When Elaine and I went on our Photo Hunt last Thursday, part of our mission was to capture images of the River Oaks Shopping Center. The River Oaks Theater shown here was built in 1939 as part of the landmark River Oaks Shopping Center, one of the oldest shopping centers in the United States. This building, along with the Alabama Theater in Houston, “are examples of late-1930s Art Deco design and are among a handful of viable retail buildings of their age and style in the city.”
Weingarten Realty Investors, which owns the shopping center, has reportedly notified tenants that it plans to demolish the River Oaks Theater to make way for a bookstore and high-rise residential buildings.
Normally witnessing renovation in progress is a wonderful thing. However, there is quite a battle going on in Houston now, as the citizens hope to Save the River Oaks Theater. You can read more about it here.
Help save this Houston landmark.
On an interesting side note, when we were taking photos earlier in the evening we were told by one of the tenants that they were never told by Weingarten that the theater is at risk. Interesting, since that is what the Chronicle is reporting (along with countless other sources) and has been since July or so. They have had plenty of time to correct this with the media if it isn’t true. I think the store owner might have had his facts crossed.
7 replies on “Change is Not Always a Good Thing…”
What a shame! I hope that Weingarten does not succeed in tearing down these wonderful buildings. I love the Art Deco theaters, and they are so rare these days.
A ton of us went and watched Fight Club there last night for their midnight movie and it was a blast, especially since the bar served drinks during the entire movie.
I’ve gotten everyone I know to sign it, so hopefully this will help save the theater. Someone else also suggested e-mailing Barnes & Noble to let them know that you would stop being a customer if they let one of their chains go in there.
Okay, I said last night, but I really meant last month. Oops!
Hey, that’s in my ‘hood…and I didn’t even know about the possible future of the theater.
It’s a very cool theater, but I’ve never seen it look as nice as you did in that photo. (Which is usually the way it goes with my naked eyes vs. your camera.) Nice shot.
I am so upset about this! When I was a kid, I was furious because they changed it to 3 theatres rather than 1 large one. I was also angry about changing the Alabama theater to a bookstore, but they did a great job with it. (Supposedly the Alabama theater is also going to be torn down.)
Hope to meet you soon. Let me know if you’re going to SnB anytime. It’s in my neighborhood, but I’ve only been there once. It was lots of fun–I’ve just been either busy or tired and cranky.
[…] But in the case of River Oaks Shopping Center in Houston, the protest this time has been to save the 68-year-old center. Here’s just one example of a number of posts on blogs looking to preserve a portion of the center and the nearby Alabama Theater, an example of Art Deco design. There’s also an online petition with 25,701 signatures. […]
[…] But in the case of River Oaks Shopping Center in Houston, the protest this time has been to save the 68-year-old center. Here’s just one example of a number of posts on blogs looking to preserve a portion of the center and the nearby Alabama Theater, an example of Art Deco design. There’s also an online petition with 25,701 signatures. […]