Yesterday, for the first time in nearly a year, I went to a movie–a matinee, by myself, which I enjoy. I went to see The Queen, and I loved it. Helen Mirren must get an Oscar nomination!
I went to our neighborhood theater, the River Oaks Theater, which many of us have long called Baby River Oaks, I think because there used to be a larger theater (demolished several years ago) down West Gray in River Oaks Plaza. Baby River Oaks has one large theater downstairs, two very small theaters upstairs, and I’ve seen some of my favorite movies there (lots of artistic and independent films) during my eighteen years in Houston.
Rumor has it the Baby River Oaks and the center it’s in are going to be demolished, which would be a tremendous loss to the history and charm of our neighborhood. Preservation is not a priority in Houston, as it is in other cities. This could be a double blow, because supposedly the demolition is to make room for a large Barnes & Noble. Our current Barnes & Noble is in the old Alabama Theater building (formerly the home of Bookstop). So the developers’ plans could mean the end of not one but two historic buildings in our area. It’s one of the few features of Houston that I despise, this refusal to find a way to incorporate the new into the old.
There’s an online petition for anyone familiar with Houston who’s interested in sending a message to the developer, Weingarten Realty. All we can do is try…
You may have also seen this icon on Rhonda’s LJ:
Detail of the Alabama Theater bookstore, with interior art deco features left intact:
Image from laanba on flickr.
Signed, sealed, and delivered!
done. let’s hope it works!
by the way, i like this icon of you. 🙂
I want you to reconsider ghostwriting K-Fed’s autobiography .. today he gave us this gym
I want to go to Africa – I think it’s a place where you can go and really, really help people and make a difference. And it’s also a place I want to see – I’m into the safari animals and all that stuff.”
Come on Becks, you want to do it…
You mean there’s actually a place on the internet from which we can glean “wisdom” from K-Fed? The world may, indeed, be coming to an end.
I was going to go into som K-Fed inspired rap about hil brillance — then I noticed I used “gym” instead of “gem” Who needs K-Fed when I’m here.
oh… and consider it done
That was easy enough to do.
River Oaks
I remember back when the Baby River Oaks only had one screen and the balcony hadn’t been divided and closed in. Back in high school my friends and I would go to the double features (usually obscure/foreign stuff).
-Crash
Re: River Oaks
I wish I could remember all the movies I’ve seen there. The first one may have been Il Castrato with my friend Amy (she lived in Montrose before Tom and I moved here, so she probably introduced me to Baby River Oaks). I do remember on my first visit that four men behind us were having a scintillating conversation about an absent friend’s tricks, until one said, “That woman may not want to hear all this.” I turned, realized they were talking about me, and said, “Don’t stop now, please!”
Some other movies I saw there: Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Relax–It’s Just Sex, Brokeback Mountain, A Home at the End of the World, The Wings of the Dove, A Price Above Rubies… Movies that, if they played elsewhere in Houston, weren’t here for long.
I used to also like going to the Angelika, but I hear it’s not the wonderful place it used to be. As far as I know, there’s still Greenway Plaza, though I wouldn’t be surprised to hear it’s gone because of Edwards Cinema.