Palace Theatre opened in 1929. After its name change from the Palace to the Hico Theatre, it closed for the first time in 1967, then was re-opened. Primary sources show there was a motive for the closing which was beyond the owners expectations in the early 1970s.
Ranger newspaper accounts show the Columbia Movie Theatre was gutted by fire in 1948 when a boiler exploded. Bystanders seemed to think the explosion was from the Columbia Theatre. The Columbia Theatre had recently been purchased that year from Interstate Theaters. The Ranger Dry Cleaning Company was next door to the Theatre and had been active for a period of 10 years. The cafe and apartments next door were damaged heavily by smoke and water.
Herbert Rapp opened the Tower Theatre in the old Temple Theatre in May of 1945. The theatre began with Saturday and Sunday offerings of two big pictures. In June of 1948, considerable damage occurred to the booth in the Tower Theatre destroying the sound system and causing additional damage. In February 1957, the Tower Theatre closed. In February 15 1958, the old Southland Hotel and Tower Theatre were gutted by fire causing thousands of dollars in damage.
The Queen Theatre opened for business in the summer of 1919 by Mr. Slater located at 215 Pine Street in Ranger. News articles mention they were staffed with four girl ushers for each showing beginning at noon each day. In 1920, the Queen signed a contract with the Pantage’s Vaudeville Circuit, the first legitimate vaudeville circuit in Ranger. On September 15, 1920, Ranger has its second million dollar fire among the frame buildings on the south side of Pine Street from Rusk to Austin in one of the most dangerous parts of town. The Queen Theatre was a casualty of that fire and completely destroyed.
The Opera House in Ranger opened on September 5, 1919. It was located on Pine Street between Austin and Travis. It was billed as a high class motion picture theatre. In 1920, Ranger High school used the facility for their senior play. The Opera House was the leading show house at the time in town. The City of Ranger’s inauguration of their city council and Mayor were held in the building so everyone in town could see this historic opportunity. The Opera House advertised during the summer months on the first three days of the week was Vaudeville and then the last four days of the week, there would be musical comedy and special feature pictures. The wooden Opera House burned in December 1920.
The Majestic Theatre was sold to W.B. Palmer on April 23, 1923 and he renamed the theatre to the Liberty Theatre. W.B. Palmer purchased the Lamb Theatre at the same time. The Liberty Theatre hosted vaudeville acts, boxing matches, movies, and for a time the Central Baptist Church held their services there while their building was under construction.
The first Liberty Theatre opened its doors for business on September 6, 1919 located at 210 S. Rusk Street by the Palmer Brothers. The theatre was sold to Herschel Stewart of the Southern Enterprise Company in 1920. In November of 1921, the Liberty was was burned when fire broke out in the projection room with over $4,000 in damages. W.B. Palmer was the owner of the theatre and made arrangements with H.S. Cole, the owner of the Lamb theatre to use his theatre so the Liberty could continue to show films. M.H. Hagaman owned the building which housed the Liberty Theatre.
The Eastside Theatre in Ranger opened on December 21, 1919 with the movie, “The Peace of Roaring River”. The movie theatre was located on the Strawn Highway. The last movie was “The Speed of Maniac” starring Tom Mix.
Mr. A. Fred Chavey opened the Lamb Theatre in Ranger on January 26, 1920 at 312 Main Street. The Lamb Theatre was the biggest in capacity in Ranger with 920 seats, playing in high class picture program and singers when available. The building was spacious having a tailor shop and a dentist office on the building sides. In 1921, the Lamb closed for the summer due to the oppressive heat, hoping to open in the fall. J.L. Webb sold the Lamb Theatre to Raymond Teal in the summer of 1921, who in turn sold the theatre to H.S. Cole. When the Liberty Theatre burned in the fall of 1921, H.S. Cole leased the building to W.B. Palmer of the Liberty and the Lamb Theatre was used for all showings by the Liberty. By 1923, the Lamb Theatre was showing movies again after the Liberty had been rebuilt. The capacity of the Lamb was 500 seats. In 1925, W.B. Palmer was the owner of the Lamb and Liberty Theaters. In December of 1927, W.B. Palmer, the theatre owner of the Lamb, released plans to construct a new theatre called the Arcadia. The last showing for the Lamb Theatre was in December of 1927 when it was torn down to make room for the new $125,000 [$2.2 million in 2024] Arcadia theatre.
