“The Poly was built around 1950 by Boyd and Imogene Millican, who also built the 7th Street Theater. They leased the 7th Street to Interstate Theaters, a first-run syndicate. (It could be that they owned and operated a number of other neighborhood theaters in town, since they used a discount card for ages 12-17 honored by the other places.) They personally operated the Poly, open 7 days a week, as a second-run venue. It, along with the Varsity, were located in Southeast Fort Worth, a working-class neighborhood. The Poly’s signature colors were red and green. (The discount card was printed red on green.) The box office was a five-window bay with green venetian blinds with red tapes; the marquee sign’s letters were red and green neon lights. The Millicans appeared to not like children…or anyone else, for that matter…which was an odd circumstance for a family that operated two movie theaters. In retrospect, I suppose they had to be stern since in the 1950s and 1960s families felt comfortable dropping off their kids relatively unsupervised for 3 hours and 45 minutes of two features, coming attractions, and a cartoon. For some reason, I wanted to be there when they opened on Saturday at noon…the box office girl raising the blinds seemed somehow magical. The automatic ticket machine and the teller’s change machine were exotic technology. The concession stand was where I could buy a bag of pop corn for 10 cents and a small coke for 5 cents…admission under 12 was 25 cents, leaving me with 10 cents to call home when I was ready…50 cents was my Saturday "movie money,” left on the dining room table every week. Monday-Friday, the Poly opened at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Obviously, I spent far too much time there! The Millicans died in the early 2000s, and the 7th Street was razed by distant relatives in order to sell the premier location. The Poly building was sold to a neighborhood church which has since disappeared, and the county tax office has no record as to the owner of the property may now be. I suspect the building will ultimately be condemned and torn down too."
It may be curtains for the iconic old Circle Theater building in Dallas. It appears to be in the construction path of a new commuter rail line. More images here, here and here.
A 1987 view of the location of the former Centre Theater. Words fail me in describing how UGLY the “Cinema” is compared to its former self as the Centre. Leveling it would have been more dignified than this deplorable re-do.
Hello Mark. The thanks all go to you for the time trip! Anyone who has never experienced the sights and sounds of “real” projection room have really missed out. Do you happen to have any photos pertaining to the theater?
Hello Alex, I had missed the Capitan at the end of this excerpt from Bobs posting myself and he said “that is all he knows about it except for personal encounters and a gentleman never tells.”
“The most interesting movie theatre in town was the El Capitan (named for a nearby mountain peak), across the street from the Pecos. Independently-owned by a very stern-looking matron, it was obviously an un-remodeled silent theatre, with speakers hanging on each side of the screen rather than behind it. Also, the owner had never bothered to spruce up the front or add a marquee. Movies were advertised with posters in standup frames such as one sees in photos of silent movie houses. This theatre survived by showing, for instance, the Disney movies, whose high rental the main chain refused to pay, and questionable movies like “The Outlaw” with Jane Russell and “Stromboli” with Ingrid Bergman, which the main chain wouldn’t show because Ingrid Bergman had gotten pregnant out of wedlock. Although ticket-selling was definitely considered “women’s work,†The El Capitan owner hired moonlighting young men from the local Air Force base as ticket-sellers, and had no ushers and sold no popcorn or candy. These deviations from the norm made the place vaguely “suspect†and “weird†in the 1950s, when ANY deviation from the norm freaked people out. But El Capitan also showed the few re-runs which the studios released back then, a blessing for young movie-buffs like me. None of my friends would attend it with me. However, it prospered. All five of these theatres, within a four-block radius, played two bills of movies a week (the Pecos, Chief and Capitan double-bills), at least twice a day.â€
A 2008 view of the Roanoke Theatre building here and here.
A 2009 view of the Palace Theatre in Grapevine.
A 1984 image of the Rialto Theater in Denison.
A view of the Gaslight when it was the Cinema 1 & 2 from 1987.
And your point would be ??
