Downtown Cowtown at the Isis
2403 N. Main Street,
Fort Worth,
TX
76164
2403 N. Main Street,
Fort Worth,
TX
76164
12 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 36 comments
This theater was renovated and was stunning. The owner gave me a tour right after it opened. Unfortunately, it closed again on 11/26/2023. Here is a news story about the theater. I hope that it can be reopened soon because it was a beauty to behold.
https://www.keranews.org/arts-culture/2023-11-30/5-3-million-loan-default-delinquent-taxes-darken-isis-theaters-future-in-fort-worth
I was just reading that this historical gem has been renovated and reopened. Here’s the article and the theatre website: https://fwtx.com/culture/downtow/ and www.downtowncowtown.com
March 27th, 1936 grand opening ad in the photo section. No ad found in 1914.
This web page with part of an article about the Isis Theatre says that the house opened on May 21, 1914, and was designed by architect Louis B. Weinman.
The subsequent page of the article reveals that the original Isis was a reverse theater, with the screen at the street end of the small auditorium and the projection booth at the rear, next to an alley. The building of the New Isis was occasioned by a fire which destroyed the original house in 1935.
The New Isis Theatre, with a footprint considerably larger than the original Isis, opened on March 27, 1936. The architect for the rebuilding is as yet unidentified.
In the February 5, 1973, issue of New York Magazine, Texas novelist Larry McMurtry, author of The Last Picture Show, said that the New Isis was one of his favorite theaters. Boxoffice of February 26 (scan) cited the article and added additional information from a Fort Worth Press article (no date given) by Jack Gordon which said that the Isis Theatre had been operating at this address since 1913.
L. C. Tidball had built the Isis that year and, after rebuilding and enlarging the house in 1936, continued to operate it for many years thereafter. On Tidball’s death in 1966, his son Phillip inherited the house, selling it to Harold Griffith in 1970. Griffith was still operating the New Isis in 1973.
The elder Tidball had chosen the name from a list of theaters operating in New York City in 1913. He was looking for a name that had not yet been used by any theater in Fort Worth, and settled on Isis. L. C. Tidball is mentioned several times over the years in various trade journals. The April 10, 1937, issue of The Film Daily had this item:
Good news! The Isis Theatre has a new owner and plans for restoration are underway. We break ground in just a couple of weeks now. I am the marketing and sales specialist at the Historic Isis Theatre. We will be showing classic westerns/educational material/documentaries during the day, and at night we will be host to live entertainment (Music, Plays, Musicals, Cowboy Poetry ect) at a local, regional and national level. If you would like to see how to get involved email me at . We are very excited and hope to see you all there! Our instagram is @historicisistheatre and our facebook is Downtown Cowtown at the Isis Theatre. Check us out!
I fear that the New Isis will go the way of the Major[Lido] and Crest theaters in Dallas. It has deteriorated well beyond “restoration”. Thanks, Chuck for the photo link.
You would think Fort Worth would try and improve Cowtown. as big of tourist draw, and the area looks so run down. Stabilizing IsIs would be a huge step toward that. If it was cleaned up and replaced the roof it likely wouldn’t look that bad.
Fort Worth’s NEW ISIS is newly listed for a whopping $890K … a bit steep, considering the theater’s horrendous condition. Apperently the latest owner’s $4 Million renovation plans and/or funding have not materialized.
Saturday, 4August'12 The interior. http://flic.kr/s/aHsjBazenJ
Makes me sad every time I pass thru Cowtown. :(
A photo from April 2010:
View link
Back around 2000, give or take a year or two, the Fort Worth Film Festival was interested in establishing its offices at the New Isis. To that end we took a tour of the building, which I had not been in since seeing the James Coburn movie HARRY IN YOUR POCKET there. During that time period the theater was running triple bills for $1.00!
Frankly, a restoration would mean gutting the building and starting over due to the poor condition of the auditorium. The structure itself seemed sound save for the roof.