B.E. Garner announced that the Arcadia Theatre, destroyed by fire on Saturday afternoon, March 15, 1952 would be rebuilt as quickly as possible. Garner expressed appreciation to the Ranger Fire department upon viewing the extent of the damage. Fire departments from Eastland, Cisco, and Breckenridge responded to the fire call. Ranger Daily Times, March 18, 1952.
W.B. Palmer was the building engineer for the Arcadia Theatre. He also constructed the Ranger Post Office in the 1920s. The Arcadia Theatre was constructed where the Lamb Theatre was located, 512 Main Street. The Campbell Theatre Company were the contractors with Whitehall Construction Company breaking ground for the new theatre in January 1928. the Theatre was built at a cost of $125,000 and was the largest movie house between Fort Worth and El Paso.
The Hippodrome was first mentioned in the Ranger newspapers in 1919 located on 319 Main Street. J. L. Olive was the manager of the Hippodrome. By February of 1920, the Hippodrome Theatre was being remodeled and enlarged. Mr. Olive has decided to build an entirely new building later in the Spring. In September 1920, the building was the Hippodrome Roller Rink located in the old Hippodrome building. In July 1921, Charles F. Heffern donated a room in the old Hippodrome theatre for the use of the Red Cross. By 1923, one-half of the old Hippodrome theatre building was rented to A.F. Mims as a fruit stand.
The Sigal Theatre was built and opened in 1906 with Mike and Marie Sigal as the owners and operators. Mike Sigal ran the projector and his wife, Marie took tickets and sold concessions from her booth. After his wife’s death in 1936, the theatre was leased for a time. The old Sigal Theatre closed after the death of Mike Sigal in 1945. The building was abandoned and then purchased by new owners Ace Hickman, B.H. Freeland, and H.D. Driskell who had previously announced in 1947 the building would be remodeled and used as a theatre. Plans changed and the building was leased to the government for five years to be used as a Veterans Vocational School shop. The theatre never opened again.
The Haskell Free Press announced the opening of the newest and most modern Drive-in Theatres in this section, “The Sky-Vue”. located one mile west of Haskell on the Rule Highway. The Drive-in was built by the Childress Theatre Interests. There was space for 350 cars with a 42x49 foot screen. Opening night was April 21, 1950, with the movie “Story of Seabiscuit”. The Sky-Vue Theatre closed in the summer of 1956. The manager reminded everyone not to become addicted to their TV set, but to go out and see a movie once a week.
The Haskell Free Press shows that the first Texas Theatre was opened in 1923 by Ed Robertson on the south side of the square. By December 1924, H.M. McNeese was the new owner and he purchased a $3100 pipe organ for the theatre. On December 1926, all of Haskell was excited about the second Texas Theatre when the former building became inadequate and a new two-story brick show house was constructed. B.F. Trammell is the new owner. By July 1927, Victor Theatres bought the theatre in Haskell. The Haskell Free Press in 1933 shows that Harry Leon is the owner of the Texas Theatre. By 1949, the two-story brick building showed wear and underwent extensive remodeling and repairs. On December 18, 1952, the Texas theater was destroyed with a $70,000 loss. H.M. Smith of Haskell owned the building. On February 12, 1953, the Haskell Free Press mentions that a new $100,000 theatre building was to be built by Theatre Enterprises for the third Texas building in Haskell. The Haskell Free Press shows on December 7, 1978, the Texas Theatre is for sale with or without equipment.
