This theater opened in the teens as the Hinton Theater. It featured touring stage shows, magicians and musicians. It was later bought by Fred Turner and the name was changed to the Orpheum. In 1925, it was sold to George Proctor and Hugh Marsh and the name was again changed to the Ritz. It operated as a vaudeville house until 1928 when it was equipped to show talkies. The legendary Tom Mix visited the theater in 1929.
Some additional information:
The theater, opened on Jan 10, 1936, was located at 1 S. Broadway (Main & Broadway) on the former location of the Joyland Theatre Airdome. It advertised carpeted aisles, draperies, restrooms and two projection booths with synchronized sound.
The theater was built by W.Z. Willie Spearman who operated it until it was taken over by his son. The younger Spearman operated the theater until he sold it to R.R. McCoy. The theater operated on and off until the 1970s.
The hospital was opened on the second floor on February 2, 1947.
As for the Broncho mis-spelling, I was told that the wife of one of the early presidents the Territorial Normal School/Central State/UCO came up with the mascot and spelled the name of the animal incorrectly. Apparantly it stuck.
The theater at 107 N. Hudson has a marquee that reads “Plaza.” If memory serves, the structure at Commerce and Grady looked more like a civic center than a cinema.
From what I have recently researched, there were actually two drive-ins in Altus. Both were on Highway 62; one on the east side of town and one on the west side of town.
GWaterman, I think you’re thinking of a different theater that’s in between Nac and Lufkin. The Lumberjack is long since demolished and has some sort of law enforcement building on the site.
It looks like the owners have made a few improvements to the theater. The theater has been repainted with a better color scheme and fake brick has been put on the walls inside and out (even on the ceiling outside. lol). Though still not great, it looks a lot better than previous iterations I have seen in photos. View link
A nice photo of this theater is here:
http://www.scmovietheatres.com/bam_lit.html
Oops. I meant to list this in Andrews, SC.
This theater was also known as the Palmetto at one time.
Air photo:
http://tinyurl.com/3baecx
Link to an air photo of the Agnew.
http://tinyurl.com/2umevf
This theater was opened in 1926 and cost around $200,000 to build.
This theater opened in the teens as the Hinton Theater. It featured touring stage shows, magicians and musicians. It was later bought by Fred Turner and the name was changed to the Orpheum. In 1925, it was sold to George Proctor and Hugh Marsh and the name was again changed to the Ritz. It operated as a vaudeville house until 1928 when it was equipped to show talkies. The legendary Tom Mix visited the theater in 1929.
Some additional information:
The theater, opened on Jan 10, 1936, was located at 1 S. Broadway (Main & Broadway) on the former location of the Joyland Theatre Airdome. It advertised carpeted aisles, draperies, restrooms and two projection booths with synchronized sound.
The theater was built by W.Z. Willie Spearman who operated it until it was taken over by his son. The younger Spearman operated the theater until he sold it to R.R. McCoy. The theater operated on and off until the 1970s.
The hospital was opened on the second floor on February 2, 1947.
The Broncho Theatre and Gem Theatre were two separate theaters. The Gem was located at two different places on Broadway over its lifespan.
As for the Broncho mis-spelling, I was told that the wife of one of the early presidents the Territorial Normal School/Central State/UCO came up with the mascot and spelled the name of the animal incorrectly. Apparantly it stuck.
The theater at 107 N. Hudson has a marquee that reads “Plaza.” If memory serves, the structure at Commerce and Grady looked more like a civic center than a cinema.
From what I have recently researched, there were actually two drive-ins in Altus. Both were on Highway 62; one on the east side of town and one on the west side of town.
It may be lousy, but here it is:
View link
More photos: View link
Here are some full size photos I snapped:
View link
GWaterman, I think you’re thinking of a different theater that’s in between Nac and Lufkin. The Lumberjack is long since demolished and has some sort of law enforcement building on the site.
Some pics taken 11/5/06:
View link
Took a couple of pics. Looks like the future site of a very large swimming pool now.
View link
Photos taken 11/5/06:
View link
Updated:
View link
It looks like the owners have made a few improvements to the theater. The theater has been repainted with a better color scheme and fake brick has been put on the walls inside and out (even on the ceiling outside. lol). Though still not great, it looks a lot better than previous iterations I have seen in photos.
View link
Some more recent photos of the Market Theater:
View link
I took some pics yesterday:
View link
Looks like i’m too late. I drove past the location tonight and it has been demolished! The deed must have been done fairly recently.
More recent photos of this beautiful building:
View link