River Oaks Theater
2009 W. Gray Street,
Houston,
TX
77019
2009 W. Gray Street,
Houston,
TX
77019
9 people
favorited this theater
The last of the deluxe neighborhood theaters built by Interstate Theatre Corp.
The theater opened in November 1939 with Ginger Rogers in “Batchelor Mother” and was one of a number of deluxe neighborhood theaters built and operated by Inerstate.
The building has an excellent location in the upscale River Oaks shopping center. Landmark has done a good job maintining the property and the River Oaks still shines today.
I just wish they had not triplexed the building. But, at least she’s still open and going strong as one of Houston’s last true movie palaces.
Contributed by
Stan Gilmore
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 53 comments)
I worked here back in my early twenties. there were all sorts of stories about a guy who died behind the screen in this theater…and some of the folks around there said he still haunted the theater. funny thing is that to turn off the lights in the main theater auditorium, you had to go behind the stage…which then meant that, to exit the auditorium, you had to walk the entire length of the auditorium, from front to the entry doors in the back…and you had to do this in pitch black darkness. I cannot count the amount of people i terrified during this evening ritual. It was delicious…
I still remember one of the assistant managers named Joel…a really good guy. He ordered some films for a staff party…and he actually ordered THE THIRD MAN for me, because he’d heard me weeks before talking about how i wished i could see that film on the big screen in THAT theater. Good memories…
1981 Photo
1983 Photo
1984 Photo
Here is a 2009 night photo.
This is a nice 2009 photo.
The River Oaks was designed by the Dallas firm of Pettigrew & Worley, according to an article by Helen Kent in the April 27, 1940, issue of Boxoffice Magazine. There were photos of both the River Oaks and the Alabama Theatre, designed by the same firm and built about the same time. Both were Interstate circuit houses.
H.F. Pettigrew and John A. Worley specialized in designing theaters, and were members of the Advisory Board of Boxoffice Magazine’s Modern Theatre Planning Institute. In addition to the Alabama, other Houston theaters designed by Pettigrew & Worley include the Broadway, Fulton, Garden Oaks, and Santa Rosa. They designed theaters all over the region during this period, primarily for the Interstate circuit.
November 28, 1939 was opening day for the River Oaks. Hugh Potter, mentioned above, was the master of ceremonies for the grand opening. The River Oaks’ color scheme was maroon and cream, according to that day’s news reports.
This page still needs an update for the architects.
Joe, that’s a great find, thanks. I’ve brought it to the attention of the webmasters, who will likely add it soon. They do not read every post, so please feel free to use the “Contact Us” function to alert them of such important changes in the future.
Nice photos of a nice theatre, Lost Memory. Thanks.
I’m glad the River Oaks is still around. I saw a number of movies there when I was in high school, although I don’t think I had much of an appreciation then for its history. I think it’s been maintained well, and has a lot of charm. The converted balcony screening rooms are fairly small and not laid out that well, but the main auditorium is great- nice details with oak-shaped wall lights and deco figures flanking the screen. A recent weekday matinee was pretty well-attended, so hopefully it’ll resist the development pressures!