25th Street Theatre

kelly, you said you had pics of people from the club. do you happen to have any of me, or of richard – michael – keith – christopher – thurman – matt – horry – etc.?

Edward, the pictures I have include people that used to go to the club. Were you considered a regular at 25th St?

Hi Jake! I have some old pictures of 25th St but none show any of the architecture inside. I’ll be e-mailing them to you shortly. If you or Rob-Bob have a picture of the 25th St marque you should really post it on this website. It looks so bare without it.

girl, michael just hasn’t consumed enough ecstasy during his lifetime and is in a bad mood. apparently, he just was not part of the “in-crowd” and is a little horsey-torsey! oh, mr. ed! a note to michael: you should do a little history project and determine the value that this theatre has provided to the city of waco. i am sure you would have the same tired attitude had you seen the mighty hippodrome before it was brought back to her glory. now, go take some ecstasy, and call somebody who cares in the morning!

Yes I do remember you.
I think it can be saved……I have the city inspectors reports and to me it seems like that its able to be better than before. Most of the violations were electrical, and a small part of the roof has caved in over one of the rooms next to the projection room, air conditioning system is shot, rats and roaches everywhere, and the carpet and mural have severe water damage and are moldy, also the windows in the box office and front doors are gone and have been boarded up.
Have your mom email me at
thanks for replying

He owns the property on the southside of the Theatre, that housed the Mikes Print Shop & 25th St. Beauty Salon, and also the parking area behind the theatre, but from what I read, the records didnt state the property on the north was owned by him.

The 25th Street Theatre in Waco, Texas, was built around 1946 by Interstate Theatres, a chain with headquarters in Dallas. I don’t know the name of the architect, but whoever he was he designed a number of houses for the chain, including the Inwood, Wilshire, Esquire, Forest, and Circle in Dallas, Texas which were built at about the same period as the 25th Street Theatre. In fact, the Wilshire and Circle were built on the same blueprint design as the 25th Street Theatre, except the Wilshire and Circle had balconys. The Arcadia is an old house, built in 1926, (not by Interstate), for vaudeville and silent pictures. It had a theater organ and the loft that held the pipes on each side of the proscenium can still be seen, although empty. The organ was donated by the owner to Baylor University in 1935. It was modified and installed in Waco Hall on the Baylor campus. Little Richard and I used to sneak in and play it. The Arcadia was leased and operated by Interstate in the ‘30s until they opened the Lakewood, when the operation of the Arcadia reverted back to it owner. The Wilshire continued to operate profitably until the value of its land became so high that it was steel balled and a shopping center was built on the site. This happened about 1978. It was a luxury house with an animated neon facade that has never been duplicated that I know of. I wish I had a picture of it. After the money grubbers got through destroying the beautiful things, the only theatres, mentioned above, left standing are the Inwood, (still a first run art house), the Circle, (a bingo parlor), and the Forest, (now a black theatre that operates off and on and is in a bad neighborhood).