Theaters

  • July 2, 2002
    Theaters

    Houston’s Delman Theater Demolished

    HOUSTON, TX — The Delman Theater was demolished last month along with an adjacent strip of retail space, according to the Houston Business Journal. The theater was not a locally or nationally registered landmark, but it had been on the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance’s “Endangered Buildings” list.

    After years as a movie house, the Delman Theater was converted for live performances, but finally closed in the mid-1990s. Tivoli Realty, which owned the building, believes the property will be worth more now without the decaying theater which had been damaged by two previous fires.

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  • July 1, 2002
    Theaters

    Bama Theatre Savior Dead At 65

    TUSCALOOSA, AL — Gail Skidmore, who helped turn a crumbling Bama Theatre in the 1970s into a popular arts center and community anchor, died on Friday at the age of 65.

    According to the Tuscaloosa News, when Skidmore took over as the Executive Director of the Arts Council of Tuscaloosa, “the [theater’s] roof was leaking, the boiler was blowing, and the seats and walls were peeling, [but] Skidmore looked up and saw blue skies.”

    Following its restoration and renovation into a live theater venue, the Bama was home to the Tuscaloosa Symphony, Theatre Tuscaloosa, and Tuscaloosa Children’s Theatre shows, amongst other events and performers. Skidmore retired in 1998 with much of the theater’s continued success attributed to her hard work.

    One year after she departed, Theatre Tuscaloosa built its own home in 1999 and the Bama returned to its roots showing film. Its Silver Screen Series continues today showing independent, foreign, and classic movies.

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