CINEMA HOUSTON
ONCE UPON A TIME
Motion pictures were shown in Egyptian temples, exotic Spanish gardens, and downtown picture palaces fit for a king. Art deco theatres could be found in neighborhoods across the city, and kiddie shows were standard fare for a Saturday morning. Summer evenings could be spent at the drive-in, of which there were nearly two dozen to choose from.
Most all of these theatres are gone, with only a precious few intact such as the Alabama, River Oaks, Capitan, and Ritz/Majestic Metro. From the early nickelodeons and movie palaces to the modern megaplex cinema, these are the venues where Houstonians sought out their movie entertainment.
CINEMA Houston: From Nickelodeon to Megaplex by David Welling 256 pp., 226 b&w photos $45.00 713-782-5011
Cinema Houston celebrates a vibrant century of movie theatres and movie going 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. 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 road shows; and the multicinemas and megaplexes that have come to dominate the movie scene since the late 1960s.
Author David Welling is a writer and graphic designer who has written articles for such publications as the Houston Post and the Houston Press. His lifelong interest in movies (and the places that show them) served as the genesis for to this book. A native Texan – he was raised in Alvin – David lives in Houston with his wife and two children.
1 FREE (B & W) GALLERY POSTER FOR EVERY CUSTOMER WHO BUYS A BOOK! (A $20.00 VALUE)