I will. I just got back from Virginia Beach and went through my brother’s pictures. I know I have seen one of him at the concession stand in the lobby. I’ll still dig and see if I can come across it.
I thought I had pictures of the inside but am unable to locate any. I do know that Roy Starling, my grandfather, sold the Wings and Texan Theaters in Grand Prairie to buy the White Theater. He and my grandmother lived in Dallas and commuted to Ft Worth to run the theater. We lived on Orange St close to George C Clark Elementary school and my father ran the projection room. My brother closed the door of the ticket booth on my finger and cut the end of my finger off. My grandmother died in Jan 1962 so the theater was sold shortly before that and became the Berry Theater.
I don’t know the exact date but Pleasant Grove was a city in itself and annexed on to Dallas. They had their own school district, was an entity in itself. As Dallas grew, small towns annexed on and streets had to be renamed. At the time that my grandfather built the Grove Theater it was Pleasant Grove, TX. So you are right, but it later became Dallas, TX.
Thanks for the pictures Don. I really appreciate them. My grandparents, Roy and Lucille Starling, owned the theater when it was the White Theater. My grandfather died in Jan 1958 and my grandmother ran the theater with the help of my parents until she was too ill with breast cancer. She sold the theater in 1960-61 and that is when it became the Berry Theater. I believe at that time it became a Spanish speaking theater but I was only 7 yrs old so I am not completely sure of that. And it was white in color but the curtains that closed over the screen and the seats were made of a rich burgandy velvet fabric. I even remember our garage being full of boxes of the 3-D movie glasses that you had to wear to make the movies appear in 3-D. Thanks again for the pictures!
I will. I just got back from Virginia Beach and went through my brother’s pictures. I know I have seen one of him at the concession stand in the lobby. I’ll still dig and see if I can come across it.
I thought I had pictures of the inside but am unable to locate any. I do know that Roy Starling, my grandfather, sold the Wings and Texan Theaters in Grand Prairie to buy the White Theater. He and my grandmother lived in Dallas and commuted to Ft Worth to run the theater. We lived on Orange St close to George C Clark Elementary school and my father ran the projection room. My brother closed the door of the ticket booth on my finger and cut the end of my finger off. My grandmother died in Jan 1962 so the theater was sold shortly before that and became the Berry Theater.
I don’t know the exact date but Pleasant Grove was a city in itself and annexed on to Dallas. They had their own school district, was an entity in itself. As Dallas grew, small towns annexed on and streets had to be renamed. At the time that my grandfather built the Grove Theater it was Pleasant Grove, TX. So you are right, but it later became Dallas, TX.
Two of my images of the Berry Theater when it was named the White Theater.
View link
View link
Thanks for the pictures Don. I really appreciate them. My grandparents, Roy and Lucille Starling, owned the theater when it was the White Theater. My grandfather died in Jan 1958 and my grandmother ran the theater with the help of my parents until she was too ill with breast cancer. She sold the theater in 1960-61 and that is when it became the Berry Theater. I believe at that time it became a Spanish speaking theater but I was only 7 yrs old so I am not completely sure of that. And it was white in color but the curtains that closed over the screen and the seats were made of a rich burgandy velvet fabric. I even remember our garage being full of boxes of the 3-D movie glasses that you had to wear to make the movies appear in 3-D. Thanks again for the pictures!