Almeda Theatre
5614 Almeda Boulevard,
Houston,
TX
77004
5614 Almeda Boulevard,
Houston,
TX
77004
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JackCoursey
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Google maps this address as Almeda Road. Photos of the Almeda Theater can be seen here.
This theatre has long been gone. It became a Fred Astaire Dance Studio in the middle 1950’s. But I remember it as a theatre when I was a young boy in the 1940’s. I think the first film I remember was MY PAL TRIGGER in 46'. I was 6 years old. My mother & father loved to go to the movies in those days before television and many times would take my brother & I along. We all liked westerns and comedies. And the place was always busy. We loved THE PALEFACE in 48'. The theatre was part of the Interstate Circuit Inc out of Dallas. Every Saturday morning, my brother & I would go to the kids show and it was always full of kids. Great times.
1983 Photo
The Almeda opened on August 9, 1940. The premier feature was “Road to Singapore” with Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour. The Cliff Drescher Cowboy Band was slated to play in front of the theater. The Almeda’s first manager was Tom A. Howell.
The Almeda should be updated to “demolished”. A dialysis center, a check cashing service, a thrift shop, and an abandoned service station occupy the 5600 block of Almeda Road. The architectural firm for the Almeda was the Houston firm of MacKie and Kamrath.
Closed in 1956 with seating listed at 918.
The first 10 years of my life, 1939 to 49', I lived in the Almeda area of Houston, TX. and went to the above mentioned theater many times. Once and a while we would also frequent the Delman on Main Street. But there was a third theater in that same area that my brother & I would ride our bikes to. We liked going there because it specialized in films geared to kids. You know, the B westerns, Kids dog pictures, Tarzan and Bomba etc. It always played double features so we could spend the entire afternoon there. I remember it changed programs 3 or 4 times a week. I think it closed in the early 1950’s. It wasn’t the Holman. Can anyone remember?
Here’s a 1957 trade ad for the conversion into a Fred Astaire Dance Studio. I wonder how many other theatres decided to convert? boxoffice
Described in this 1940 trade article: Boxoffice
The entry for architect Raymond F. Smith in the 1970 edition of the AIA’s American Architects Directory lists the Almeda Theatre in Houston as one of his works, dated 1939.