I used to attend movies at the Springer in 1957-58. It was run-down but great. (I remember a large rat running along the seat-backs in front of me once.) I was elated to hear they restored it and to see how beautiful it is now.
I served at Benning four times, and the local theaters were always important to us. The Rialto was cheap but always had good bargains for the ticket price. The Bradley and Georgia were both great. The local drive-ins were also wonderful.
The Dixie also owned another theater just a couple doors south of the Dixie. It was named The Varsity but had a fire sometimes in the 1940s and was closed for some time. It was finally remodeled and reopened as the State Theater, early in the ‘50s, the first movie shown being Red River. It only opened on Tuesday through Thursday, if I remember right. It did not last long, being unpopular because of the short schedule, and also because they never had newsreels, cartoons, or shorts. The theater finally closed and Sam Thomas Merchantile moved into the building.
Growing up in Ruston I often attended the Dixie. When we lived in the country the entire family would drive in on Friday or Saturday night for the double-features. Until the state banned them, the Dixie had WAHOO (a type of BINGO) on Friday nights. After we moved to town I usually went by myself. They used to start showing at 3:15 on weekdays and went until about 11. On Saturday the regular program stopped about 9:30, the “midnight” show starting about 10:00, showing the movie which would air on Sunday afternoon. They had to finish before midnight because of the many Tech students who attended and who had curfews in those days, especially the women.
I remember seeing Huntz Hall (of the Bowery Boys) live, as well as Tex Ritter. They both put on good shows, but Hall disappeared after his, while Tex came into the lobby to greet his fans and sign autographs. Sundays the blue laws meant they could not start before 1, and had to be finished before 6, so the showing would not conflict with the church hours. One of the great things about the theaters in those days was one could go in when they opened and stay as long as one liked, or until they closed. The Dixie had a fine balcony, favored by the Tech students. The balcony had a dividing wall, with the Black patrons restricted to the rear area of the balcony.
One final comment: The photo you have posted of W Mississippi and Homer St has nothing to do with the Tech. It is several blocks from the Tech site. (It also looks nothing like the section of town I remember, except for that one small house. Mississippi Avenue west of the railroad used to be covered with pretty wooden and brick houses.) (By the way, we lived at 301 W Alabama, just one block north of the freight house, with two tracks between us. So I had plenty of chances to know the Tech Theater, as well as the Dixie.)
Here are some further remarks about the location of the Tech Theater. There is a Google type picture on-line showing the corner of West Mississippi Ave and Monroe St. That photo shows where the Tech was. The nearest brick building on the NE corner appears to be the old shoe shop. On the west side of it there was a laundry
and dry cleaners. There was a dirt alley between the two. To the west of the cleaners was the Tech Theater, which would have been in what is now a parking lot. To the west of the theater there was a large drainage ditch, with a Rock Island spur line on the other side of
the ditch. The old Rock Island freight house is now the Community Trust Bank. Between the spur line and the freight house was gravel street and parking. The ditch flowed into a large pipe which came out next to the old Ruston Daily Leader plant, a pipe we boys went through on a couple occasions. The entire area is totally different than it was in the 1940s and 1950s.
I grew up in Ruston and I do not know where you got the impression the Ruston Drive-In was on N Trenton Street. The one and only drive-in theater Ruston ever had was on US 80 West, just before you got to Grambling Junction. I remember when it opened, and we used to go fairly often. They always had a double feature. In the 1950s there was little in the pictured area of N Trenton except for a few scattered houses, certainly no theaters.
I was raised in Ruston but except for short visits have long been gone from there. But I well remember the theaters from 1945 up until 1958. The Tech was on Mississippi Avenue, directly across from Ruston Hardware. The west side of the Tech was up against a ditch with separated the theater from the side-track of the Rock Island Railroad. There was a dirt road to the west of that ditch, followed by the Rock Island freight building and the main RI track, followed by a RI side track. That side track, once across Mississippi Ave went past the Daily leader building and curved westward to connect with the Illinois Central tracks. The Tech was a small brick building, with great air-conditioning. There was a balcony, reserved for Blacks. There was a lighted clock in the left front of the theater, with some jeweler’s name on it. The Varsity was owned, if I recall right, by the Dixie, just a few doors south of the Dixie. The Varsity closed after a fire, sometimes in the ‘40s. Later it was remodeled and opened as the State Theater. The first movie they showed was John Wayne’s Red River. We disliked the state because they only had the movie and a commercial or two, never any cartoon, short, or newsreel. And as I recall they only showed movies three or four days a week, never on weekends. The Tech, like the Dixie, always showed a complete program, including double-features on Friday and Saturday. Long after I left town, my sister told me the Tech closed and reopened showing Porn movies before it finally closed for good and was torn down.
