Thanks, Charles. Fantastic ads and photos, particularly of the Melba at night. I haven’t seen a photo of the theater in decades and it really took me back! You don’t happen to have any photos of the Rialto Theater, do you? (It was about four blocks down Elm Street, past the old Palace and next door to the Capitol.)
Sorry to differ, Mr. Van Bibber, but when Cinerama films were first being shown in this theater, it was still known as the Melba. I not only remember this personally, but I also have old archive copies of The Dallas Morning News that prove this to be true. The name was changed to Capri some time during the early ‘60s and it played the occasional Cinerama film after that — the original first Dallas engagement of “2001: A Space Osyssey” played there. Eventually the McLendon Corp carved it up into a multiplex in an attempt to lure moviegoers downtown, and when that tactic failed to generate business it was scheduled for demolition.
Thanks, Charles. Fantastic ads and photos, particularly of the Melba at night. I haven’t seen a photo of the theater in decades and it really took me back! You don’t happen to have any photos of the Rialto Theater, do you? (It was about four blocks down Elm Street, past the old Palace and next door to the Capitol.)
Sorry to differ, Mr. Van Bibber, but when Cinerama films were first being shown in this theater, it was still known as the Melba. I not only remember this personally, but I also have old archive copies of The Dallas Morning News that prove this to be true. The name was changed to Capri some time during the early ‘60s and it played the occasional Cinerama film after that — the original first Dallas engagement of “2001: A Space Osyssey” played there. Eventually the McLendon Corp carved it up into a multiplex in an attempt to lure moviegoers downtown, and when that tactic failed to generate business it was scheduled for demolition.