According to Hubert Craddock in an interview in 1957, H.L. Capers, Frank Gray, and Hubert Craddock leased an existing theatre in 1934 and renamed the theatre, “The New Deal”. At that time, Franklin D. Roosevelt had just been elected and everyone was talking about “the New Deal”, so these three men decided to change the name of an existing theatre at this location to “The New Deal”. In 1937, Hubert Craddock says that H.L. Capers renamed the theatre for the last time “The King”.
According to the Friona Star newspaper, the Capitol Theatre was opened in May of 1932 on Main Street. The owner and operator of the theatre was O.G. Turner. On July 27, 1934, the Capitol Theatre at Friona caught fire and the building was a total loss. Insurance estimated that the building and equipment were valued at $30,000, but was only insured for $10,000. The theatre was never rebuilt.
The Friona Star shows that the Chief Drive-in opened on Tuesday, May 19, 1953, with the show, “Seminole” starring Barbara Hale and Rock Hudson. The owners and operators of the drive-in were Marvin and Mary Lawson. There were 400 adults present at the opening night along with a large number of young people. On March 21, 1957, Bill McGlothlin, owner of the Elk Drive-in, bought the Chief Drive-in from Mr. and Mrs. Lawson. Mr. McGlothlin said tentative plans were to open the Chief during the summer and fall months. Evidently, the Chief Drive-in did not re-open in 1957 and remained closed. The screen was destroyed in the tornado of 1960.
The Floyd County newspaper shows that the Palace Theatre was located on West California Street. They opened their doors for business in July 1929. J.G. Deakins was the manager.
The Floyd County newspaper shows that Claude Estes bought the Capada Drive-in Theatre on the Ralls Highway from Mr. and Mrs. Doyle Mount no October 31, 1963. The Capada will close every Tuesday night to give the employees a night off. In 1976, Claude Estes sold the Capada Drive-in Theatre to Larry Williams who operated the theatre until 1985.
The Floyd County newspaper shows that the Capada Drive-in was founded by Welton B. Winn and W.D. Mount with an investment of $50,000. Their first program was “Bird of Paradise”. The Drive-in opened on Tuesday night, October 3, 1951.
Floydada’s newest theatre, the Ritz, opened Friday, 25 June 1937. The new theatre had one of the best sound systems and air conditioning systems in Floyd County. The manager for the opening was Jack Deakins. The first movie shown in the new theatre was “The Devil is Driving”.
According to the Eldorado Success newspaper on July 3, 1997, The Ritz Theatre was originally known as the Cozy Theatre. The theatre changed its name to The Ritz Theatre in 1921. The Ritz had a major renovation in the 1950s during the Snyder oil boom. The front page of the Snyder newspaper on February 21, 1950, announced the reopening. At that time, Snyder had four downtown theatres and three drive-in theatres. The Ritz was the last theatre to remain open in Snyder and ceased operation in 1970. In 1991, the Ritz was donated to a locate theatre group. The building was set for demolition and was nothing but a vacant shell when work began on reconstruction. On June 27, 1992, the newly restored Ritz neon light was turned on for the first time since 1970. By 1997, the renovation had cost $250,000, all raised locally.
A page ad in the Eldorado Success on November 8, 1951, proclaimed November 10 as the opening date of the Eagle Drive-in Theatre, with “The Sword of Monte Cristo” as the first feature. The ad proclaimed “New Modern Concession Stand” as a feature. Southwest Texas Electric Co-Op welcomed the Theatre as a new member and B.L. Blakeway did the wiring. Mr. and Mrs. Edmiston purchased their equipment from Alex McKenzie. Mr. Edmiston was the projectionist and his wife ran the concession stand. The drive-in location on the ad shows the Menard Highway.
The Earth News-Sun on July 20, 1978, states that Ted Borum opened his drive-in theatre, the Sunset Drive-in in 1952. While it was under construction, it was the first one in the U.S. known to enable theatre goers to use the speaker in the rear seat of their car for betting toning quality.
