Uptown Theatre

113 W. Constitution Street,
Victoria, TX 77901

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Frels Theaters

Styles: Art Deco

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Uptown Theatre

Classic Art Deco style theatre opened on February 18, 1931 with Nancy Carroll in “Stolen Heaven”. It was the first downtown theatre on the square in Victoria and was operated by Frels Theaters chain and became their head office. Seating was provided for 550 in the orchestra and 250-seatys in the balcony. The last movie to show at this theatre was “Jaws” in 1976.

Exterior of building had three different looks. Original was a vertical bulb sign. This was blown down in a hurricane. Second was a neon marquee with “Uptown” spelled out above the awning in a horizontal layout. Third was a total facial with new porcelain enamel and a vertical neon sign, with a lot of neon chevrons chasing on the marquee.

The Uptown Theatre was demolished in 1977.

Contributed by Brad Richards

Recent comments (view all 6 comments)

kencmcintyre
kencmcintyre on August 10, 2009 at 3:43 am

Here is a February 1965 ad from the Victoria Advocate:
http://tinyurl.com/mt4jvk

sepiatone
sepiatone on July 10, 2010 at 10:33 am

The Uptown opened on February 19, 1931. The premier feature was “Stolen Heaven” with Nancy Carroll and Phillips Holmes.

sepiatone
sepiatone on September 30, 2010 at 5:44 pm

The Uptown was the site of a Gene Autry stage show at noon on January 3, 1937. That afternoon, after the show, Gene Autry visited a young Victoria girl who had been injured at school and was unable to attend the show. In a Victoria Advocate interview, Autry commented, “It was a great pleasure to have seen her, and if my visit cheered her up then the happiness was all mine…I do hope that she continues rapidly in her recovery.”

rivest266
rivest266 on November 29, 2020 at 12:18 pm

The Frels Uptown theatre opened on February 19th, 1931. It made front-page news the day before.

Uptown theatre openingUptown theatre opening Wed, Feb 18, 1931 – 1 · Victoria Advocate (Victoria, Texas) · Newspapers.com

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