Elk Theatre
124 E. Main Street,
Italy,
TX
76651
124 E. Main Street,
Italy,
TX
76651
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The Elk Theatre was opened prior to 1916. It was closed around 1957. It was demolished in June 1961.
Contributed by
Ken McIntyre
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Address is 124 E. Main St.; since then it was torn down and replaced by the Citizens National Bank. The building on the right still stands.
J.C. Couch gave the Elk Theatre a refresh in 1916. The Elk Theatre was then re-opened by Joe Davenport and P.G. Rockett in October of 1917 perhaps after a very brief summer closure. Rockett & Son wired the theatre for sound to remain viable. Rockett & Son followed by just the son was the longest stretch of single-family ownership. A string of owners operated the Elk in the 1940s and 1950s.
Jessie B. Johnson was said to have been the projectionist in Italy, Texas, from 1910 to 1957 - dying in 1957. He only left the projectionist position to serve in World War I and a very brief gig at the Texas Theatre in Dallas when it opened. Johnson claimed that the Elk was originally a nickelodeon-era theatre with Edison projection and films named the Pastime. He said that the Pastime and Elk were in the same building and that J.C. Couch, Rockett and Davenport simply changed its name.
Since Johnson gave his life as a projectionist there - as well as serving in World War I - let’s say that’s accurate. It’s likely the theatre closed not long after Johnson’s death. Because the lifecycle described times out to 25-year leases roughly, it rings true. In any even, the long-standing Elk Theatre - likely former Pastime - was torn down in June of 1961.