I used to attend movies at the Springer in 1957-58. It was run-down but great. (I remember a large rat running along the seat-backs in front of me once.) I was elated to hear they restored it and to see how beautiful it is now.
I served at Benning four times, and the local theaters were always important to us. The Rialto was cheap but always had good bargains for the ticket price. The Bradley and Georgia were both great. The local drive-ins were also wonderful.
The Dixie also owned another theater just a couple doors south of the Dixie. It was named The Varsity but had a fire sometimes in the 1940s and was closed for some time. It was finally remodeled and reopened as the State Theater, early in the ‘50s, the first movie shown being Red River. It only opened on Tuesday through Thursday, if I remember right. It did not last long, being unpopular because of the short schedule, and also because they never had newsreels, cartoons, or shorts. The theater finally closed and Sam Thomas Merchantile moved into the building.
Growing up in Ruston I often attended the Dixie. When we lived in the country the entire family would drive in on Friday or Saturday night for the double-features. Until the state banned them, the Dixie had WAHOO (a type of BINGO) on Friday nights. After we moved to town I usually went by myself. They used to start showing at 3:15 on weekdays and went until about 11. On Saturday the regular program stopped about 9:30, the “midnight” show starting about 10:00, showing the movie which would air on Sunday afternoon. They had to finish before midnight because of the many Tech students who attended and who had curfews in those days, especially the women. I remember seeing Huntz Hall (of the Bowery Boys) live, as well as Tex Ritter. They both put on good shows, but Hall disappeared after his, while Tex came into the lobby to greet his fans and sign autographs. Sundays the blue laws meant they could not start before 1, and had to be finished before 6, so the showing would not conflict with the church hours. One of the great things about the theaters in those days was one could go in when they opened and stay as long as one liked, or until they closed. The Dixie had a fine balcony, favored by the Tech students. The balcony had a dividing wall, with the Black patrons restricted to the rear area of the balcony.
One final comment: The photo you have posted of W Mississippi and Homer St has nothing to do with the Tech. It is several blocks from the Tech site. (It also looks nothing like the section of town I remember, except for that one small house. Mississippi Avenue west of the railroad used to be covered with pretty wooden and brick houses.) (By the way, we lived at 301 W Alabama, just one block north of the freight house, with two tracks between us. So I had plenty of chances to know the Tech Theater, as well as the Dixie.)
Here are some further remarks about the location of the Tech Theater. There is a Google type picture on-line showing the corner of West Mississippi Ave and Monroe St. That photo shows where the Tech was. The nearest brick building on the NE corner appears to be the old shoe shop. On the west side of it there was a laundry and dry cleaners. There was a dirt alley between the two. To the west of the cleaners was the Tech Theater, which would have been in what is now a parking lot. To the west of the theater there was a large drainage ditch, with a Rock Island spur line on the other side of the ditch. The old Rock Island freight house is now the Community Trust Bank. Between the spur line and the freight house was gravel street and parking. The ditch flowed into a large pipe which came out next to the old Ruston Daily Leader plant, a pipe we boys went through on a couple occasions. The entire area is totally different than it was in the 1940s and 1950s.
I grew up in Ruston and I do not know where you got the impression the Ruston Drive-In was on N Trenton Street. The one and only drive-in theater Ruston ever had was on US 80 West, just before you got to Grambling Junction. I remember when it opened, and we used to go fairly often. They always had a double feature. In the 1950s there was little in the pictured area of N Trenton except for a few scattered houses, certainly no theaters.
I was raised in Ruston but except for short visits have long been gone from there. But I well remember the theaters from 1945 up until 1958. The Tech was on Mississippi Avenue, directly across from Ruston Hardware. The west side of the Tech was up against a ditch with separated the theater from the side-track of the Rock Island Railroad. There was a dirt road to the west of that ditch, followed by the Rock Island freight building and the main RI track, followed by a RI side track. That side track, once across Mississippi Ave went past the Daily leader building and curved westward to connect with the Illinois Central tracks. The Tech was a small brick building, with great air-conditioning. There was a balcony, reserved for Blacks. There was a lighted clock in the left front of the theater, with some jeweler’s name on it. The Varsity was owned, if I recall right, by the Dixie, just a few doors south of the Dixie. The Varsity closed after a fire, sometimes in the ‘40s. Later it was remodeled and opened as the State Theater. The first movie they showed was John Wayne’s Red River. We disliked the state because they only had the movie and a commercial or two, never any cartoon, short, or newsreel. And as I recall they only showed movies three or four days a week, never on weekends. The Tech, like the Dixie, always showed a complete program, including double-features on Friday and Saturday. Long after I left town, my sister told me the Tech closed and reopened showing Porn movies before it finally closed for good and was torn down.