Dollhouse Cinema
119 W. Commerce Street,
Altus,
OK
73521
119 W. Commerce Street,
Altus,
OK
73521
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Video Independent Theaters Inc.
Styles: Spanish Gothic
Previous Names: Wigwam Theatre, Paramount Theatre
Nearby Theaters
Located on W. Commerce Street close to the corner with N. Hudson Street. Opened on January 9, 1921 as the Wigwam Theatre. It was renamed Paramount Theatre on October 29, 1933. It was still open in 1938, but had closed by 1939.
After the upstart The Movies 1 & 2 opened in 1969, Video Independent Theatres (a subsidiary of RKO) remodeled their long shuttered Paramount Theatre downtown, and reopened it under a new name, Dollhouse Cinema.
This was a cute theatre, with a nice size balcony, that was redecorated in typical 1970 styling; new tufted drapes covered auditorium walls, spotlights highlighted heavy stage curtains, fiberglass chairs were more comfortable than original metal seats, and a dropped panel ceiling improved acoustics.
Superior film booking helped the Dollhouse Cinema to be stiff competition for The Movies 1 & 2. When the twin Movies closed, the Dollhouse’s purpose was fulfilled and followed soon after. It was demolished in early-2011. The adjacent NBC bank built a replica of the Wigwam Theatre facade to a new building to house an art gallery.
Contributed by
Myrna Louise, Cactus Jack
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Recent comments (view all 20 comments)
This link has clear vintage exterior/interior images of the RKO Delta -
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The recently demolished Dollhouse Cinema sat on the rightside of the five story structure on W. Commerce off Hudson.
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Go to link below and type in “altus paramount”. Compare the two buildings on either side of the Paramount Theatre photo, then you will see that the vacant lot seen above is the exact location of the Dollhouse (AKA-Wigwam, Paramount) Cinema.
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Oh my God, I made a mistake four years ago … BFD!
All I know is what Joe Vogel wrote last month about the Delta Theatre. He says that the Delta burned down in 1954, and was never rebuilt.
Empty space pictured above was the STATE THEATER, North side of city square. It burned down. The PLAZA is on the West side, The DELTA was on the South side and the RITZ was on the East. The ALTUS DRIVE-IN was just East of the city. i grew up there and worked at the PLAZA and the STATE during the 50s.
No ads in the newspaper. Must had shown adult movies and the paper had an adult movie ban.
The original Wigwam Theatre was opened by H.K. Smith on the North side of the square on December 13, 1913. Due to ventilation issues, Smith launched the Wigwam Airdome on North Main Street for the warm summer months. On January 9, 1921 the “new” Wigwam launched likely in the same location.
Uploaded a later photo.
Renamed the Paramount Theatre on October 29, 1933.