Cinema Houston: From Nickelodeon to Megaplex is a 2007 book by David Welling and published by the University of Texas Press. It, with 256 pages, discusses historic movie theaters, of multiple varieties, in the city of Houston.[1] According to Ron Briley, a teacher at Sandia Preparatory School who wrote a review for the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, the book is "essentially a nostalgic volume in which Welling laments that in its rapid urban development Houston destroyed many of the lavish movie palaces which once dotted the city's downtown landscape."[2] According to Aaron Carpenter, an undergraduate student at Duke University who wrote a review published in Cite: The Architecture + Design Review of Houston, the author shows his passion for the subject and that the book does not always have a tone of melancholy.[3]

Welling had the following steps in his research: he checked opening and closing dates and variations of names in directories published by the city government, then consulted newspapers-the Houston Chronicle and Houston Post-to clarify particular dates.[1] Welling went to branches of the Houston Public Library to get copies of photographs of the theaters.[2] Welling stated that the majority of the information he received came from the latter and that establishing the exact dates that a theater opened and/or closed was "the most time consuming" aspect of his research.[1]

The book has some discussion of theaters catering to arthouse cinema while most of the space is devoted to facilities for mainstream films.[2]

Briley wrote that by providing a chronology for the "thumbnail sketches", the author had "[made] a good effort to place the cinema of Houston in historical context".[2] Briley added that the work "is more descriptive than analytical".[2]

The now-demolished Metropolitan Theatre is on the cover.[3]

Reception

Carpenter concluded that the book "is fascinating, providing so much material for nostalgic reminiscences it is almost overwhelming."[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Gonzales, J.R. (2008-02-04). "A conversation with David Welling". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Briley, Ron (April 2009). "Cinema Houston: From Nickelodeon to Megaplex". Southwestern Historical Quarterly. Texas State Historical Association. 112 (4): 456–458. doi:10.1353/swh.2009.0047.
  3. 1 2 3 Carpenter, Aaron (2009-07-22). "Cinema Houston". Cite: The Architecture + Design Review of Houston. Rice University School of Architecture. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
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