Cinema Houston: From Nickelodeon to Megaplex (Roger Fullington Series in Architecture)

Cinema Houston celebrates a vibrant century of movie theatres and moviegoing in Texas's largest city. Illustrated with more than two hundred historical photographs, newspaper clippings, and advertisements, it traces the history of Houston movie theatres from their early twentieth-century beginnings in vaudeville and nickelodeon houses to the opulent downtown theatres built in the 1920s (the Majestic, Metropolitan, Kirby, and Loew's State). It also captures the excitement of the neighborhood theatres of the 1930s and 1940s, including the Alabama, Tower, and River Oaks; the theatres of the 1950s and early 1960s, including the Windsor and its Cinerama roadshows; and the multicinemas and megaplexes that have come to dominate the movie scene since the late 1960s. While preserving the glories of Houston's lost movie palaces--only a few of these historic theatres still survive--Cinema Houston also vividly re-creates the moviegoing experience, chronicling midnight movie madness, summer nights at the drive-in, and, of course, all those tasty snacks at the concession stand. Sure to appeal to a wide audience, from movie fans to devotees of Houston's architectural history, Cinema Houston captures the bygone era of the city's movie houses, from the lowbrow to the sublime, the hi-tech sound of 70mm Dolby and THX to the crackle of a drive-in speaker on a cool spring evening. Cinema Houston celebrates a vibrant century of movie theatres and moviegoing in Texas's largest city. Illustrated with more than two hundred historical photographs, newspaper clippings, and advertisements, it traces the history of Houston movie theatres from their early twentieth-century beginnings in vaudeville and nickelodeon houses to the opulent downtown theatres built in the 1920s (the Majestic, Metropolitan, Kirby, and Loew's State). It also captures the excitement of the neighborhood theatres of the 1930s and 1940s, including the Alabama, Tower, and River Oaks; the theatres of the 1950s and early 1960s, including the Windsor and its Cinerama roadshows; and the multicinemas and megaplexes that have come to dominate the movie scene since the late 1960s. While preserving the glories of Houston's lost movie palaces—only a few of these historic theatres still survive— Cinema Houston also vividly re-creates the moviegoing experience, chronicling midnight movie madness, summer nights at the drive-in, and, of course, all those tasty snacks at the concession stand. Sure to appeal to a wide audience, from movie fans to devotees of Houston's architectural history, Cinema Houston captures the bygone era of the city's movie houses, from the lowbrow to the sublime, the hi-tech sound of 70mm Dolby and THX to the crackle of a drive-in speaker on a cool spring evening. Introduction Ch. 1. Staged origins Ch. 2. The nickelodeons Ch. 3. Bigger and better Ch. 4. The majestics Ch. 5. The main three : the metropolitan, the Kirby, and Loew's state Ch. 6. The later 1920s : you ain't heard nothing yet! Ch. 7. Will Horwitz, philanthropist Ch. 8. The neighborhood theatre, 1934-1949 Ch. 9. Hoblitzelle's interstate Ch. 10. Jim Crow and the ethnic theatre Ch. 11. The fifties : the incredible 3-d wide-screen technicolor stereophonic-sound ballyhoo parade Ch. 12. The drive-in : a view from the car seat Ch. 13. The sixties : the times, they are a-changin' Ch. 14. The x-houses Ch. 15. From multicinema to multiplex : safety in numbers Ch. 16. Let them eat candy : the concession stand Ch. 17. Beyond the fringe : midnight movies and the alternative cinema Ch. 18. Rediscovery in the age of the megaplex Ch. 19. Perspectives : an afterword Notes.