Ritz Theater
1810 26th Street,
Snyder,
TX
79549
1810 26th Street,
Snyder,
TX
79549
1 person
favorited this theater
Related Websites
Ritz Theater, Snyder (Official), Ritz Community Theatre (Official)
Additional Info
Architects: Don W. Smith
Functions: Community Arts Center, Live Theater
Styles: Streamline Moderne
Previous Names: Cozy Theater
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
325.573.8880
Manager:
325.573.8880
Nearby Theaters
Opened as the Cozy Theater by 1917. By 1921 it had been renamed Ritz Theatre. It was renovated in 1950. It closed as a movie theatre in 1970. It was abandoned and became an empty shell.
It was donated to a community theatre group and has been recently restored, but the vertical portion of the marquee has lit plastic panels instead of neon. This appears to have been done during the 1960’s. The marquee is very odd looking. Both vertical and horizontal portions are polished metal, with very minimal red striping. The vertical portion leans away from the building and features a pole with a large neon trimmed mace on top. Building itself is a quite basic light green concrete structure with dark green tile at street level. Movies became part of the programing for a while, but it now presents live theatre and plays.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 22 comments)
A photo I took back in 2006 can be seen here:..
View link …
RAC Photography
From Snyder a photo of the Ritz Theater prior to its restoration and a photo of the Ritz Sign after the restoration.
I know my memory is not gailing but there was another downtown theater that burned sometime I think in the late 1970’s I was born in snyder and used to go back and visit.
The streamline modern facade of the Ritz Theatre probably dates from a 1949 remodeling designed by Sweetwater, Texas, architect Don W. Smith, which was listed in the 1950 edition of Theatre Catalog. Smith also designed a theater called the Joy, at Roscoe, Texas, in 1947.
We (the Ritz Theater Board) are currently having the electrical system on our sign redone. The last upgrade was in 1992.
Robhanhouston—-The Palace and The Texas both burned—-not sure of the dates.
An advertisement for the Cozy Theatre in the May 10, 1918, issue of The Snyder Signal announced that the house would open that day with the five-reel feature The Avenging Trail, featuring Harold Lockwood.
However, issues of the paper from 1917 mention a house called the Cosy Theatre. I don’t know if it was the same house, reopened with a new spelling for the name in 1918 or not. In 1916, there were ads for a house called the Reel Theatre. I don’t find it mentioned later than 1916.
The Cozy was equipped to present stage productions as well as movies. The December 17, 1920, issue of the Signal said that the Hurton Players had been presenting “…some high class shows….” all week, and would be moving on to Colorado following their final performance at the Cozy on Saturday night.
The December 16, 1921, issue of the Signal noted that T. L. Lollar had purchased the Cozy that week and had moved his family to Snyder. The sale was also noted in the January 6, 1922, issue of The Film Daily. Lollar went on to operate several other theaters in Snyder. The web site of The Ritz Community Theater also notes that Lollar bought the Ritz “…around 1921 when it was known as the Cozy Theater.”
Was this Theatre ever named the “Kozy Theatre”? I have an old movie poster for “Kozy Theatre” and it has Chero-Cola on it, I found it at an old antique store in PA thought it was neat. But everything is listed as “Cozy or Cosy Theatre”.
According to the Eldorado Success newspaper on July 3, 1997, The Ritz Theatre was originally known as the Cozy Theatre. The theatre changed its name to The Ritz Theatre in 1921. The Ritz had a major renovation in the 1950s during the Snyder oil boom. The front page of the Snyder newspaper on February 21, 1950, announced the reopening. At that time, Snyder had four downtown theatres and three drive-in theatres. The Ritz was the last theatre to remain open in Snyder and ceased operation in 1970. In 1991, the Ritz was donated to a locate theatre group. The building was set for demolition and was nothing but a vacant shell when work began on reconstruction. On June 27, 1992, the newly restored Ritz neon light was turned on for the first time since 1970. By 1997, the renovation had cost $250,000, all raised locally.
Now known as the Ritz Community Theatre. Live performances and plays are all that is listed on the updated website link. Ritz