Roosevelt Theater
118 East Broadway,
Hobbs,
NM
88240
118 East Broadway,
Hobbs,
NM
88240
1 person
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In 1929 the Ritz was the first motion picture theater to open in Hobbs. It was managed by George S. Gafford and showed silent films. In the mid-30s, it was renamed the Roosevelt Theater and operated at least into the mid 40s. The 1945 Film Daily Yearbook shows the Roosevelt being closed.
With thanks to the Hobbs Public Library.
Contributed by
Don Lewis
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
“The Ritz Theater opened in 1929 on Carlsbad Street”.
The quote that I posted comes from the same library that this theater came from. Carlsbad Street might be Carlsbad Highway today, I’m not sure. I had this theater and the Derrick theater on my radar screen but was sidetracked by other things. I’m glad that Don found these theaters and added them.
I posted this message under the Rig Theater but it actually belongs in here. According to the H.P.L. the Ritz Theater became the Roosevelt Theater. “While the present Rig Theater was under construction, Judge T. A. Whilan of Lovington bought the old Ritz Theater. He changed its name to the Roosevelt and opened it up for business”. This should be the 400 seat Roosevelt Theater.
Hello Cinema Treasures. This is my posting, however the wording is not all mine. I do not have and have never seen any Film Dailey Year books and never make reference to them.
I submitted this as the RITZ after having researched information from the Hobbs library. I found reference from two separate authors saying the RITZ was the first Hobbs theater. Neither author called the Roosevelt a theater.
One article made mention of the Roosevelt as having burned down, but did not call it a theater.
I did not see any information saying the RITZ name was changed to the Roosevelt.
Would it be possible to change the wording and name back to the RITZ unless someone can present more reliabe info?
Thanks
-Don
Don….When you add a theater to this website, the description can be changed at anytime. As people add more info about the theater, the description is usually updated. I’ll give you a link to the Hobbs Public Library. The page I’m linking to concerns early movie theaters in Hobbs, New Mexico. Near the bottom of the page approximately ¾ of the way down, you will see the following: “While the present Rig Theater was under construction, Judge T. A. Whilan of Lovington bought the old Ritz Theater. He changed its name to the Roosevelt and opened up for business”. This is the link for the Hobbs library. Click on “First Motion Picture House”.
According to the 1935 Hobbs city directory, the Roosevelt was located at 118 East Broadway.