Iris Theatre

hello…I purchased a building that once was the IRIS movie theatre many years ago..I have converted it into a banquet hall. but I want to put back some of the old movie theatre look. There are no pictures of the interior of my IRIS. So if anyone has any old pictures of their IRIS theatre please send me a copy. What I want to do is perhaps take some of each of the pictures of the IRIS and reconstruct the look of the old time theatre. I even want to put back a front markee of the IRIS…Thanks for any help…Joe Hig

To expand briefly on the comments made back in 2004 by Bryan Krefft and Jim Rankin in response to the question by DavidH about the early popularity of the name Iris for movie theatres; The name was an apt appellation for movie theatres because the movie camera itself has an iris, so called after the iris of the eye. The camera iris was an intricate technological wonder of the age, and probably impressed people of the time as much as our various electronic gadgets impress us now.

Both the iris of the eye and the iris flower had, because of their varied colors (and, in the case of the eye, because it conveyed information, i.e. messages), received the name of the ancient Greek Goddess Iris who, as Bryan pointed out, was the Goddess of the colorful rainbow, as well as a messenger of Olympus.

A 1980s photo of the Iris Theater when it was still open as a movie theater. It still had a marquee and “Friday the 13th” was showing.

This theater was featured in a 1953 theater owners' documentary about the financial devastation wrought by the 20% federal tax, plus other encroachments on the box office, such as television.

The doc is called “The Case Against the 20% Federal Admission Tax on Motion Picture Theaters” and is a treasure trove of theaters operating but in imminent trouble, including long looks at their still-open theaters, marquees, etc., and interviews with the owners.

There are also plenty of shots of already-closed theaters; the writing was really on the wall already.

TCM ran this movie on 11/1/09 at about 6am and I stumbled upon it by accident; I don’t know when it will screen again but it is well worth seeking out.

My husband and I currently own this wonderful old building. We do have Books and Crannies in the front part which is a used bookstore. In the back, we have a small black box theatre with a movie screen where we show classic movies two nights a month. Admission is free – it is a fun night. The Vagabond Players are a local theatrical troupe who produce and perform live theatre on our stage 3-4 times per year. We have had the marquee sign rewired and it again lights up the night. And a recent addition is murals of old movie posters on the back of the building. We love this old building and are happy to be her caretakers. As for her name – when the building was about to be opened in 1925, the owners ran a contest to choose her name. A local lady suggested “The Iris” because she loved the Irises that bloomed in her yard. If you are in Terrell, please feel free to stop in!