Palace Theatre opened in 1929. After its name change from the Palace to the Hico Theatre, it closed for the first time in 1967, then was re-opened. Primary sources show there was a motive for the closing which was beyond the owners expectations in the early 1970s.
Ranger newspaper accounts show the Columbia Movie Theatre was gutted by fire in 1948 when a boiler exploded. Bystanders seemed to think the explosion was from the Columbia Theatre. The Columbia Theatre had recently been purchased that year from Interstate Theaters. The Ranger Dry Cleaning Company was next door to the Theatre and had been active for a period of 10 years. The cafe and apartments next door were damaged heavily by smoke and water.
Herbert Rapp opened the Tower Theatre in the old Temple Theatre in May of 1945. The theatre began with Saturday and Sunday offerings of two big pictures. In June of 1948, considerable damage occurred to the booth in the Tower Theatre destroying the sound system and causing additional damage. In February 1957, the Tower Theatre closed. In February 15 1958, the old Southland Hotel and Tower Theatre were gutted by fire causing thousands of dollars in damage.
The Queen Theatre opened for business in the summer of 1919 by Mr. Slater located at 215 Pine Street in Ranger. News articles mention they were staffed with four girl ushers for each showing beginning at noon each day. In 1920, the Queen signed a contract with the Pantage’s Vaudeville Circuit, the first legitimate vaudeville circuit in Ranger. On September 15, 1920, Ranger has its second million dollar fire among the frame buildings on the south side of Pine Street from Rusk to Austin in one of the most dangerous parts of town. The Queen Theatre was a casualty of that fire and completely destroyed.
The Opera House in Ranger opened on September 5, 1919. It was located on Pine Street between Austin and Travis. It was billed as a high class motion picture theatre. In 1920, Ranger High school used the facility for their senior play. The Opera House was the leading show house at the time in town. The City of Ranger’s inauguration of their city council and Mayor were held in the building so everyone in town could see this historic opportunity. The Opera House advertised during the summer months on the first three days of the week was Vaudeville and then the last four days of the week, there would be musical comedy and special feature pictures. The wooden Opera House burned in December 1920.
The Majestic Theatre was sold to W.B. Palmer on April 23, 1923 and he renamed the theatre to the Liberty Theatre. W.B. Palmer purchased the Lamb Theatre at the same time. The Liberty Theatre hosted vaudeville acts, boxing matches, movies, and for a time the Central Baptist Church held their services there while their building was under construction.
The first Liberty Theatre opened its doors for business on September 6, 1919 located at 210 S. Rusk Street by the Palmer Brothers. The theatre was sold to Herschel Stewart of the Southern Enterprise Company in 1920. In November of 1921, the Liberty was was burned when fire broke out in the projection room with over $4,000 in damages. W.B. Palmer was the owner of the theatre and made arrangements with H.S. Cole, the owner of the Lamb theatre to use his theatre so the Liberty could continue to show films. M.H. Hagaman owned the building which housed the Liberty Theatre.
The Eastside Theatre in Ranger opened on December 21, 1919 with the movie, “The Peace of Roaring River”. The movie theatre was located on the Strawn Highway. The last movie was “The Speed of Maniac” starring Tom Mix.
Mr. A. Fred Chavey opened the Lamb Theatre in Ranger on January 26, 1920 at 312 Main Street. The Lamb Theatre was the biggest in capacity in Ranger with 920 seats, playing in high class picture program and singers when available. The building was spacious having a tailor shop and a dentist office on the building sides. In 1921, the Lamb closed for the summer due to the oppressive heat, hoping to open in the fall. J.L. Webb sold the Lamb Theatre to Raymond Teal in the summer of 1921, who in turn sold the theatre to H.S. Cole. When the Liberty Theatre burned in the fall of 1921, H.S. Cole leased the building to W.B. Palmer of the Liberty and the Lamb Theatre was used for all showings by the Liberty. By 1923, the Lamb Theatre was showing movies again after the Liberty had been rebuilt. The capacity of the Lamb was 500 seats. In 1925, W.B. Palmer was the owner of the Lamb and Liberty Theaters. In December of 1927, W.B. Palmer, the theatre owner of the Lamb, released plans to construct a new theatre called the Arcadia. The last showing for the Lamb Theatre was in December of 1927 when it was torn down to make room for the new $125,000 [$2.2 million in 2024] Arcadia theatre.
