St. Elmo Theatre

The St. Elmo Theatre was an African American theatre opened in 1918 by Abraham Schulman in Houston’s Fourth Ward business district at 711 West San Felipe Street which had changed its neighborhood name from Freedman Town to the San Felipe District. At that point, the Schulmans operated four other Houston theaters and would form a circuit in 1926. The St. Elmo Theatre was joined by five other theatres in the silent era catering to African American audiences. A neighboring drug and candy store served as the St. Elmo’s de facto concession stand.

In addition to the theatre and confectionery, business neighbors to the St. Elmo Theatre included a barbecue stand, barber, and dry goods store. The street’s name of San Felipe held great meaning as it represented the edge of the San Felipe Trail, a slave route that ended in freedom within this prosperous African American business district. The city saw fit to change the name of the street to West Dallas Street in 1926, a name that didn’t hold the historical significance of its predecessor.

The Depression hit and the theatre and candy store were taken over by the dry goods store operator, Albert Farb. Farb would become a major theatre operator in town before moving out of that space.

In 1930, Farb converted the St. Elmo Theatre to Western Union sound-on-film technology to remain viable. The St. Elmo Theatre appears to have closed on February 7, 1938 at the end of its lease with Bette Davis in “Marked Woman” and Johnny Mack Brown in “Wild West Days”. The theatre has since been demolished.

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