Now & Then
Enjoy your experience!!
Welcome to
San Antonio Theatres:
Now & Then
My name is Gary Yantis and I have been collecting the history of our theatres since 1978 when I had the opportunity to photograph the Majestic Theatre after it was remodeled.
I am joined by Bob Polunsky, movie critic and life time resident of San Antonio with 50 years of theatre experience. Also joining me is book publisher Alice Geron and Professor John Igo, theatre critic and live theatre historian. And now we are adding Gerald Lyda to our cast.
Princess Theatre, 1913-1929, San Antonio, TX, San Antonio Express-News.
I have been working on this website for about a three months and it now has 170 pages which can be viewed by using the Table of Contents or the Alpha-Index above.
The website is split into three main parts. We have placed the current theatres in the upper part of the Table of Contents. Just click on the company name and you will find the appropriate theatre. The theatres have maps and links to the theatres to view current
films and purchase tickets online.
Balconies, Majestic Theatre, 1929-present, San Antonio, TX, Photo by Gary Yantis.
The second part of the Table of Contents will take you through the history of the movie theatre business, starting with nickelodeons, then silent theatres, movie palaces, on down to a history of the older multiplexes.
The third section has links to historical theatres and websites in other cities, Bob Polunsky's page, movie ads, and some famous people that have contributed to San Antonio's theatre history.
Wonder Theatre, 1965-1987, San Antonio, TX, photo by Gary Yantis.
We hope you enjoy this site and come back and see us often. It is always changing.
Gary YantisPlea: If anyone has information or photographs on any of the old theatres in San Antonio and they would like to share the information or pictures, we would be glad to post that information on the appropriate page, giving full credit.
The feed for the Justin TV is located below. Welcome to the Hi-Ho Theatre.
See snack bar ad, cartoons, serials, newsreels, previews and a double bill of b movies. Venue changed every Wednesday.
Click on the arrow below to start.
What's New:
Saturday, July 27, 2013
We are starting "SECOND TUESDAY" and it will be in a local theatre as soon as arrangements are made. We hope to have the group going by September or October of this year. Come visit us at Facebook.
Alright, we have movies, and now a location. We are in the Fountain Blue Event Center on San Pedro nexto Jim's Restaurant, Ramsey at San Pedro, 4 traffic lights north of Loop 410. We're located in the corner, behind Jim's.
We have a choice to make. We can have sit down dinner for $10 a person and free movies or we can have snacks (candy, popcorn, etc.) and drinks for $10 per person plus our movies.
The location has room for 375 people so we have plenty of space.
First time will be second Tuesday, September 10, at 7:00 pm. Spread the word and here's to a nice crowd.
And I want to thank all the people for the nice thoughts and comments on Facebook.
April 13, 2010: I have just added an Intro Page with a youtube intro to theatres. I hope you enjoy it. You can always return to by going to Intro Page at top of header.
August 25, 2009: Just added a page for good friends of mine, Billy and Madeline Copeland. They owned the Children's Theatre and the Melodrama Theatre in HemisFair Park.
August 22, 2009: Mike Rivest contacted me to make some changes. I decided to create a page for him. He has an extraordinary site: Rivest's Ultimate list of movie theatres
August 19, 2009: We are glad to have Paula Allen, History Columnust at the San Aantonio Exprfess-News, as a new page on our website. Please take a look at her page. If you have any questions for her, please use the links on her page to ask your question.
Another new feature is Live Justin TV/gy2020. This is my live feed.
The new forum is up and running. It has a live chat on the home page. Please come over and join. Movie Theatre Forum
August 5, 2009: I've added Slab Cinema. The company shows ooutdoor movies in HemisFair Park.
August 2, 2009: I've added Jim Miller, a long time theatre manager with 30 years experience, 1968-1998. Please see his page.
July 27, 2009: I have added a new page for Bill Bremer. He contacted me yesterday. He is the grandson of Eddie Bremer, a theatre manager for Interstate Theatres in Houston. Eddie Bremer worked for Karl Hoblitzelle for over 50 years. Check this page.
January Updates archived.
December Updates archived.
November Updates archived.
October Updates archived.
Taken with a Speed Graphic camera. I have the original 8x10. This picture was given to me by the long time projectionist at the Hi Ho years ago, John Bird. Be sure to enlarge and zoom in the quality is amazing.
Thanks for the memory of all the great Saturdays I spent at the Hi Ho!
Bruce Davis
Former Hot Wells Blue Devil
The above image was tweaked to Mel Brown.
