Tower Theatre

The address for the Twoer Theatre is 1201 Westheimer Road, Houston, Tx.

The Tower Theatre was Houston's main roadshow venue in the 50s and 60s. The first movie I remember seeing there was the Todd-AO presentation of "Oklahoma!" in 1955. In the 70s it became a live theatre venue. Houston's first production of "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" was at the Tower.

In 1955, Interstate Circuit Inc., who owned the Tower, spent almost $50,000 to refurbish the theatre putting in 70mm and the Todd-AO system. Before that, the Tower, along with the Alabama, Village, Garden Oaks etc, was a 28 day sub-run house that played after downtown Houston. "Oklahoma" in 55' was followed by "Around the World in 80 Days" in 56'. Both were seem in the Todd-AO process with a deep curved 60 ft. screen which gave the audience the same sensation as the old 3 strip Cinerama. There was one major draw back in projecting the picture on this curved screen. The projectionest could never keep the picture totally focused. So after the run of "Around the World" was finished, Interstate opted to go to a standard flat screen. Here is a bit of nostalgia concerning the new curtain in front of the 60 ft. screen. When the new screen was installed, the width went from side wall to side wall which meant there was no room for a side drawn curtain. There was also not enough room at the top of the screen to put in a water fall curtain. So Interstate came up with the idea of having a curtain that opened and closed from the floor. I believe the Tower was the only theatre in the country with this style curtain. Other roadshow pictures that played the Tower in the 50's included "GiGi', "The Big Fisherman", Porgy & Bess" "Sleeping Beauty", "Ben-Hur". "The Alamo", and "Exodus".

If memory serves me, it was Ross Vallone, the manager of the Tower that came up with the idea of the 'upside down' curtain. Mr. Vallone gave me my first job as an usher - when he managed the Eastwood Theater. (He and my dad went to High School together.)

The Eastwood and the Tower were both built about the same time around 1937. Mr. Vallone said that the two buildings were identical in layout and size, except for the exterior and interior decor.

During those days both theaters served a large movie going neighborhood - the Eastwood out in the 'East End' on Leeland @ Telephone Rd. and the Tower in the 'West End' on Westheimer @ Waught Drive. The Eastwood is long gone having made way for a new roadway.

As I still remember, Interstate Circuit just about owned Houston having built a number of 'first class' neighborhood theaters up to the early '50's not to mention the River Oaks - still open; the Yale, Alameda, Village, Alabama, Santa Rosa, Fulton, Garden Oaks, Wayside, Yale to name a few.

Stan Gilmore - Houston

I think every theater manager in Houston says he had a hand in the design of that "upside down" curtain. I worked with John Smith at the River Oaks and Howard Skelton at the Alabama and they both take credit for that design. I also worked with the city manager, Al Lever and his assistant and they too take credit. If my memory serves me, Ross Vallone was the manager of the Majestic in the middle 50's and didn't go to the Tower until the Majestic closed in the middle 60's.

I worked as an usher at the Eastwood during the middle 50's and Ross Vallone was the manager at that time. He then moved on to the Tower, then to the Majestic, then to the Twin-ABC theater out on Westheimer (after ABC bought out Interstate Theaters).

I stand corrected

My first memory of the Tower was seeing "Airport" twice in about April 1970, during its exclusive first run in Houston. The lines were very long, and the tension in the theater during the film was amazing. Few theaters got 70mm Todd-AO prints; most got 35mm anamorphic versions. Does anyone know which version of "Airport" the Tower ran?

The Seven Ups performed here. This is NEONIZED Art Deco. Way to give a signage spasm to a theater structure.

The Film Daily Yearbook 1941 gives a seating capacity for the Tower Theatre as 1,132. The F.D.Y, 1950 gives a seating capacity of 1,117.

The address needs to be changed to 1201 Westheimer Road, Houston TX.

We need another Video store like a hole in the head! Remember..Nobody ever tries to save and restore a classic Video store!

The architect for this theater was W. Scott Dunne - please change this.

Decadance at the Tower Theater along with Dangerous Disco Sunday nights happened from in the early 90s (90-92)

It was Clubland in the late 80s.

Reading about the Tower brings back a lot of memories. Saturday morning movies with a serial and at least three cartoons started at about 9:00 AM. Popcorn was a dime. After the morning show the theater closed for a short time and then reopened for the regular feature. If you were lucky enough to have a dollar you could spend the whole day and have all the drinks, candy and popcorn that you could hold.

My older brother started his career with Interstate theaters at the Tower as an usher. He quickly advanced to chief usher and later to assistant manager in the chain before getting his own theater in Galveston (Broadway) at the age of twenty-one.

If anyone has any pictures from the late 1940's or early 50s of the theater please submit them.

I have uploaded a photo to:
http://seweccentric.com/ljimages/tower.jpg

The photo submission feature is currently down.
It also ran Rocky Horror from Jan 27, 1978 to Aug. of 1978.

The structure and marquee still stand. Only minor changes were made to the exterior such as the addition of aluminum store front windows under the marquee and along the west side of the theater, relocation of the entry to the west side of the structure and the name on the marquee was changed to read "Hollywood Video." Although efforts were made to retain the integrity of the original exterior the interior space was gutted. The floor was leveled to the street, concession areas and lobbies were removed and a cheap lay-in ceiling was installed in what was the main house of the theater. The stage and penthouse were also gutted, but have been converted into a unique, loft restaurant space. Many expected better redevelopment plans for the building given a similar renovation of a theater located nearby. The Alabama Theater's re-use as a book store retained much of the existing structure's art deco interior and exterior features.

Movie Palaces: A Retrospect (http://www.moviepalaces.net/) contains some great shots of the Tower during its prime.

I got to know Ross Vallone in the early 70's. He was managing the River Oaks, when it was still owned by Interstate.

BTW, I also saw Cyndi Lauper @ the Tower, while it was called Clubland.

There are several views of the Tower on this site:
http://tinyurl.com/2m8tdb

Current exterior and historic interior and exterior photos of the Tower Theater are online at www.houstondeco.org

I am researching a story for NPR involving this theater. Some time in the late 70's, Ella Fitzgerald performed here - I would very much like to talk to anyone who saw her there, and in particular, the date and the names of her musicians. I'd also love to talk to anyone who was there when it was a disco. Thanks.

A 1948 view of the Tower Theatre in Houston.

"Image Courtesy of the Public Domain"

A 1948 view of the Tower Theatre in Houston.

"Photo Courtesy of the Public Domain"

1983 Photo

1984 Photo

The Tower opened at 7:30 p.m. on February 14, 1936. The premier feature was “Barbary Coast” with Miriam Hopkins, Edward G. Robinson, and Joel McCrea. Opening night festivities included a 30-piece symphony orchestra and Blackstone the Magician. The correct zip code for this theater is 77006.