B.E. Garner announced that the Arcadia Theatre, destroyed by fire on Saturday afternoon, March 15, 1952 would be rebuilt as quickly as possible. Garner expressed appreciation to the Ranger Fire department upon viewing the extent of the damage. Fire departments from Eastland, Cisco, and Breckenridge responded to the fire call. Ranger Daily Times, March 18, 1952.
W.B. Palmer was the building engineer for the Arcadia Theatre. He also constructed the Ranger Post Office in the 1920s. The Arcadia Theatre was constructed where the Lamb Theatre was located, 512 Main Street. The Campbell Theatre Company were the contractors with Whitehall Construction Company breaking ground for the new theatre in January 1928. the Theatre was built at a cost of $125,000 and was the largest movie house between Fort Worth and El Paso.
The Hippodrome was first mentioned in the Ranger newspapers in 1919 located on 319 Main Street. J. L. Olive was the manager of the Hippodrome. By February of 1920, the Hippodrome Theatre was being remodeled and enlarged. Mr. Olive has decided to build an entirely new building later in the Spring. In September 1920, the building was the Hippodrome Roller Rink located in the old Hippodrome building. In July 1921, Charles F. Heffern donated a room in the old Hippodrome theatre for the use of the Red Cross. By 1923, one-half of the old Hippodrome theatre building was rented to A.F. Mims as a fruit stand.
In March 2023, Dave and Pam Scott sold the National Theatre to Burkett Enterprises in Graham, Texas.
The Sigal Theatre was built and opened in 1906 with Mike and Marie Sigal as the owners and operators. Mike Sigal ran the projector and his wife, Marie took tickets and sold concessions from her booth. After his wife’s death in 1936, the theatre was leased for a time. The old Sigal Theatre closed after the death of Mike Sigal in 1945. The building was abandoned and then purchased by new owners Ace Hickman, B.H. Freeland, and H.D. Driskell who had previously announced in 1947 the building would be remodeled and used as a theatre. Plans changed and the building was leased to the government for five years to be used as a Veterans Vocational School shop. The theatre never opened again.
The Haskell Free Press announced the opening of the newest and most modern Drive-in Theatres in this section, “The Sky-Vue”. located one mile west of Haskell on the Rule Highway. The Drive-in was built by the Childress Theatre Interests. There was space for 350 cars with a 42x49 foot screen. Opening night was April 21, 1950, with the movie “Story of Seabiscuit”. The Sky-Vue Theatre closed in the summer of 1956. The manager reminded everyone not to become addicted to their TV set, but to go out and see a movie once a week.
The Haskell Free Press shows that the first Texas Theatre was opened in 1923 by Ed Robertson on the south side of the square. By December 1924, H.M. McNeese was the new owner and he purchased a $3100 pipe organ for the theatre. On December 1926, all of Haskell was excited about the second Texas Theatre when the former building became inadequate and a new two-story brick show house was constructed. B.F. Trammell is the new owner. By July 1927, Victor Theatres bought the theatre in Haskell. The Haskell Free Press in 1933 shows that Harry Leon is the owner of the Texas Theatre. By 1949, the two-story brick building showed wear and underwent extensive remodeling and repairs. On December 18, 1952, the Texas theater was destroyed with a $70,000 loss. H.M. Smith of Haskell owned the building. On February 12, 1953, the Haskell Free Press mentions that a new $100,000 theatre building was to be built by Theatre Enterprises for the third Texas building in Haskell. The Haskell Free Press shows on December 7, 1978, the Texas Theatre is for sale with or without equipment.
