Dollhouse Cinema
Town Square,
Altus,
OK
73521
Town Square,
Altus,
OK
73521
1 person
favorited this theater
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Overview above list the Wigwam opening as 1920, but the 1914 Altus High School Yearbook ran an ad for the Wigwam, child admission was 5c, adult 10c. An Empire Photoplay Theatre, managed by S.H. Jones, also ran an ad in the same yearbook
Empty space pictured above was the STATE THEATER, North side of city square. It burned down. The PLAZA is on the West side, The DELTA was on the South side and the RITZ was on the East. The ALTUS DRIVE-IN was just East of the city. i grew up there and worked at the PLAZA and the STATE during the 50s.
All I know is what Joe Vogel wrote last month about the Delta Theatre. He says that the Delta burned down in 1954, and was never rebuilt.
BFD, I wasn’t referring to a mistake, I was simply asking was the Dollhouse the former RKO Delta or was it the former Paramount. Roadside Oklahoma says it was the Delta, you said it was the Delta and then say it was the former Paramount. Would just like to clarify which was which so that the header can reflect the correct information.
Oh my God, I made a mistake four years ago … BFD!
Ray, on your August 13, 2007 post you state that the former RKO Delta Theatre was the Dollhouse, now you are saying that the former Paramount aka Wigwasm was the Dollhouse. The Roadside Oklahoma says that the Delta became the Dollhouse. Which is correct?
Go to link below and type in “altus paramount”. Compare the two buildings on either side of the Paramount Theatre photo, then you will see that the vacant lot seen above is the exact location of the Dollhouse (AKA-Wigwam, Paramount) Cinema.
View link
There is a lot of contradictory information on this page. Cosmic Ray lists a link to the Delta Theatre on Roadside Oklahoma that states the Dollhouse opened as the Delta Theatre, in the header it says that this opened as the Wigwam and later the Paramount Theatre. Which is correct? Also the Roadside Oklahoma states the address was 107 N. Hudson which would make the Google link that Cosmic Ray the wrong location, which is correct? That space looks far to narrow to have been the site of a theatre when comparing photos of the Delta Theatre.
The recently demolished Dollhouse Cinema sat on the rightside of the five story structure on W. Commerce off Hudson.
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This link has clear vintage exterior/interior images of the RKO Delta -
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Research reveals that the Plaza and Dollhouse were not in the same location. The old Paramount was remodeled into the Dollhouse Cinema around 1970.
This theatre should be combined with the Plaza Theatre. They they same theatre.
/theaters/20856/
This was an adult cinema, wasn’t it?
Recently I crossed paths with an Altus citizen who said that locals always called this the Dollhouse, but actual formal name was Penthouse Cinema.
A theatre named Delta in a desert town? Go figure.
On below site can be seen a 1939 photo of the Dollhouse when it was still the Art Deco styled RKO Delta Theatre. In search field type in word “delta”, then hit enter.
View link
The theater at 107 N. Hudson has a marquee that reads “Plaza.” If memory serves, the structure at Commerce and Grady looked more like a civic center than a cinema.
Correct address for the Dollhouse Cinema is 107 N. Hudson, Altus, OK.
Also on Google Maps there is a large theatre visible on the corner of Commerce and Grady. Anyone know anything about it?
From the satellite view provided by Google maps the Dollhouse Cinema can clearly be seen on the Eastside of the town square, on S. Hudson just North of W. Broadway. Apparently the marquee is still in place, and the stagehouse is clearly visible.
From the early 1920’s thru the mid-1950’s Altus had four movie houses, one on each side of the town square. In 1970 one of these theatres was converted into the Dollhouse Cinema, but I don’t know the original name.