Inwood Theatre

The Inwood opened on May 16, 1947 with Red Skelton’s “The Show Off”, and was an immediate success, the most modern and well-appointed theater in Dallas at the time.

It cost its original owners, the Interstate Amusement Company over $200,000 to build, and featured an opulent Art Moderne decor, including stenciled glass panels with carvings of realistic fish and marine life which were backlit by neon. Also, terrazzo marble and stainless steel decorated the lobby. The mezzanine level featured a vast mural of nude water nymphs. There was originally even a shell-shaped payphone in the lobby.

After declining in the 1960’s and 1970’s, the Inwood Theatre suffered a devastating fire in 1980. Though heavily damaged, the theater reopened a year later as a twin, and the following year, a third auditorium was created from the old balcony area. In 1983, the Inwood Lounge, in the lobby of the theater, opened, and was soon one of Dallas' most popular gathering places and filled before and after screenings.

The Landmark chain purchased the Inwood Theatre in 1984 and it went from first-run features to art and foreign films. Landmark spent over $50,000 restoring the theater to its late-1940’s appearance, including restoring the theater’s murals and adding a new lighting layout to highlight both the murals and the lobby’s etched glass.

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