Sun Theatre

Austin-based Cinemax, Inc. decided in the height of the porno chic era to open a downtown adult theater. Like many adult cinemas, this one was a throwback to the show-store nickelodeons some 60 years earlier. Located in an existing retail building, Cinemax proudly announced it had spent just $750 to prepare the 16mm adult cinema for patrons. The Cinema X Theatre opened on January 14, 1971. Just a week earlier, the Port Arthur Cinema X had opened in a 1909-built retail building also showing 16mm adult films. The reaction was similar in both cities - negative.

The City of Beaumont struck within a week of the Cinema X’s launch with exhibiting obscene material. While that conviction was being appealed in 1973 and 1974, the place was busted in June of 1973 and again in January of 1974. On March 29, 1974, the new “triple-X” Sun Theatre opened in a former gas station at 3195 North Street playing unrated adult films. That venue was raided within a week of its launch date. The Sun Theatre countersued for harassment. The Sun Theatre moved to the 450 Orleans former Cinema-X location. It opened September 9, 1975 as the Sun Theatre by Seks Properties, Inc. of Paris, Texas. It was likely the same group as the Houston-based Sun Family Entertainment Center.

The adult theater successfully defended itself in the 1974 case claiming public nuisance laws were unconstitutional. (The outcome of the harassment countersuit isn’t as clear.) The theater did downgrade to X-rated films to continue operating. In case you wondering about how much a projectionist made, Sun projectionist Tran Van An made $30 a day running the films. The grind house operated daily 10am-2am daily and all night on Friday. It appears to have ground to a halt on May 13, 1978 and moved to 434 Fannin under the more generic name of Adult Theatre.

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