|
| |
HISTORY OF THE HOWARD
|
Click to visit our
Newspaper Article Archive |
 |
1914 the Howard
Theatre when
it was across the street |
1935 as the Rita Theater, before the
Howard Theatre moved in from
across the street |
 |
 |
|
1998 The Howard Theatre
|
2004 remodel
(the really neat stuff is inside) |
| <this section still under
construction so please bear with us...if you have any historical additions
you wish to be added to the history page feel free to email us! We would
love to hear from you!> |
The Howard Theatre, as it stands today was
actually the Rita Theatre. It was built in 1925 or 1926 by Howard
Bland and showed all the B-run movies in town. The original Howard Theatre,
which ran the first run movies, was built in 1914 and was across the street
from the Rita.
In the 1950s, the Blands moved the sign off of the original Howard and
closed that theater, in order to open the newly refurbished Rita/New Howard. Sometime
during the late 1950s or early 1960s, the theater was sold to the Rowley
United division of United Artists Theatres.
In 1972, the theater was twinned into its present configuration by adding a
stage and wall at the end of the balcony creating an upstairs and downstairs
auditorium.
In 1990, United Artists sold the theater back to F. Rhea Cromwell, a
descendant of Howard Bland. In turn, the Cromwells have leased the theater
out to several different individuals until 1999, when the current owner
purchased the building outright from the Cromwells.
Information courtesy of William T. Parr.
Contributed by Jake Carter
|
|
