Winchester Twin Theatre
3417 50th Street,
Lubbock,
TX
3417 50th Street,
Lubbock,
TX
6 people
favorited this theater
The Winchester is yet another now-demolished 1960s movie palace.
Opened in 1966, the Winchester’s large auditorium opened with “Doctor Zhivago” and was the premiere movie house for Lubbock for years.
Although the Winchester was twinned in 1979, it remained a popular place — especially for event films — into the 1990s.
However, like many theaters of its era, it failed to fend off the proliferation of multiplexes. 1960s theaters were almost never built with stages so there was no chance to find a new home as a performing arts or concert venue.
Without a new function, the Winchester closed in 1999 and was demolished.
Contributed by
Ross Melnick, "Gary & Cathey"
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Recent comments (view all 30 comments)
Charles VanBibber’s list of Lubbock theatres brought back lots of good memories. I grew up in Lubbock, living there from 4th grade through college. I can offer a few random bits of info:
Missing from the list is the Village, which was located on 34th Street. It opened in the 1950s, I believe, and showed first-run features.
The Clifton was located directly across from the Lindsey, at the corner of Main and Avenue J. It too was a first-run house, though not nearly as elegant as the Lindsey. I saw my first 3-D movie, “Bwana Devil,” at the Clifton, and was so terrified that I ran out into the lobby.
A theatre called the El Capitan stood next to the Chief Theatre; I assume it must have been previously (or later?) called the Arcadia. It showed only Spanish-language films when I was a kid, so I never saw a movie there, but I remember that it had a very handsome neon sign.
Finally, there was a theatre called the Fine Arts on Broadway when I was a college student. I assume it originally had some other name. We went there to see “arty” films like “Zorba the Greek” and “A Taste of Honey” that never appeared in any other local theatre.
The Winchester was showing first run movies on two screens until the Winchester Shopping center which it anchored was sold. It was an off-the-street center in a 90-degree angle with the Winchester (not always a twin) in the corner. A former working wooden windmill stood at the corner of 50th & Indiana (2 thoroughfares) along with a large tree. When the center closed commemorative pens and items were made and sold with wood from this landmark tree.
The center was successful but its largest tenant, United Supermarket, needed a much larger and modern store in this valuable location. Thus, the entire center was demolished and a new MarketStreet constructed (see http://www.unitedtexas.com/))
The huge Winchester marquee and name remain in Lubbock associated with entertainment. The Winchester room is a part of the Lone Star Events Center (anchored by a modern amphitheater) and the huge marquee is mounted on the facility located just East of Avenue A on East 19th Street in Lubbock.
As a kid I saw several movies on the giant screen before it was divided into a twin. However unlike most divided theaters, because it was so large to begin with (70mm) after the divide the screens were still huge by modern standards. The plush rocking chairs, aside from squeaking, and the sound system ensured that the Winchester was one of the best places to see a movie until it closed. I was fortunate to see the big theater re-release of Gone with the Wind there as well as many other great films of the 70’s, 80’s and 1990’s. The Noret family did a great job running this theater until the center sold.
View 1966 interior/exterior images by typing in word “winchester”, then search,
View link
There were 3 theaters in a row—the Chief, the Arcadia, and El Capitan. Around the corner on Broadway was the Plains Theater which billed itself as the biggest little theater in town! The Village, of course, was left off the list of Lubbock theaters and so was the Chaparral Twin which was in Town and Country shopping center near the miniature golf course.
The Palace became the Clifton in later years. The Midway lived several lives under names like the Centre Theater, the Gay 90s, El Tejas, and lastly the Varsity, which was kind of an arts theater that often showed films requested by Tech professors for their speech and drama classes. There may have been other names for this theater that I’ve forgotten. Interestingly, the Broadway became Skibells, an upscale clothing store that lasted for MANY years!
Any by the way, the Westerner drive-in became the Fine Arts which showed X-rated films!
Hello Gene'64. I am finding you comments on Lubbock’s theaters some of the most interesting and in depth I have read.
Do you have photos of any of the theaters?
Thanks!!
Don… (Lubbock is home but my wife and I live in Grapevine)
Hello again Gene ‘64. You have me wonderiing about my memories of the Town and Country shopping center. I recall it having been located at 4th & University. I also remember the Backstage theater which was near this shopping center, but the only miniature golf course I recall was the Twin Lakes which was at that time in far west Lubbock.
Could the Backstage and the Chapparal have ever been one and the same?
Yes. I think that the Backstage became the Chapparal, and I had completely forgotten that. The “twin” theaters were really tiny.
The miniature golf course was nestled behind the shopping center, west of College Avenue. I don’t know when it closed, but I used to play the course in the 1970s. There were two larger courses in southwest Lubbock, but I can’t remember the names of both. One was the Putt Putt which is still on 29th Drive and the former Brownfield highway (now Marsha Sharp Freeway). The other one was a double course, and I just don’t remember the address. It was very popular. In the 1980s there was another small course south of Briarcroft Savings and Loan on Avenue Q south of 50th Street. I can’t remember the name of it, either, but it was a fun course.
Don & Gene:
For vintage photos of just about every theatre that ever existed in Lubbock, TX, go to the link on Seymour’s 08/28/07 post and type in word ‘theatre’. You’ll see some really nice shots.
Very nice looking Theatre the kind we really miss and will never see again.