Rose Theater

This Rose Theatre launched in October of 1939 with 608 seats. Originally part of the Blankenship Theatre Circuit which was renamed the Wallace Theaters Corporation Circuit. Wallace B. Blankenship and his wife Rose began with the Wallace Theatre in Levelland in 1928. They opened their second theatre, the Rose thereafter and then this Rose in 1939. Wallace Theaters would go on to prominence before becoming the Hollywood Theaters Circuit which had 43 theaters when acquired by Regal in 2013.

The original Levelland Wallace Theatre opened in 1925, and was renamed the Rose Theatre in 1928 when the new Wallace was opened across Avenue H, but with its entrance on Houston Street. When the new Rose was built, the old Rose became, rather unimaginatively, the Old Rose Theatre, which was still standing in 1948, according to an article in the August 28 issue of Boxoffice that year, commemorating Wallace Blankenship’s 25th anniversary as an exhibitor. His career had begun with the first Wallace Theatre in Ropesville, in July, 1923. (The Old Rose was still listed in the FDY at least as late as 1950. It should probably have its own page.)

The new Rose can be seen in the left background of at least one of the photos of the new Wallace Theatre which can be found on that house’s Cinema Treasures photo page. It’s address was most likely 512 or 514 Avenue H, as 516 is the address of the building just south of the parking lot where the Rose stood. The original Rose was next door. I’m not sure which direction, but most likely it was north, at 510 Avenue H. If so then it, too, is under the footprint of the parking lot that replaced the new Rose.