Following news that came down the pike last week that Camp Bowie\u2019s historic Ridglea Theater was officially on the market, both fearful thoughts of redevelopment and ideas for improvement rushed through this writer\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n
While current owners Amy Herrig and Jerry Shults \u2014 no doubt saviors of the Ridglea when they purchased the landmark theater in 2010 \u2014 say it will \u201clikely be a while before a deal is made,\u201d according to reporting by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/a>, I\u2019m already keen on the theater\u2019s future.<\/p>\n A quick Google search allayed concerns of demolition and any subsequent construction of a multi-story Lulu Lemon store; the Ridglea Theater, which first opened in 1947, received landmark-protection status in 2011. So, we\u2019re at least assured the building and the iconic Ridglea sign will remain. Following this relieving news, I turned my attention to the theater\u2019s potential and what it could become. And for inspiration, I looked no further than a similarly salvaged movie house in Dallas: Texas Theatre.<\/p>\n Like many an old movie house<\/a>, Ridglea Theater\u00a0converted to a live music venue in 1997, hosting acts like The Toadies, the Old 97s, and Queens of the Stone Age. It\u2019s gone through its share of updates and renovations through the ensuing decades, and, in addition to music, now hosts boxing, comedians, and speakers of many ilks \u2014 the theater hosted Beto O\u2019Rourke just a couple weeks ago. And improv comedy troupe Four\u00a0Day Weekend also have a residency in the next door Ridglea Room. But conspicuously missing from the Ridglea\u2019s normal slate of entertainment is the very thing it was built to show: movies.<\/p>\n Now, don\u2019t get us wrong, Ridglea is a solid live music venue in a city whose local music scene is desperate for such spaces. But like Texas Theatre has proved since reopening in 2010, a movie house can do both.<\/p>\n Located in Dallas\u2019 Oak Cliff neighborhood southwest of downtown, Texas Theatre opened in 1931 and, following its heyday through the golden era of Hollywood, dodged its fair share of potential demolitions after the rise of the multiplex theater \u2014 one screen couldn\u2019t compete with 16. It also didn\u2019t help that the theater is inextricably tied to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy; Dallas Police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald a little over an hour after the shooting when he snuck into a showing of \u201cWar Is Hell\u201d at the theater. The city, understandably embarrassed and traumatized by the assassination, was itching to rid their town of any reminders of what had happened. Today, we\u2019ll note, the theater doesn\u2019t shy away from the incident and, instead, accepts it as a historically significant quirk that adds to Texas Theatre\u2019s eccentricity and mystique. Heck, they\u2019ve even commemorated the infamous seat where Oswald was captured with his name and date of arrest in gold lettering.<\/p>\n Eventually receiving a full reprieve once the nonprofit Oak Cliff Foundation purchased the building in 2001, the Texas Theatre would undergo a series of upgrades, renovations, and a new creative director before reopening in 2010. In 2019, Aviation Cinemas, a team of Dallasites hellbent on the survival of Texas Theatre and the exhibition of independent film, purchased the theater and immediately began plans for expansion, including the construction of a second theater where the balcony once existed.<\/p>\n When one peruses this week\u2019s lineup of happenings at Texas Theatre, they\u2019ll see a blend of independent film (\u201cToxic Avenger\u201d), international oddities (\u201cShin Godzilla\u201d), bizarro productions (\u201cThe Mummy Theme Park\u201d), documentaries (\u201cMore Than Santa Baby\u201d), and old favorites (\u201cJaws\u201d and \u201cThis Is Spinal Tap\u201d). The theater will also sprinkle in concerts, festivals, director and celebrity Q&A\u2019s, live podcasts, and, sometimes, an amalgamation of events \u2014 the monthly \u201cBehind the Screen\u201d includes a movie followed by a concert, you guessed it, behind the screen. It\u2019s also a major community supporter, hosting the Oak Cliff Film Festival and other events that showcase hyperlocal artisans. \u00a0<\/p>\n In a word, it\u2019s cool. And while Fort Worth has certainly done its part to bring moving making to the city<\/a>, there remains a lack of movie showing. And we\u2019re not talking over-air-conditioned multiplexes with reclining seats and overpriced nachos showing whatever cash-grab Marvel Studios just concocted. We\u2019re talking about the lack of a refurbished single-screen movie house with a thoughtfully curated lineup. Something that\u2019s become nearly obligatory for a major city to call itself just that, a major city. There\u2019s nothing like the Texas Theatre in Cowtown, and the Ridglea might be the perfect opportunity to right this wrong.<\/p>\n Of course, this has been tried before.<\/p>\n You see, there was a moment in late 2021 and early 2022 when the world of great cinema and Cowtown were in alignment. Fort Worth had two \u2014 yes, two \u2014 off-kilter, single-screen movie theaters: The Grand Berry in the Foundry District and The Downtown Cowtown at The Isis<\/a> in The Stockyards. The latter being the only other historic, art deco movie house in Fort Worth that has retained some semblance of a theater \u2014 the old Bowie Theater doesn\u2019t count because it now sports a Frost Bank sign. Like Ridglea, the Isis had been refurbished and reopened in 2021. Though it would remain open for only two years, the theater hosted multi-day events (Lone Star Film Festival), world premieres (\u201c12 Mighty Orphans\u201d), on-going community gatherings (Cowtown Movie Classics), concerts, and allowed guests to select their own programming from 40 titles the theater had in rotation.<\/p>\n