Arcadia Theater
717 Water Street,
Kerrville,
TX
78028
717 Water Street,
Kerrville,
TX
78028
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March 5th, 2017 article on plans for the Arcadia.
http://www.hccommunityjournal.com/article_ce8eb8c2-fdfa-11e6-ae66-d7d940081951.html
From the early 1980s, the Arcadia Theater in Kerrville.
Nice photo Lynne.
Here’s a photo from around 1988:
View link
Here is a 1984 interior photo:
http://tinyurl.com/yewqyum
I lived in Kerville as a child, ages 7 through 11, from 1942 through 1946. During those years there were two movie theaters in town, the Rialto which showed the first run films, and the Arcadia which showd the second run films. I originally paid an admission of ten cents which was increased to fourteen cents when a forty percent wartime tax was added. The Arcadia featured a Saturday matinee which was usually a cowboy film, a cartoon, a newsreel, and a segment of a serial. In both the Rialto and the Arcadia, there was always freshly popped popcorn which, if I remember correctly, was a dime for a box. There was also a good selection of nickel candies.
The Arcadia had a side door emergency exit that opened onto a sidewalk that also reached the publc (whites only) swimming pool. Many were the times when a group of us would go to the Saturday matinee, one person paying to get in and then going to that side door to let the rest of the gang in. Shame on us!
There were also the many times that I would be accompanied at the Arcadia by my dog Laddie who would sit in a seat beside me.
I have many, many fond memories of those five years in Kerrville, memories of my friends, memories of Tivy Elementary, and memories of the Guadalupe river. There are times when I think they were perhaps the best years of my life.
Here are some 1984 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/cu6mbz
http://tinyurl.com/c6bpmn
My photograph of the ARCADIA in Kerrville View link
My pix of the ARCADIA in Kerville:
View link
Update: so far nothing is happing with this place and plans to convert it to a dinner theater but i did read that there are still plans in the works they are waiting on funds to be raised for the boardwalk to be placed there along the backside of the theater where the river runs through. I would bet the devolopers for the the place want to see if the funds are raised first before starting constuction cause this plan hinges on that boardwalk being built if funds are not raised then i would guess they would abandoned any plans for the property or a the very least reconsider designing the blue prints but also now what a big factor is in all of this is with the constuction of a new 10 plex underway by rio entertainment and the impending construction of the gateway12 by texas cinemas the owners of the arcadia dinner theater had planned on showing movies now they might have to consider live theatre instead because once all is said and done we will have 3 theater locaions with a combined number of screens at 28 which includes the current plaza 6 theater. I just down’t see how they would be able to get good prints because kerrville is a small to mid size town with a population of about 28.000 to 31.000 and with the theaters we would have already by the time the arcadia dinner theater would be ready the other three theaters would be open and theres not enough(I THINK)population to support another theatre cause fredricksburg would have by then a 3 screen whose construction is almost finished as we speak.
I remember now it has gone threw some renovations like a new roof and there was no seats in the place but a whole bunch of used seats were donated and i think new wiring was to be installed but they still nedded new heating and ac units along with repainting the lobby. This was all done before the new arts center was announced though. Just a note by former bosses father used to own the place and it did have an overhang sign with two sides but after the theatre was closed sometime afterwards the some of plexy glass fell off onto the sidewalk below and the city just instead of replacing it pulled the entire overhand off the building and never replaced it.
yes but nothing has been posted in the poster cases for a long time and i remember that there was after it was announced about the new performing arts center that the city was consintrating on the centers devoplment instead of aracdia. All i know is evrytime i drive by the arcadia there is nver nothing posted in the cases outside as before the new arts center they had listings all the time and also in the newspaper
I live here in kerrville and i dont think there is nothing going on at the arcadia because back in 2003 the new cathlen center for the performing arts opened just a few blocks away on juction highway(its the citys olds municipal auditorum) in a a partnership with playhouse2000. Since then there that i know of have been nothing going on with the theatre since the new performing arts center opened. Its very nice with state of the art lighting and sound along with new studuim seating. I read though that if plans go through with a new sort of mini riverwalk like san antonio has is built then plans call for Arcadia to be converted to a Dinner Theatre with the entrance being i guess from the back along the river walk and the vertical sigh being moved to the backside of the building that is from what i could tell with the drawing that was in the paper.
I attended many a movie there when I was a high school student at Schreiner during the middle to late 1950’s. In those days, the Arcadia would change 3 and 4 times a week. The best new shows always played Sunday and Monday. I think the admission price was 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children. The bathrooms were clean, the popcorn fresh and the film presentation outstanding. The operator never missed a change over. I saw all three James Dean pictures there. EAST OF EDEN, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE and GIANT. I have lot of good memories of Kerrville.