Dreamland Theatre

dallasmovietheaters on September 11, 2024 at 4:59 pm

E.M. Smith launched the Dreamland Theatre on March 28, 1908 replacing a retail music store. Managed by C.J. Wilder, the venue played movies and illustrated slides with singalongs. George E. Marr took on the venue before selling out to the competing Mecca Theatre Company in 1916. The Taffy Shop was built within the entrance of the theater becoming the de facto concession stand for the Dreamland.

George Wilbur took on the venue from Mecca Theatre Co. The Mecca had sold its Mecca Palace to Butterfield / Paramount in 1926 thus leaving the market after selling the Dreamland in 1927. On June 8, 1928, William A. Cassidy and Albert E. Zuchike took over the Dreamland Theatre from Wilbur which converted to sound to remain viable. The Taffy Shop closed with concessions handled in house from 1929 to 1936.

Cassidy and Zuchike opted to move the venue to the superior and larger, former Mecca-Palace location when Butterfield/Paramount opened a new Mecca-Palace. Cassidy and Zuchike discontinued the Dreamland on March 1, 1936 with “The Dark Angel.” They then moved to their new location opting to rename it there at 110 S. Washington as the DeLuxe Theatre. The newspaper account says that the space once occupied by the Dreamland was converted to retail just three months later in June of 1936.