The Downtown Fort Worth Movie Theaters

Once upon a time, before the development of suburban areas, the heart of any major city was “downtown”. It was the destination for both shopping and entertainment, and I’m fortunate to have been able to experience Fort Worth’s “old downtown” as a child. Seventh Street was the place to go for movies, with the Worth, Hollywood and Palace theaters all situated in close proximity to each other. I vaguely remember seeing Babes in Toyland (the 1961 Ray Bolger version) at one of the downtown theaters at the tender age of four, but the James Bond movies (Dr. No, Goldfinger) definitely made a bigger impression.
The view shown in this postcard is very similar to what I recall from when our family would go downtown, as we always approached from the west on Seventh Street. I have no idea when this photo was taken, but I’m guessing the late ’40s. This view clearly predates the addition of the neon “Reddy Kilowatt” sign at the corner of the Texas Electric building, Reddy being their cartoon mascot and spokesperson. That sign was a real landmark, one that has gone the way of much of historic downtown Fort Worth. I could be way off here, but I also seem to recall a Planter’s “Mr. Peanut” advertising sign somewhere in this vicinity as well.
The description on the back of the postcard is brief:

Typical of the “Cowtown” theater and shopping section, Fort Worth has a metropolitan population of nearly a half million people.

The construction of suburban shopping malls, Seminary South being the first, sealed the fate of the downtown theaters. A movie theater was present at most all of the shopping malls, bringing the shopping and entertainment duo closer to home. The Worth Theater, the most impressive of the three downtown movie houses, closed in 1971, the Hollywood in 1974. The Palace also closed in the ’70s, but I’ve been unable to find the year.