Heights Theatre

The Heights Theatre is located at 331 W. 19th Street and it seated 950 people once.

This is a store also now. Would have been worth more today as a theatre! The Heights is booming and they lost alot of History before they decided to save and restore the area. Shame again...we lose a another GEM!

Some history that I found on the Heights theater:

"Built in 1929 for Bob Wygant, Sr. by his father. Wygant operated this popular independent neighborhood theater until his death in 1951. Ticket prices were 5 cents for children and 15 cents for adults. Beset by the competitive power of the expanding theater chains, Wygant resorted to imaginative promotions to fill the seats. One memorable promotion involved a personal appearance by the awesome American Indian actor "Iron Eyes" cody. After Wygant's death, his son Richard operated the Heights Theater until it was sold in the late 1950's".

Old photo of the Heights theater:
http://www.moviepalaces.net/houston_heights.jpg

Here is a photo of Heights Theater Antiques, the store that now occupies this former theater.

This is another photo of the former Heights Theater.

A recent night view of the Heights Theater can be seen here.

A recent close-up of the Heights theater can be seen here.

There is a 1930 photo on this page:
http://tinyurl.com/2jb5yf

This is another recent photo of the Heights Theater.

Here is another photo. The space may currently be in use as a picture framing store called Dramatika.
http://tinyurl.com/5t5y7l

Heights Theater is for sale. Asking $1.3 million. Details.

Here is a 1935 photo.

Another photo can be seen here.

Here is part of an LA Times story dated 6/7/69:

Houston-A theater playing the controversial Swedish film "I am Curious (Yellow)" burned to the ground here Wednesday. Officials of the Houston arson squad said the fire, which destroyed the Heights Theater, was probably set by a person or persons hidden in the theater.

"Someone probably burned the theater down in the name of decency", said Mrs. John Scott, who along with her husband owns the theater. The film, which includes explicit sex scenes, has caused controversy in the city resulting in picketing by a church group and literature thrown on the Scotts' front porch.

"We ran family movies for nine years and almost went broke", Mrs. Scott said angrily. She said that the theater has been showing adult movies for the past three years and has done much better financially.

Burned to the ground? It must have been rebuilt.

I think so. I don't know when this theater closed, which makes you wonder if the current building was ever used for films.

That is a good question. We would need an ad or an article dated after June of 1969 showing or mentioning a movie playing here.

The correct address for this building is 339 W 19th Street.

The Heights was last used as a live theater in 1999. Seating was reduced to 165. You can read more at this link.

I guess they rebuilt it.

This is a 2009 photo.

1983 Photo

1984 Photo

Judging from the Art Moderne facade and the somewhat grungy looking side walls seen in those photos, I'd say the theater was probably just gutted by the 1969 fire rather than "burned to the ground" as the Times article had it.

The July 14, 1969, issue of Boxoffice Magazine reported on the fire investigation and said that the fire had definitely been set by an arsonist. The Boxoffice article said that the fire had "...destroyed the $90,000 theatre...." That vertical sign must be from the early 1950s at the latest, though.

The Heights opened on May 14, 1929. The premier feature was "Sunset Pass" with Jack Holt and Nora Lane.

There is a video with some interior views on this page. Address should be changed to 339 W. 19th Street.
http://tinyurl.com/yjsecz6

There is a 2006 photo of the restored 1935 Art Moderne facade, and a view dated 1935 showing the original mission style front, on this page at Houston Deco.