Sparks Theatre

dallasmovietheaters on April 1, 2019 at 5:01 am

The Sparks Theatre launched August 15, 1940 in downtown Cooper with Walter Brennan in “Maryland.” Sparks had opened his first theatre, the Lyric, in Cooper in 1916. He then opened a second Lyric which became the Delta, the Grand, and the Gem in Cooper. The Gem burned in 1933 and the Sparks competed successfully against the aging Gem and Palace.

Continuous operation of the theatre in the Sparks family ended in 1968. Mr. Sparks had died in 1963 and Mrs. Sparks ran until had 92 closing it with “A Fistful of Dollars” on May 30, 1967,

The Sparks reopened for one last short-lived fling in 1973. Its last showing was “Vanishing Wilderness” on January 19, 1974. An August 2, 1984 fire destroyed almost the entire structure. The remnants were demolished June 12, 1985. A newer structure exists in the theatre – which was on the North Square at the northeast corner.