The wooden seats were falling over and would need replacing. A hole in the ceiling had let flocks of birds into the building, not to mention rain. The area between the first row of seats and the theater “stage” looked like a creek bed because there was so much mud and rock debris there.
Naturally, new projectors would be necessary.
It was quite sad. Consequently, it hasn’t surprised me that no one has purchased the building given the tasks that lay ahead.
I attended this theatre almost every weekend from 1971 (age 11) to the 80s. My grandmother took me to the Isis to see Night of the Living Dead there in 1968. My family all went to the Isis throughout the 40s 50s etc.
The separate section with 2 rows of seats in the very back of the balcony was known as the “crows nest” as this was segregated seating for Blacks in the era. Im sure that item is not well known to most folks. I own a postcard photo of the Isis in the 40s on a night when Ginger Rogers made an appearance there.
In the late 70s to its closing, the owner “Mr. Griff” had the Cates and Wilkins family manage and run the theatre. Everyone from the box office to the ushers were related. I grew up with the Cates family too and therefore had the run of the place. Met my first girlfriend there. And many more later. Someone posted some photos of the inside of the place now, what a tragedy! Too bad Fort Worth doesnt make a real effort to do something with it.
A 2009 view of the New Isis Theatre and the box office .
Hello…So glad I found this site. My Daddy was Lonnie Wallis,
manager of the New Isis theater for MANY years. I have fond
memories growing up and accompanying my Dad to his “work"
every Saturday. Free popcorn until my heart was content!!
Double features every Saturday and a visit from Smiley Burnett.
It would be awesome if the theater was restored and put back
into action. The Northside/Stockyard area would finally
be complete with its restoration. Would appreciate any comments
and or updates. Thanks!
Sissy Wallis Hays
I was in the theater a couple years ago with the then-new (or prospective?) owner, and took some photos.. starting here http://www.lizmartinphoto.com/ffm/062805-01.html and there’s a few more after that one. Judging from the last comment, sounds like nothing else has been done to bring the Isis back.
Saw the New Isis in July 2008.. just by chance.. plywood has been pried loose from one front door.. looked as if people were in & out of the building (homeless? Druggies?) .. did not look (or smell) good. Very Sad..
A 1994 photo of the New Isis in Fort Worth.
www.flickr.com/photos/lastpictureshow/2220729095
My mom frequented this theater in the early 80s with her friends. She remembers going to see lots of low-budget horror flicks (Friday The 13th, The Burning, Fear No Evil, etc) and remembers the expired green hot dogs, the popcorn that you had to chew because it was so stale, and the rats that would sneak by under the seats. There was mainly kids from Northside and Trimble Tech high and whenever there was a nude scene in the movie all the guys would hoot and holler. Good times.
better yet hit me at
P.S also do know that the historical Society will donate up to $15k for renovations. as i said i did alot of home work on this building i still have all the engineering reports from 2005 and can tell you in detail about every nook and cranny of this building.
Sorry Rob the marque has said this since 1991 infact i have looked into buying this building but funding fell thru I am a General Contractor and was lookin into buying the building converting it into a multi venue club. It is still owned by the same gentleman that bought it in the 80’s he wants $275k firm and will drop $30k for the roof but the roof will cost you more than that to repair. it had fallen thru some yrs back and is in terrible shape the building in general has been in bad shape for some time.I wanted to keep the look of the New ISIS when i renovated it but good luck feel free to contact me on ownership details. I can tell you that as my self with my crew of 45 men it was looking like $145k just to get it into shape for a storage building. contact me at for owner details and good luck to anyone wanting to take this project on.
Thank you for the update. I know that they have been talking about renovating it for a while, but notice that every time I drive by nothing appears to have changed. It is difficult to find up-to-date information on the internet about it. It is also not listed with any commercial realtor. I know that there are several other closed single screen theaters in the DFW area, but we feel that this one has the most potential.
The theater was sold several months ago and the marque states that it will be re-openingas something or other. I was there about three weeks ago and saw that nothing had been done to exterior and it appeared from debri at front door no one had been inside but that status is not for sure.
Rob Tucker/Memory Lane Magazine