I photographed this theater in early July. The arch visible at the top of the photo has been partially removed, or perhaps collapsed. There was a tarp over it, and a cherry-picker in the street out front. The whole neighborhood needs a little help.
The upper part of the facade is still original, with some nice terra-cotta detailing, and a red tile roof. The rest is swallowed behind an enormous (compared to the modest size of the building) ‘50s marquee.
The marquee was not saved. The tower is stuck on a typical exapmple of ugly American sprawl. So you have a tacky gray box with an old vertical sign on it.
If you can muster the courage to be seen entering a porn theater, it’s worth the trip. The frosted glass mirror behind the candy counter depicts the seven dwarves making candy. Quite an odd sight, given the venue.
Argh. I just took a huge road trip (2,630 miles) from San Antonio through the Panhandle, and Wellington is one of the very few county seats I skipped. Considering how disappointing Andrews, Seminole, etc. were, I feel especially dumb. I will probably never have another chance to go back. I was trying to be smug in the knowledge that I can’t have missed much, but…
I forgot to mention that this was the first Hall Brothers theater. They eventually owned a small chain of Rialtos across South TX. As a matter of fact, the marquee and ticket booth feature ‘H’ monograms, and the cornerstone calls it the Hall-Bro’s Theatre.
I was wondering why my submittal of this theater never showed up. But now I see that the name was misspelled in the original post. The theater is the Rialto. The style isn’t really art deco, the theater is, after all, from 1922. Maybe art nouveau? I have a photo of the cornerstone, which says that W.G. Stephenson was the architect. I believe this was one of the first air-conditioned theaters in the nation.
In 9/03, I photographed this theater, and the marquee shows that the ‘Friends of the Library’ were presenting ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. I got the impression that this was a play. Last month, I was there again, and nothing on the marquee. The lobby seems to be in very good shape. The original popcorn machine is still there. The bottom of the marquee has neon arrows pointing towards the doors.
The style is mission revival. The theater seems to have been built in 1928. The marquee is very nice, especially for a small town theater. The address is 122 South Moody.
Not a very colorful marquee. White with cheap red plastic letters stuck on. Pretty ugly, and not in keeping with the design of the building. The ‘A’ has fallen off the front of the horizontal portion. Lower portion of the facade has ugly brown tile stuck on it, and the windows on the second floor are covered with plywood which was painted brown, and is now warped and peeling.
The theater seemed to be open, but as some sort of gospel/revival venue. It’s in very bad shape. The marquee is faded and the paint is half gone. The lower level of the marquee has so many holes that it looks like someone used a big machine gun on it. There was also a pile of guano next to the ticket booth. But they were advertising an event for that Sunday. This is another theater that fell victim to the gray paint craze that seemes to have swept the west. The entire building is an ugly light gray, including the marquee, except where the letters are, which is a dull pink. I’m not sure what those people were thinking.
Who is the Richard Sweasy (sp?) named on the facade? Looks like it was built in 1920. I’d say the style was atmospheric. Baroque but not Spanish Colonial.
Their address was just a P.O. box. Theater is on the first block West of US 281, and faces the city hall and park from the South. I don’t think Three Rivers has gotten any bigger.
I think it might be some sort of thrift store now. Not a good location. There doesn’t appear to be any parking, and it’s across the street from a cemetery. It is a cool facade, even under all the junk the retail folks stuck on it.
Oops. P.S. Any idea if the current Orr Furniture store was a theater? It’s just off the courthouse square, and obviously had a large sign at one point.
I photographed this theater in early July. The arch visible at the top of the photo has been partially removed, or perhaps collapsed. There was a tarp over it, and a cherry-picker in the street out front. The whole neighborhood needs a little help.
This is exactly the sort of theater that doesn’t belong on the site. If only we could tear them all down.
Wow, porn at a drive-in! How did they manage that?
Yes, I figured it was contemporaneous with the other Granadas in the area. The name is pretty silly. How does one save value?
