Midway Theater

There was a very short alley between Centre St. and The midway Theater on Jefferson. I could run right up the alley and be at the theater. Of course, my sister always gave me the money to buy my ticket, bless her! Bill Barnes

THIS “After” Photo is kind of a “After” photo to the original photo seen on cinematreasures.org.. Hince, Before & After….. Enjoy! Randy A Carlisle – RAC Photography

BJohnston, I can’t be sure, but I just know I remember seeing the Midway advertised in the movie listings of the Dallas papers well into my teen years, which began in 1967. Could it have re-opened after 1956 under new ownership, perhaps?

According to a 1956 article in “Box Office” the Midway closed on September 23, 1956. It was built by R. D. Sudderth, an Oak Cliff Banker; then sold to “Uncle Mac” MacHenry; then to Robb & Rowley and finally Rowley United.

My father managed the Midway while I was growing up, circa 1946-48. It was one of those wonderful movie houses around the advent of television which changed its double-feature bookings three times a week. I helped my Dad make out his booking sheets, a practice which, paired with my attendance at virtually every program shown there, led to my life-long obsession with movies of all sorts. (I followed in his footsteps twenty years later, when I managed theatres for the Laemmles in the Los Angeles area.) I finally tracked down a photo of the Midway at Oak Cliff’s Ice House Museum—I think I have this name right—recently. Dad also worked at the Texas, down the street, and a few of the other Robb and Rowley houses nearby, as well as “moonlighting” at Phil Isley’s Crest Theatre elsewhere in Oak Cliff. (It was at the Crest that I experienced my first horror movie, the Claude Rains “Phantom of the Opera,” which literally kept me awake all night!) The Midway is part of my heritage, and I would welcome any correspondence about it, accordingly.