Alabama Theatre

2922 S. Shepherd Drive,
Houston, TX 77098

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Interstate Theatres Inc. & Texas Consolidated Theaters Inc.

Architects: H. F. Pettigrew, John A. Worley

Firms: Pettigrew & Worley

Functions: Retail

Styles: Art Deco

Nearby Theaters

News About This Theater

The Enemy Below - 1957

The Alabama Theatre opened on November 2, 1939 with the feature “Man About Town” starring Jack Benny and Dorothy Lamour. After the Alabama Theatre closed in 1983 it became a bookstore. In this use it was meticulously maintained, and resembled a theatre inside, though one with bookshelves and no seats. The screen was still present.

The bookstore closed on September 15, 2009, relocating to another unit in the mall. Preservationists are worried that the beloved Alabama Theatre is at risk of demolition. In 2012, it was operating as a Trader Joe’s.

Contributed by Mina

Recent comments (view all 74 comments)

_1WilliamMacdonald
_1WilliamMacdonald on October 19, 2011 at 2:44 pm

Stan. That link didnt work. You are probably right that is not the interior of the Alabama.

The Alabama ran some of the big 70mm road shows. Sound of Music ran for over a year. Lawrence of Arabia played there. It was magnificant. The Tower was the first 70mm house. Mike Todd was there for the opening of Oklahoma. He made them take out the pop corn machine to add some dignity to the occasion. They replaced it when he left. There was a push to equip theaters with 70mm. The Delmon, Village, The Uptown, and some others made the expensive switch.

rogerscorpion
rogerscorpion on December 12, 2011 at 5:27 am

westawesta, don’t let your guard down. Fight as hard as you can. Weingarten’s only care about what hits their pocketbook. There’s been mention of Trader Joe’s moving into the Alabama. Most recently, though, the report is that murals have been removed & the floor filled in with sand & no mention of Trader Joe’s whatsoever.

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on February 22, 2012 at 1:49 pm

Cement going into floor thttp://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2011/10/readying-for-trader-joes/o level it for Trader Joes,

HowardBHaas
HowardBHaas on February 22, 2012 at 1:57 pm

Proscenium arch & murals destroyed! http://www.ghpa.org/news/?m=20111129

http://www.ghpa.org/news/?p=104

JMoreland
JMoreland on July 28, 2012 at 3:37 pm

Remember seeing “The Poseidon Adventure” here, among other films. Great theater.

Alan Bell
Alan Bell on September 2, 2012 at 10:53 am

According to The September 2012 issue of Signs of the Times, the Alabama Theater tower sign is being restored by Coast Graphics and Signs of Stafford, Texas.

Theaterbug
Theaterbug on October 21, 2012 at 1:57 pm

Alabama Theater is now a Trader Joe’s grocery store. The facade and marquee are still in place, but there is almost nothing left of the theater decoration inside.

This link has several photos of the building: http://www.houstondeco.org/1930s/alabama.html

ejones880
ejones880 on July 16, 2013 at 7:32 pm

What year did the Alabama Theather close and stop showing movies?

rivest266
rivest266 on November 23, 2020 at 3:18 pm

The Alabama Theatre opened on November 2nd, 1939, and closed in 1983. Grand opening ad posted.

RyanToDaF2044
RyanToDaF2044 on July 12, 2021 at 1:25 pm

Bookstop was the name of the bookstore.

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