Laurel Theatre.

dallasmovietheaters on May 9, 2026 at 5:44 pm

The Reliance Theatre opened in an existing 19th Century building on September 1, 1912 by Ed Medus and E.L. Boudreaux. Reliance faded and the property was auctioned off in 1914. Charles Vogt reopened the Reliance and - sadly enough - he also found reliance fading and the property was at its second forced auction on Valentine’s Day of 1918.

WW1 Veteran Alonzo Patterson took on the venue changing it to the Laurel Theater. George De Reyna operated In 1922 and old it for $6,300. John Winberry sold it to the Laurel Theatre Company. Winberry then sued the Laurel Theatre Company two years later. In 1930, the venue was equipped with new projectors able to project sound on film titles.

In December of 1935, new operators rebuilt the theatre as a streamline moderne complex likely keeping some foundational elements of the original structure but little else. It reopened as the New Laurel Theatre in 1936. A year later, the entire theatre was redecorated and re-reopened as the new, New Laurel Theatre on Valentine’s Day 1937. Samuel J. Right Jr. and Frank Lais, Jr. were the final operators of the Laurel Theatre and they booked Dixie Film Exchange titles to little success. The pair closed the Laurel permanently on March 27, 1955 with Laurie Anders as the “Marshal’s Daughter.” The theatre was sold for an austere $11,200 price point and used as a warehouse and, later, as an auction house.