintessential small town movie house that serves a population of 7,600. In 1994, the Texan was saved from almost certain death when new owners bought the theater. The theater was restored—with new seats, surround sound, and a new projector for about $150,000.00.



The Fain is still operating in Livingston, Texas. The rounded box office stands on the corner of the building and is covered in burgundy ceramic tile. There is a green trimmed marquee and over-hang that wraps around the front and corner. Last but not least is a tall vertical green "Fain" sign with lots of neon is topped with a spire featuring five disks.

A Little Traveling Music

I've been on two road trips in the last couple of weeks . One quick overnighter up Hwy 287 and 183 to Oklahoma and the big mama to St. Louis for five days. So, to commemorate that trip I've found the appropriate theme song...

Two Sides of Old Dallas

Just east of downtown Dallas is Swiss Avenue, an elegant residential street. The tree-lined street is lined with approximately 200 carefully preserved historic homes representing numerous architectural styles which include Mediterranean, Spanish, Georgian, Prairie, Craftsman, Neoclassical, Italian Renaissance, Tudor and Colonial Revival.The entire district, Swiss Avenue between Fitzhugh and LaVista, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 28 March 1974.









On north side of downtown, tucked away in a new urban housing development just off McKinney Avenue are these early 20th century craftsman style bungalows. The must be the only "modest" turn of the century homes left in Dallas.









You can learn more about these types of houses at: Bungalows

Westward Whoa!

It's hard to imagine a time when there were no Holiday Inn's, Hampton Inns, Super 8 or even Motel 6's. My latest trip back thru Decatur this week reminded me of the time when there were real entrepreneurs who never heard of the word "franchise" and were limited only to their own ingenuity... here are a few examples, starting with "Texas Plaza" in Decatur, Texas.



I missed this landmark on my first trip to Decatur, but I couldn't skip it on my secong trip. It's located on the old business highway 287, just south of downtown. It has an old tourist court,



the now famous petrified wood Texaco,



and the "Whistle Stop" Cafe, famous for its apple pie. All of these buildings are in good condition and it looks as if the owner lives in a rock house located next to the cafe.




Staying on "Old 287", I came to Alvord, a small town that had seen better days, before they moved the highway a half mile west. Here are the remains of another rock front tourist court. The owner made a steel frame to keep these landmarks standing and filled the empty window froms with wrought iron art.



Still traveling north you come to Bowie - "On the Old Chisholm Trail". Here I found these rock courts which were neat as a pin. I can only imagine the stories these courts could tell.






This nifty sign is just across the street.



My destination on this trip was Tipton, Oklahoma. Just before arriving I found the town of Frederick, and the home of the once "Grand" hotel. This hotel was once a welcome stop for travelers north of the Red River.



and what's a Grand hotel without a grand coffee shop?

McKinney's worth a closer look...

McKinney's downtown square and surrounding blocks reflect a rich mix of the town's past. Here are a few "detail" pictures from decades gone by.

I first thought this was an old "Hamms" beer sign, but on closer inspection I found this to be the former home of "Hamm's Home Glazed Hams" specializing in Beef, Pork, and Cheese.



This detail,from a building located on the corner of Virginia St. and Kentucky St., appears to be from the art deco period of the 1930's and has a Precolumbiam look.



The Pope building located on the SE corner of the square also shows its Art Deco heritage. Built in 1935, it has the same look of some of the buildings at the fair grounds in Dallas which were built for the 1936 State Centennial.


1967 was the year of the "Hemisfair" celebration in San Antonio.
This Ford XL still wears a Hemisfair license plate. And near perfect chrome.

The Fastest Growing Small Town In Texas

McKinney, County seat of Collin County, was named after Collin McKinney a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and a congressman for the Red River district of the Republic of Texas. The town was incorporated in 1848 and contains one of Texas' largest historic districts. McKinney has passed Frisco as the fastest growing city in Texas, growing from 15,000 in 1970 to over 115,000 in 2008. Downtown McKinney features more than 100 retail shops and a variety of restaurant around the historic courthouse square.

The beautifully restored Collin County Courthouse, built in 1875 and remodeled in 1927, is a multi-purpose facility including a working artist studio and art gallery.


This 1920's post card shows a view of the north side of the courthouse square. The building are still recognizable some 90 years later. The Ritz theater building is now a mini-mall(below).

an old bank building occupies the other end of the block.

You can see it on the left of this postcard from the 1930's. All the buildings on the east side of the square are still recognizable today.

The Midway Cafe, the white building in the mid block, was originally home to the First National Bank. It makes me wonder if it was a victim of the Great Depression of 1928.

Today it is occupied by an upscale store of indeterminable origin. Coffey's Drug is now home to the Londoner Pub. It's an authentic English pub located on the wide open plains of North, Texas. What a treat!

McKinney is full of surprises and is definately worth a visit. It's only thirty miles North of Dallas, but it's world away in smalltown feel.

Welcome to Rust Ranch

On old Hiway 80, just west of Cisco, is a nice piece of nostalgia. There's a collection of old cars, parked facing the road like a bunch of senior citizens sitting on the porch of an old folk's home just passing the time.





My first job was pumping gas at fourteen at a full sevice Premier Service Station for 19 cents a gallon in 1967.





This one appears to be a replica of the Bonnie and Clyde car.





And just in case you're wondering what they're looking at, here's the view.