According to Hubert Craddock in an interview in 1957, H.L. Capers, Frank Gray, and Hubert Craddock leased an existing theatre in 1934 and renamed the theatre, “The New Deal”. At that time, Franklin D. Roosevelt had just been elected and everyone was talking about “the New Deal”, so these three men decided to change the name of an existing theatre at this location to “The New Deal”. In 1937, Hubert Craddock says that H.L. Capers renamed the theatre for the last time “The King”.
According to the Friona Star newspaper, the Capitol Theatre was opened in May of 1932 on Main Street. The owner and operator of the theatre was O.G. Turner. On July 27, 1934, the Capitol Theatre at Friona caught fire and the building was a total loss. Insurance estimated that the building and equipment were valued at $30,000, but was only insured for $10,000. The theatre was never rebuilt.
The Friona Star shows that the Chief Drive-in opened on Tuesday, May 19, 1953, with the show, “Seminole” starring Barbara Hale and Rock Hudson. The owners and operators of the drive-in were Marvin and Mary Lawson. There were 400 adults present at the opening night along with a large number of young people. On March 21, 1957, Bill McGlothlin, owner of the Elk Drive-in, bought the Chief Drive-in from Mr. and Mrs. Lawson. Mr. McGlothlin said tentative plans were to open the Chief during the summer and fall months. Evidently, the Chief Drive-in did not re-open in 1957 and remained closed. The screen was destroyed in the tornado of 1960.
The Floyd County newspaper shows that the Palace Theatre was located on West California Street. They opened their doors for business in July 1929. J.G. Deakins was the manager.
The Floyd County newspaper shows that Claude Estes bought the Capada Drive-in Theatre on the Ralls Highway from Mr. and Mrs. Doyle Mount no October 31, 1963. The Capada will close every Tuesday night to give the employees a night off. In 1976, Claude Estes sold the Capada Drive-in Theatre to Larry Williams who operated the theatre until 1985.
The Floyd County newspaper shows that the Capada Drive-in was founded by Welton B. Winn and W.D. Mount with an investment of $50,000. Their first program was “Bird of Paradise”. The Drive-in opened on Tuesday night, October 3, 1951.
Floydada’s newest theatre, the Ritz, opened Friday, 25 June 1937. The new theatre had one of the best sound systems and air conditioning systems in Floyd County. The manager for the opening was Jack Deakins. The first movie shown in the new theatre was “The Devil is Driving”.
According to the Eldorado Success newspaper on July 3, 1997, The Ritz Theatre was originally known as the Cozy Theatre. The theatre changed its name to The Ritz Theatre in 1921. The Ritz had a major renovation in the 1950s during the Snyder oil boom. The front page of the Snyder newspaper on February 21, 1950, announced the reopening. At that time, Snyder had four downtown theatres and three drive-in theatres. The Ritz was the last theatre to remain open in Snyder and ceased operation in 1970. In 1991, the Ritz was donated to a locate theatre group. The building was set for demolition and was nothing but a vacant shell when work began on reconstruction. On June 27, 1992, the newly restored Ritz neon light was turned on for the first time since 1970. By 1997, the renovation had cost $250,000, all raised locally.
A page ad in the Eldorado Success on November 8, 1951, proclaimed November 10 as the opening date of the Eagle Drive-in Theatre, with “The Sword of Monte Cristo” as the first feature. The ad proclaimed “New Modern Concession Stand” as a feature. Southwest Texas Electric Co-Op welcomed the Theatre as a new member and B.L. Blakeway did the wiring. Mr. and Mrs. Edmiston purchased their equipment from Alex McKenzie. Mr. Edmiston was the projectionist and his wife ran the concession stand. The drive-in location on the ad shows the Menard Highway.
The Earth News-Sun on July 20, 1978, states that Ted Borum opened his drive-in theatre, the Sunset Drive-in in 1952. While it was under construction, it was the first one in the U.S. known to enable theatre goers to use the speaker in the rear seat of their car for betting toning quality.