GREAT NEWS! I found this photo in the Southwest Collection. It IS in Lubbock and in 1948 shows to be the “Clifton Theatre”. Different traffic lights, etc. but it is the building shown in the Palace photo.
You’ll find MANY of the Lubbock theaters here: View link
enter “theatre” in the description box and then search
The Clifton shows up on the 2nd page I think. ENJOY!!!
This theater sat directly across from the Lubbock County courthouse. It is on an alley way that still exists. The building which sits there now very likely could be the same same structure with complete re-skinning. It’s a group of law offices now.
The opposite end of the alley would have found the back of the very large Lindsey Theater which has now been demolished.
I’ve looked at this and other photos. I’m almost certain this building did not exist in Lubbock. There are many reasons why. What I noticed though was that these photos and some of other theaters may have been taken to document an advertising campaign. I noticed several have the same message up about winning a $600 bank account. As a marketing guy I find that bit very interesting. $600 was a LOT of money at that time, I wonder what one had to do to win. It seems too high to have a guaranteed winner each night.
I don’t think this is in Lubbock. It could be but the building seems wrong. There is no structure like this left. There were very few 3 story buidlings in downtown Lubbock, most are two story.
Certainly. I finally did see all of Ghandi with Ben Kingsley years later. I swear I went to the Capada to see it but something caused the windows to fog up!
Here are some interesting postings from the Plainview Daily Herald newspaper’s “back in time” column:
Nov. 13, 1935: The Lions Club will stage a men´s burlesque show and a bathing beauty show Dec. 3-4 at the Granada.
May 17, 1936: High school commencement for 130 seniors will be Thursday morning at the Granada Theater.
Aug. 29, 1935: The Lions Minstrel Show is scheduled for Oct. 16 at The Granada Theater with Dr. C.M. Clough as manager.
Van Johnson and Esther Williams are starring in “Thrill of a Romance†at the Granada while Gregory Peck is starring in “The Keys of the Kingdom†at the Fair.
Johnny Weissmueller is starring in “Tarzan and the Amazons†at the Granada and Johnny Mack Brown is starring in “Gun Smoke†at the Fair.
Sept. 4, 1955: Bob Hope is starring in the “Seven Little Foys†at the Granada Theater.
The atmospherics were great. Even the rest rooms were fancy. Atmosphere destroyed mostly when it was split into a twin. I saw the original release of Star Wars there. Say Tron as well. It was ugly after the split.
This is from the story referenced in the post above:
The Granada was different. Nowadays I’d call it a movie palace; back then, I just knew it was a vast and wonderful place where yelling was unthinkable. A ceiling studded with dim stars was suspended over walls that simulated a castle, with Spanish shawls draped over fake balconies and dripping fountains set into niches. (We learned to avoid those fountains. If we sat too near them, the sound of the water sent us on frequent trips to the restroom.) At the center of it all was a screen of truly monumental dimensions, thundering with the exploits of pirates, knights, Walt Disney characters, and atomic-mutant monsters on a rampage.
I distinctly remember more than one afternoon when I thought, sitting there in the plushly upholstered splendor of the Granada, “I wish the whole world was like this.†A decade later, Donna Reed brought that sentiment into our living rooms. She created, inhabited and exemplified a world in which parents were strong and loving and relatively affluent, adolescents were polite and well-adjusted, problems were relatively minor and endings were always happy. Watching, we knew it was ludicrously unreal, but we couldn’t help wishing the whole world could be like that.
Loved the Capada. It was still showing first-run movies in the early 1980’s. Was full on the weekends. Owners were ready to retire/move and no one would buy it. Too bad. For a while it was the only drive-in open in the region excepting the one in Lamesa. I saw many, many movies there on many, many dates (well, I saw parts of many movies!)
A home was built into the theater portion of the building with garage and entrance on the back side. Two front areas were left for retail and have had numerous stores in them. An attorney now offices there I believe.
In 2002 a mail-order Texas products company then based in Floydada utilized the former theater lobby as a holiday outlet store. The firm sold to a company located in East Texas. We had a great time decorating the store and I put the marquee in a television commercial. We had to clean and paint the old letters and repair some of the milkglass.
Here are photos (note the ticket booth was indoors and the arch to the right was the entrance to the theater and concession area.
Many Lubbock theaters shown. El Capitan; Plaza; Clifton; Lindsey; Cactus; Westerner Drive-In; Corral; Broadway; Midway; Plains Drive-In; Arnett-Benson; Arcadia.
View link
From the drop-down box choose: Buildings-Commercial-Movie Theaters
Search theatre and drive-in and there are other arial shots of other drive-ins, etc.
ENJOY!
Many Lubbock theaters shown. El Capitan; Plaza; Clifton; Lindsey; Cactus; Westerner Drive-In; Corral; Broadway; Midway; Plains Drive-In; Arnett-Benson; Arcadia.
View link
From the drop-down box choose: Buildings-Commercial-Movie Theaters
Search theatre and drive-in and there are other arial shots of other drive-ins, etc.
ENJOY!
Many Lubbock theaters shown. El Capitan; Plaza; Clifton; Lindsey; Cactus; Westerner Drive-In; Corral; Broadway; Midway; Plains Drive-In; Arnett-Benson; Arcadia.
View link
From the drop-down box choose: Buildings-Commercial-Movie Theaters
Search theatre and drive-in and there are other arial shots of other drive-ins, etc.
ENJOY!
Many Lubbock theaters shown. El Capitan; Plaza; Clifton; Lindsey; Cactus; Westerner Drive-In; Corral; Broadway; Midway; Plains Drive-In; Arnett-Benson; Arcadia.
View link
From the drop-down box choose: Buildings-Commercial-Movie Theaters
Search theatre and drive-in and there are other arial shots of other drive-ins, etc.
