Tower Theatre

3201 E. Belknap Street,
Fort Worth, TX 76111

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Interstate Theatres Inc. & Texas Consolidated Theaters Inc., Paramount Pictures Inc.

Nearby Theaters

The Tower Theater 1942

The Tower Theatre opened February 20, 1942 with Bing Crosby in “Birth of the Blues”. It was operated by Interstate Theatres. It was later operated by Paramount Pictures Inc, thru their subsidiary Hoblitzelle & O'Donnell.

It was closed on January 1, 1967 with Dean Martin in “Texas Across the River”. It was demolished in 1972.

Contributed by Billy Smith / Billy Holcomb / Don Lewis, Ken Roe

Recent comments (view all 8 comments)

jamestv
jamestv on June 7, 2010 at 7:24 pm

I practically lived in this theatre in the early ‘60’s. But with more theatres being built in the suburbs where the audiences were, the Tower’s days were numbered. It was torn down in the late '60’s to make way for a new 7-11. It was directly on the corner of Belknap and Riverside—and was generally booked day-and-date with the Gateway.

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on April 26, 2014 at 12:25 pm

The March 13, 1942, issue of The Film Daily had an item about the Tower Theatre:

“$80,000 Tower Theater Ends Ft. Worth Building

“Ft. Worth — The last new theater locally, probably for the duration, has opened. It is the Tower Theater in Riverside addition, completed at a cost of $80,000, a joint enterprise of Interstate Circuit, Inc., and James F. Hightower and son, Dennis.

“The modernistic buff structure with 800 seats represents the latest in design. Representative of Texas and the Southwest are the decorative cactus murals in the lobby.”

ElleGee
ElleGee on September 8, 2014 at 9:30 pm

In the mid 1960’s my older sister and brother tried to convince me to lick a 9 volt battery and when they finally did, I screamed like a banshee and my dad made my siblings, as punishment, take me to the Sat. pm matinee' of the movie Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster at the Tower. It was my first movie theatre experience. They had to spend all of both of their allowances on me that day. I was probably 4 or 5. We lived within walking distance so I remember the walk, the tall walls and carpeted floors, smell of the popcorn, and Godzilla fighting with Ghidorah and throwing him off the cliff. There was a great place to eat across the street called The Griddle System. When they tore the Tower down they put a 7-11 and a Jack in the Box in its place.

jamestv
jamestv on September 8, 2014 at 10:33 pm

ElleGee, the Jack in the Box was up before the theatre was torn down. Ghidorah came out in 1965 but my first Godzilla movie was King Kong Vs. Godzilla at the Tower in 1962. We lived in Hurst but the closest theatres before the mid-‘60’s were the Tower and the Haltom. Aahhh the memories!

ElleGee
ElleGee on September 10, 2014 at 8:46 pm

Jtv: You know, as soon as I read that I remembered. There was that old fashioned Jack in the Box head at the order box. In my minds eye it was life-size. I used to love the strange little tacos they sold; I tried some recently in Tulsa, OK and they are close, but no cigar. Nostalgia just can’t be relived.

rivest266
rivest266 on June 23, 2018 at 6:44 pm

This opened on February 20th, 1942. Grand opening ad in the photo section.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters on February 28, 2021 at 7:38 pm

The Tower Theatre closed at the end of a 25-year lease on January 1, 1967 with Dean Martin in “Texas Across the River.” The Interstate Circuit said it would put its efforts toward the Wedgwood Theatre would launch that same year.

dannyh
dannyh on August 30, 2023 at 9:12 am

Demolished in 1972. 2 photos available of the demolition in the UTA Special Collections Digital Collection.

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