The upper part of the facade is still original, with some nice terra-cotta detailing, and a red tile roof. The rest is swallowed behind an enormous (compared to the modest size of the building) ‘50s marquee.
Was the Grand Palace Chinese restaurant on Grand Ave ever a theater? I had lunch there, and we all tried to decide what it had been.
The marquee was not saved. The tower is stuck on a typical exapmple of ugly American sprawl. So you have a tacky gray box with an old vertical sign on it.
This is a duplicate posting. I suggest deleting this one, and retitling ‘Border Theater, The’ which contains more information.
If you can muster the courage to be seen entering a porn theater, it’s worth the trip. The frosted glass mirror behind the candy counter depicts the seven dwarves making candy. Quite an odd sight, given the venue.
This theater was built in 1950 as the Parkway. I filled that information out, but not all of the data displays in the entry.
I can send a picture of the building in question if you like. It’s a tan brick building with a large skylight in the vertical portion of the facade.
Argh. I just took a huge road trip (2,630 miles) from San Antonio through the Panhandle, and Wellington is one of the very few county seats I skipped. Considering how disappointing Andrews, Seminole, etc. were, I feel especially dumb. I will probably never have another chance to go back. I was trying to be smug in the knowledge that I can’t have missed much, but…
Chain was the Hall Brothers Theaters. This was one of seven Rialtos in South TX.
I forgot to mention that this was the first Hall Brothers theater. They eventually owned a small chain of Rialtos across South TX. As a matter of fact, the marquee and ticket booth feature ‘H’ monograms, and the cornerstone calls it the Hall-Bro’s Theatre.
I was wondering why my submittal of this theater never showed up. But now I see that the name was misspelled in the original post. The theater is the Rialto. The style isn’t really art deco, the theater is, after all, from 1922. Maybe art nouveau? I have a photo of the cornerstone, which says that W.G. Stephenson was the architect. I believe this was one of the first air-conditioned theaters in the nation.
In 9/03, I photographed this theater, and the marquee shows that the ‘Friends of the Library’ were presenting ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. I got the impression that this was a play. Last month, I was there again, and nothing on the marquee. The lobby seems to be in very good shape. The original popcorn machine is still there. The bottom of the marquee has neon arrows pointing towards the doors.
The style is mission revival. The theater seems to have been built in 1928. The marquee is very nice, especially for a small town theater. The address is 122 South Moody.
I assume French Renaissance describes what the interior used to look like? The facade is late art deco.
Not a very colorful marquee. White with cheap red plastic letters stuck on. Pretty ugly, and not in keeping with the design of the building. The ‘A’ has fallen off the front of the horizontal portion. Lower portion of the facade has ugly brown tile stuck on it, and the windows on the second floor are covered with plywood which was painted brown, and is now warped and peeling.
The theater seemed to be open, but as some sort of gospel/revival venue. It’s in very bad shape. The marquee is faded and the paint is half gone. The lower level of the marquee has so many holes that it looks like someone used a big machine gun on it. There was also a pile of guano next to the ticket booth. But they were advertising an event for that Sunday. This is another theater that fell victim to the gray paint craze that seemes to have swept the west. The entire building is an ugly light gray, including the marquee, except where the letters are, which is a dull pink. I’m not sure what those people were thinking.
Who is the Richard Sweasy (sp?) named on the facade? Looks like it was built in 1920. I’d say the style was atmospheric. Baroque but not Spanish Colonial.
Kenedy should only have the one ‘N’.
Their address was just a P.O. box. Theater is on the first block West of US 281, and faces the city hall and park from the South. I don’t think Three Rivers has gotten any bigger.
I think it might be some sort of thrift store now. Not a good location. There doesn’t appear to be any parking, and it’s across the street from a cemetery. It is a cool facade, even under all the junk the retail folks stuck on it.
Oops. P.S. Any idea if the current Orr Furniture store was a theater? It’s just off the courthouse square, and obviously had a large sign at one point.