ENJOY!
Many Lubbock theaters shown. El Capitan; Plaza; Clifton; Lindsey; Cactus; Westerner Drive-In; Corral; Broadway; Midway; Plains Drive-In; Arnett-Benson; Arcadia.
View link
From the drop-down box choose: Buildings-Commercial-Movie Theaters
Search theatre and drive-in and there are other arial shots of other drive-ins, etc.
ENJOY!
Many Lubbock theaters shown. El Capitan; Plaza; Clifton; Lindsey; Cactus; Westerner Drive-In; Corral; Broadway; Midway; Plains Drive-In; Arnett-Benson; Arcadia.
View link
From the drop-down box choose: Buildings-Commercial-Movie Theaters
Search theatre and drive-in and there are other arial shots of other drive-ins, etc.
ENJOY!
GREAT NEWS! I found this photo in the Southwest Collection. It IS in Lubbock and in 1948 shows to be the “Clifton Theatre”. Different traffic lights, etc. but it is the building shown in the Palace photo.
You’ll find MANY of the Lubbock theaters here:
View link
enter “theatre” in the description box and then search
The Clifton shows up on the 2nd page I think. ENJOY!!!
This theater sat directly across from the Lubbock County courthouse. It is on an alley way that still exists. The building which sits there now very likely could be the same same structure with complete re-skinning. It’s a group of law offices now.
The opposite end of the alley would have found the back of the very large Lindsey Theater which has now been demolished.
I’ve looked at this and other photos. I’m almost certain this building did not exist in Lubbock. There are many reasons why. What I noticed though was that these photos and some of other theaters may have been taken to document an advertising campaign. I noticed several have the same message up about winning a $600 bank account. As a marketing guy I find that bit very interesting. $600 was a LOT of money at that time, I wonder what one had to do to win. It seems too high to have a guaranteed winner each night.
I don’t think this is in Lubbock. It could be but the building seems wrong. There is no structure like this left. There were very few 3 story buidlings in downtown Lubbock, most are two story.
A new story on the Granada in the Plainview Daily Herald:
“Granada once was grand showplace 01-08-2007”
View link
So much for eternal vigilance.
Certainly. I finally did see all of Ghandi with Ben Kingsley years later. I swear I went to the Capada to see it but something caused the windows to fog up!
Too bad. That’s the only pic I found.
Have enjoyed watching Cowboys football on the big screen while having lunch. A fun way to see a game.
Here are some interesting postings from the Plainview Daily Herald newspaper’s “back in time” column:
Nov. 13, 1935: The Lions Club will stage a men´s burlesque show and a bathing beauty show Dec. 3-4 at the Granada.
May 17, 1936: High school commencement for 130 seniors will be Thursday morning at the Granada Theater.
Aug. 29, 1935: The Lions Minstrel Show is scheduled for Oct. 16 at The Granada Theater with Dr. C.M. Clough as manager.
Van Johnson and Esther Williams are starring in “Thrill of a Romance†at the Granada while Gregory Peck is starring in “The Keys of the Kingdom†at the Fair.
Johnny Weissmueller is starring in “Tarzan and the Amazons†at the Granada and Johnny Mack Brown is starring in “Gun Smoke†at the Fair.
Sept. 4, 1955: Bob Hope is starring in the “Seven Little Foys†at the Granada Theater.
The atmospherics were great. Even the rest rooms were fancy. Atmosphere destroyed mostly when it was split into a twin. I saw the original release of Star Wars there. Say Tron as well. It was ugly after the split.
This is from the story referenced in the post above:
The Granada was different. Nowadays I’d call it a movie palace; back then, I just knew it was a vast and wonderful place where yelling was unthinkable. A ceiling studded with dim stars was suspended over walls that simulated a castle, with Spanish shawls draped over fake balconies and dripping fountains set into niches. (We learned to avoid those fountains. If we sat too near them, the sound of the water sent us on frequent trips to the restroom.) At the center of it all was a screen of truly monumental dimensions, thundering with the exploits of pirates, knights, Walt Disney characters, and atomic-mutant monsters on a rampage.
I distinctly remember more than one afternoon when I thought, sitting there in the plushly upholstered splendor of the Granada, “I wish the whole world was like this.†A decade later, Donna Reed brought that sentiment into our living rooms. She created, inhabited and exemplified a world in which parents were strong and loving and relatively affluent, adolescents were polite and well-adjusted, problems were relatively minor and endings were always happy. Watching, we knew it was ludicrously unreal, but we couldn’t help wishing the whole world could be like that.
Story on the Fair & Granada theaters in Plainview:
View link
Story on the Fair and Granada theaters in Plainview:
View link
The Fair is now open for live theater and concerts.
Here is the website:
View link
Loved the Capada. It was still showing first-run movies in the early 1980’s. Was full on the weekends. Owners were ready to retire/move and no one would buy it. Too bad. For a while it was the only drive-in open in the region excepting the one in Lamesa. I saw many, many movies there on many, many dates (well, I saw parts of many movies!)
A home was built into the theater portion of the building with garage and entrance on the back side. Two front areas were left for retail and have had numerous stores in them. An attorney now offices there I believe.
In 2002 a mail-order Texas products company then based in Floydada utilized the former theater lobby as a holiday outlet store. The firm sold to a company located in East Texas. We had a great time decorating the store and I put the marquee in a television commercial. We had to clean and paint the old letters and repair some of the milkglass.
Here are photos (note the ticket booth was indoors and the arch to the right was the entrance to the theater and concession area.
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
View link
They were open Summer of 2006.
Still a batting cage. Dj’s Sports.
PHOTO:
Here is a photo of an old post card I say on eBay. It has the theater.
View link
That is the old Hilton in the background at Main & Texas. Torn down a long, long time ago.