Showboat Theatre

This photo is supposed to be a photo of the grand opening of the Showboat Theater.

There was a huge explosion in the city on 4/16/47, according to this record. The Showboat was badly damaged and had to be rebuilt. This is verified by the newspaper records around that time:
http://tinyurl.com/2x3rp3

Thats interesting. I wonder if the grand opening photo is really a grand reopening photo after the damage was repaired.

The first Ma and Pa Kettle film was released on 4/1/49.

Exactly what I was thinking. The building was damaged in 1947 and the movie came out in 1949. The photo must have been taken after the building was repaired and had a grand reopening.

The Showboat Theatre is not listed in the 1941 or 1943 editions of Film Daily Yearbook. Unfortunately I don't have the 1944/45/46 or 1947 editions, but presume it must have first opened in one of these years, only to be damaged in April 1947. It is listed in the 1950 edition of F.D.Y. (the address given in that edition is 416 6th Street N.)

This theater is known as the Showboat Pavilion. I'm not sure if its a live theater or what its current use is. Here is a photo.

Looks like it's a banquet hall:
http://tinyurl.com/2vm5ab

Banquet hall sounds good. Whatever it is, the status should be Closed.

A photo of the Showboat Theater is posted on www.texasescapes.com under Architecture, followed by Texas Theaters.

The original Showboat was torn down in the 1990's by the city because it was considered dangerous and too costly to renovate. A new pavilion/banquet hall was built on the site and hosts parties and civic gatherings. When a new multiscreen cinema was opened in another part of Texas City in the 1970's, interestingly near the site of what once was the Tradewinds Drive In Theater, the Showboat closed for good. I remember seeing my first movie, "Pinocchio" at the Showboat as a small child in the early 70's. Don't remember much about the movie, just the huge, at least through a child's eyes, Showboat designed into the terrazzo floor in the lobby of the theater.

BTW, I forgot to mention that the new pavilion, as you see in the photo posted earlier, is a smaller replica of the original theater.

In that case, this former theater should be listed as Closed/Demolished and function would be Unknown.

A 2003 photo of the "new" Showboat and a photo of original Showboat in Texas City. The original has been demolished.

1960's Photo of the Showboat.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidepictures/3023621053/sizes/o/

The theater was in need of rehab in 1990:
http://tinyurl.com/dxe8fh

Here are two 1984 photos:

Photo1

Photo2