Metropolitan Theatre
1018 Main Street,
Houston,
TX
77002
1018 Main Street,
Houston,
TX
77002
7 people
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Showing 26 - 30 of 30 comments
Couldn’t agree with you more, Roger. Houston is one of those cities that has never been preservation minded. Do they even have preservation laws? I’ve already joined the fight to save not only the River Oaks, but the Alabama, Tower, Garden Oaks, and any other art deco theater that’s still standing.
Well, Ennis—we’ve awakened from our slumber. We’re rallying behind efforts to save the River Oaks Theatre AND the art deco shopping center. Weingarten’s Realty is rumored to be considering demolishing the theatre to build a highrise—using the theatre’s facade.
We need to draft stronger preservation laws in Houston. They suck here!
There are marquee and interior shots here
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When I was a small boy I saw the 10 Commandments there. Having only gone to either drive-ins or neighborhood theatres, I was stunned by its size and architecture.
Being a little guy, I foolishly thought the Egyptian motiff decor was done just for the movie. I also remember hearing a elderly gent saying that he had been at the Metropolitan for the original version of the 10 Commandments.
Some years later, I saw “House on Haunted Hill” there with Wm. Castle’s gimmick called “Emergo”.
What a waste. I can’t tell you how many times, as a boy, I saw movies at the Metropolitan and Loew’s State. Both were beautiful and well maintained. I saw THE ROBE in Cinemascope at the Metro in 53 or 54. I can’t recall the date. What a presentation. It also ran most of the early Fox Cinemascope pictures. (HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE, BENEATH THE 12-MILE REEF, KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES, PRINCE VALIANT, RIVER OF NO RETURN, NIGHT PEOPLE, HELL AND HIGH WATER etc.) They used many a false front at the Metroploitan. I remember THE EGYPTIAN and how they decorated the entire front of the theater and boxoffice. I’m sure Fox paid for it. It’s sad that this beautiful theater didn’t even last 50 years and the people of Houston even didn’t care enough to save their movie history. They can save an old 1900 house that someone lived in 100 years ago, but NOT the movie palaces that played GONE WITH THE WIND and CASABLANCA. What’s wrong with this picture.