Harlem Theatre

Wood & Sampson decided the time was right to open the first African American movie theater in Denison in 1919. The Dreamland Theatre opened next to the Anderson High School, a 19th-Century built school for African American students, which was at 520 West Bond Street. The local paper reported it as across the street at 600 West Bond Street.

The Dreamland Theatre does not appear to have made the transition to sound though remaining open into 1932. It is listed as not showing films in 1933 and 1934 indicating that it was likely used for live events and meetings.

The theatre appears to have become the Harlem Theatre in 1935 reducing seat count to 210 and playing sound films. However, that is just a guess based on the trade journals of the day. Lonnie Legg is the last reported operator of the Harlem Theatre in 1937 - the third operator in just a two-year period - again a solid guess that it operated in a challenging business environment. The 1938 trade yearbook, indeed, lists the Harlem Theatre as closed.

If the newspaper is accurate in its reportage of the theatre’s address, the building has been torn down. However, it could be the building that still stands a block away in the 500-block of West Bond Street.

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