“The Poly was built around 1950 by Boyd and Imogene Millican, who also built the 7th Street Theater. They leased the 7th Street to Interstate Theaters, a first-run syndicate. (It could be that they owned and operated a number of other neighborhood theaters in town, since they used a discount card for ages 12-17 honored by the other places.) They personally operated the Poly, open 7 days a week, as a second-run venue. It, along with the Varsity, were located in Southeast Fort Worth, a working-class neighborhood. The Poly’s signature colors were red and green. (The discount card was printed red on green.) The box office was a five-window bay with green venetian blinds with red tapes; the marquee sign’s letters were red and green neon lights. The Millicans appeared to not like children…or anyone else, for that matter…which was an odd circumstance for a family that operated two movie theaters. In retrospect, I suppose they had to be stern since in the 1950s and 1960s families felt comfortable dropping off their kids relatively unsupervised for 3 hours and 45 minutes of two features, coming attractions, and a cartoon. For some reason, I wanted to be there when they opened on Saturday at noon…the box office girl raising the blinds seemed somehow magical. The automatic ticket machine and the teller’s change machine were exotic technology. The concession stand was where I could buy a bag of pop corn for 10 cents and a small coke for 5 cents…admission under 12 was 25 cents, leaving me with 10 cents to call home when I was ready…50 cents was my Saturday "movie money,” left on the dining room table every week. Monday-Friday, the Poly opened at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Obviously, I spent far too much time there! The Millicans died in the early 2000s, and the 7th Street was razed by distant relatives in order to sell the premier location. The Poly building was sold to a neighborhood church which has since disappeared, and the county tax office has no record as to the owner of the property may now be. I suspect the building will ultimately be condemned and torn down too."
Ouote reprintd with permission of Dan Washmon
A mid 1970’s postcard image of the Million Dollar Theater in Los Angeles.
It may be curtains for the iconic old Circle Theater building in Dallas. It appears to be in the construction path of a new commuter rail line. More images here, here and here.
A 1987 view of the location of the former Centre Theater. Words fail me in describing how UGLY the “Cinema” is compared to its former self as the Centre. Leveling it would have been more dignified than this deplorable re-do.
Don..
A 1992 view of the Paramount Theater in Bristol.
A 1984 image of Plaza Theatre when it was still a movie theater and before the marquee had been removed.
A 1987 view of the Cinema Twin (Criterion / Chief) in Enid.
From 2008 a front and side view of the original Morgan Theater structure.
A 1940s postcard street scene with the Granada Theatre visible on the right side.
Postcard courtesy of TXGenWEB / Texas Postcard site.
Hello Mark. The thanks all go to you for the time trip! Anyone who has never experienced the sights and sounds of “real” projection room have really missed out. Do you happen to have any photos pertaining to the theater?
Thanks again
Don Lewis….
Three views of the Royal George Theater from 2008 1/3 – 2/3 and 3/3.
You are welcome…and from what I have seen of your writing, that “someone” could only be you.
Don…
Hello Alex, I had missed the Capitan at the end of this excerpt from Bobs posting myself and he said “that is all he knows about it except for personal encounters and a gentleman never tells.”
“The most interesting movie theatre in town was the El Capitan (named for a nearby mountain peak), across the street from the Pecos. Independently-owned by a very stern-looking matron, it was obviously an un-remodeled silent theatre, with speakers hanging on each side of the screen rather than behind it. Also, the owner had never bothered to spruce up the front or add a marquee. Movies were advertised with posters in standup frames such as one sees in photos of silent movie houses. This theatre survived by showing, for instance, the Disney movies, whose high rental the main chain refused to pay, and questionable movies like “The Outlaw” with Jane Russell and “Stromboli” with Ingrid Bergman, which the main chain wouldn’t show because Ingrid Bergman had gotten pregnant out of wedlock. Although ticket-selling was definitely considered “women’s work,†The El Capitan owner hired moonlighting young men from the local Air Force base as ticket-sellers, and had no ushers and sold no popcorn or candy. These deviations from the norm made the place vaguely “suspect†and “weird†in the 1950s, when ANY deviation from the norm freaked people out. But El Capitan also showed the few re-runs which the studios released back then, a blessing for young movie-buffs like me. None of my friends would attend it with me. However, it prospered. All five of these theatres, within a four-block radius, played two bills of movies a week (the Pecos, Chief and Capitan double-bills), at least twice a day.â€
Bob of Roswell
A bleak 2008 view of the Park Theater building in Welland here and here.
Don…
Hello Alex. If anyone knows anything about the Capitan or (El Capitan?) I suspect it will be Bob. I have contacted him to ask about it.
Here is a link from Cinematour that lists an “El Capitan” in Roswell
http://www.cinematour.com/tour.php?db=us&id=25605
Don…
A 2005 view of the Park Theater in Vancouver can really be seen here.
A good view of the Bibb Theatre from 1986 in Macon.
A 1986 view of the Georgia Theater in Athens here and here.
Some very good photos of the Lone Star Drive-In, addtional theaters and photos with thanks to SouthEast Dallas Photograper’s flickr site.
A view of the Lucas Theatre in Savannah.