White Theatre

Thanks for posting that video, Randy! That brief pan of the theatre might be all we have besides the architect rendering already posted - unless someone comes up with a photo from ‘that old footlocker in the attic’ someday! I took the liberty of posting a screencap from that video in Photos.

Although it mistakenly calls the street Forest Boulevard, this item from the “New Theatre Projects” section of the September 23, 1933, issue of Motion Picture Herald is clearly about the White Theatre:

“DALLAS— M. S. White, 508 Largent. Will erect on Forest Boulevard theatre to cost, $40,000. Architect, W. Scott Dunne, Melba Building.”

The White Theater opened to the public for business January 6, 1934 showing “Saturday’s Millions”. Operated by M.S. White, the original owner of the Dal-Sec, the theater opened with seating for 1,000 patrons. The theater was at 2720 Forest Avenue at the corner of Forest Ave. and Oakland (which would be now MLK Blvd. at Malcolm X Blvd.) and served as a neighborhood second-run house. The Dallas Morning News described the White clientele as the “crossroads of Dallas where toughie and gentleman, gentile and Jew, mingle in harmony in sort of community center.” By the end of the theater’s 21-year run, “toughies” had the upper hand and “harmony” was clearly gone as the theater’s descent was rapid and crime-ridden.

White’s operation of the White was not quite two years as on August 31, 1935, Interstate Circuit bought the White, Forest and Dal-Sec. Interstate opened “In Caliente” as its first show with Joseph Luckett moving from the Melrose to manage the White Theater. Luckett inaugurated midnight shows every Saturday beginning in 1938, experimented with an all-Yiddish film and had live stage shows as added attractions on weekends. His connection with the neighborhood and family night offerings led people to call him simply, “Uncle Joe” as he ran the theater into his 80s up to Interstate’s selling of the theater. (“Uncle Joe” would also manage the Forest Theater in 1949 along with continuing his duties at the White and retired at the Forest at age 87.)

On August 27, 1952, Interstate sold the White to A.J. Vineyard who had a four-day celebration and would also celebrate the 20th anniversary of the theater in the summer of 1954. The celebration would be the last festive event for the White. Multiple armed robberies at the neighboring liquor store had to have taken their toll as Vineyard, himself, was a victim of one of the liquor store robberies. The theater, itself, also was robbed at the box office. So it’s not surprising that Vineyard left the White Theater’s high crime rate area almost immediately after the anniversary celebration and he bought the Trinity Theater rebranding it as the Ewing Theater in August of 1954.

W.M. Burns took on the theater and – under the White Theater nameplate – it ended badly with negative publicity when an 8-year old was locked in the theater overnight and was injured trying to escape. Burns attempted to rebrand the theater as the Elite Theater catering to African American audiences starting in July 1955. Almost immediately, labor protests appear to be the death knell for the short-lived Elite Theater as union protestors picketed at its outset. The Elite Theater also held African American church services at the property under Burns leadership through December 1955 which appears to be the end of the theater’s life. In 1956, the property became split up using the marquee for the Elite Restaurant and another section used for a pawn shop. The Elite was renamed the Seashore Restaurant a decade later. The property was offered for sale in 1965, apparently sold, demolished, and appears on the DCAD in the 2010s as 2720 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. — a vacant lot worth less than $20,000.

In sum, the White/Elite Theater staggered to its ending at just 21 years yet — due to the declining neighborhood fortunes — even that was about a year or two longer than it should have been operating.

I just reset the google maps street view to what I believe is the building that once housed the old White Theatre. There is not consensus, however, as notlesu68 has brought up a couple of good points, namely the proximity of the White to the Colonial (1702 Forest Avenue/MLK) as well as to the Forest Theatre (1900 block). His point about the Colonial is in a comment he posted on my flickr site, which I will reproduce below.

My response to the White being close to the Forest is simply that the Forest, being built by Interstate in 1947 with a seating capacity of 1400, replaced both the White (880, though I’m not at all sure the building at 1628 had that capacity) and the Colonial (475) – if the two older Interstate theatres were still in operation when the Forest opened, it’s certain they didn’t last much past that date, certainly not into the 1952-53 era (DMN archives should bear this out) – the whole neighborhood south of the 1800 block was changing fast by the late 1940’s, and even the beautiful Forest would not last long.

Here the link to my flickr page showing another view of 1628 MLK, with notlesu’s comment and my response. From these, you can draw your own conclusions:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66262530@N08/6027614302/in/photostream

BTW, I truly appreciate such engaging opposing views as notlesu66’s and the thought they provoke.

Could this be it (see link)? http://www.flickr.com/photos/66262530@N08/6027614302/in/photostream

BTW, Chuck, I do NOT mean to SHOUT when I capitalize – sorry! You are usually right on with your excellent info!

Sorry, Chuck, but the book is wrong this time – there never was a White Theater at the mall location on Forest LANE. That may be the site of some other former theater, but not the former Interstate theater spotlighted here – THIS theater WAS located on Forest AVENUE, part of which is now known as MLK Blvd.

Jeanette Howeth Crumpler, in her book about Dallas theaters of old, “Street of Dreams,” quotes Betty Garner on p. 202: “My grandmother and two aunts lived on South Boulevard (one block over from Forest Avenue/MLK). They would walk at night to the White Theater every time the shows changed…”

Ms. Garner also recalls working with her sister as a “candy girl” at the “old White Theater on Forest Avenue.”

if this is the place where i went today,its in shopping center/mall built in the 60s.the theatre is now a antique mall and if you go to the “basement” your pretty much in the front row section of the theatre,the curtain rods are still there with a curve and out in front are the marquee glasses.you can also go up stairs to the projection room(im not sure if it had a balcony or not).when i first went there i thought it was a former supermarket,but that change with entering.ill post pics later this week.

charlie