Let's revisit the Hi-Ho Theatre, my favorite! (San Antonio, Uvalde: appointed, salon)

[gy2020]

This is a picture of the interior of the It Theatre (a carbon copy of the Hi-Ho Theatre



Here is an old pic:





I shot the following photographs in 2007, showing the theatre as it stands today. It is part of Southern Folger Company, makers of locks and bars for prisons.

















An aerial shot:



More:

Hi-Ho Theatre

Jim Miller 2

[outafocus]

The Hi-Ho was the only Quonset hut theatre in San Antonio, though they were VERY popular immediately following World War II. They were built in big cities as well as small towns.

Television really hit the theatres hard in the 50s, but the thing that really did the Hi-Ho in was they ran "The Outlaw" years after it's initial release. Before the Hi-Ho ran it, it was shown only in the outskirts of town in travelling "theatres" in the back of trucks that went from town to town. When it was decided to run "The Outlaw" at the Hi-Ho, the Catholic league of decency called for a boycott, and that doubled the whammy of television. "The Outlaw" did brisk business at the Hi-Ho, but in a city like San Antonio was at the time, losing the Catholic business was pretty rough.

The Hi-Ho was decked out with very nice seats and equipment upstairs AND downstairs. It also was equipped to show 3-D movies very well with a device that was engineered, and built by the owner.

[gy2020]

Thank you Outafocus!
I had a lot of fun in that theatre when I was in the second grade. Two of my neighbor friends (who were Catholic) and I spent every Saturday at the theatre from 10 am til 6 pm. It was a great baby sitter for my parents. This was during the summer of 1951.

We would sit on the second row so that we could pull the pig tails of the girls in front of us and throw spit balls. I loved the cartoons and serials and the double bill of "b" movies.
Great memories!

[Jules321]

I currently work in the building formerly known as the Hi-Ho Theater...I'm intrigued by the idea in knowing what other films may have been shown here. Does anyone know? I know by one of the pictures above, that it was Pirates of Monterey and possibly the Kansan and of course the Outlaw as mentioned by outafocus. This building is now part of the Southern Folger Detention Equipment Company and is where the Security Electronics are assembled...I've seen the Film Vaults that are still in the walls upstairs opposite the projection windows (both of which have been covered by new walls) and the stage area is still visible on the shop floor. i would like to collect the movies which played here and perhaps show them to my coworkers using an LCD Projector and screen. I think its a cool idea to show these films in the same building some 70+ years later. Any and all help would be most appreciated.

[Kthnry]

Originally Posted by Jules321

I currently work in the building formerly known as the Hi-Ho Theater...I'm intrigued by the idea in knowing what other films may have been shown here. Does anyone know? I know by one of the pictures above, that it was Pirates of Monterey and possibly the Kansan and of course the Outlaw as mentioned by outafocus. This building is now part of the Southern Folger Detention Equipment Company and is where the Security Electronics are assembled...I've seen the Film Vaults that are still in the walls upstairs opposite the projection windows (both of which have been covered by new walls) and the stage area is still visible on the shop floor. i would like to collect the movies which played here and perhaps show them to my coworkers using an LCD Projector and screen. I think its a cool idea to show these films in the same building some 70+ years later. Any and all help would be most appreciated.

What a great idea!

[outafocus]

I was good friends with the owner of the Hi-Ho and also friends with the long time projectionist there. Unfortunately, they have both passed on. Years ago, I went to the main library. They have microfiche of old newspapers. I looked in the amusement section to see what was playing in certain eras, and which theatres were open at different times. I remember I looked at the theatre ads for the day I was born in 1953, and saw what was playing at the Hi-Ho. For the life of me, I can't remember what it was. I remember it was a "B" picture, one that normally would play at a drive in at the time. You might check out the microfiche from the newspapers 1947-1955.

That projection room was very unique. It's the only theatre in San Antonio that had built in film cabinets and a built in rewind.

Another interesting fact was why it was called Hi-Ho. I always thought it may have had to do from the song from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". It was called Hi-Ho because it was between the Highlands and Hot Wells neighborhoods.

[Jules321]

Thank you Outafocus, I will try and visit the main library and see if I can find more information as to what other films were shown here. I've made a "HiHo Theater" wall in our breakroom, (one of the rooms behind the screen/stage area), there I have framed, the front view of the theater as it was in its day, the interior (I believe a picture of the IT theater, the HiHo's twin) and the three 8 x 10 movie posters of the films known to have been shown. I'm trying to get John Legros to give me copies of the photos he took when our building was being remodeled, of the film cabinets, which are still on the wall opposite the projection windows, both of which have been covered over with new walls. I'd like to frame those pictures as well and put them on my HIHO wall.

I have purchased from Ebay, Pirates of Monterey on DVD and The Outlaw also on DVD from Amazon, I've watched the Kansan on Youtube..my wish is to one day show these movies again, although the seating is gone, the screen is gone and projection area covered up with new walls. It would be cool to see these movies in the same building where they were shown some 70+ years ago. Since this building is now used to manufacture Security Electronics, the viewing would be only for employees wishing to watch this on their "off" time. we could probably project on a free wall using an LCD projector.

I've been employed here since 1994 and never really dug into the buildings history until now....I also think its cool that I was hired on or around the date the theater opened, September 20-something, 1994.

thank you again for your help

[outafocus]

You're welcome. The It Theatre was located in Mathis, TX and was owned and operated by Gidney Talley, who owned the Hi-Ho,and theatres in Uvalde, Devine, and Pleasanton. He was a very nice man and I feel lucky to have known and learned a lot from him. He and his family lived in an apartment in the Hi-Ho building. His son, Gidney, Jr. was a movie critic on KSAT in the 1970s and early 80s.

[Jules321]

I wish there were more pictures of the theater (as a theater) or of its interior (of this buildings actual interior), to see the living quarters looked like, without it being an invasion of privacy, all I see is office space. I'd like to have seen pictures of the projection room with the camera in place (or even in use) just to see its layout. There is a bathroom upstairs with a shower stall (I've actually used a few times after many of my lunchtime runs). I often walk around and think to myself, "if only these walls could talk!" Its a pity for me to have wondered about this place now that the people who actually owned and ran it are gone, but its awesome to speak to someone who attended showings here...its still a tap into the past, into the buildings history. I'm sure you'd be disappointed of what it looks like now, having seen it in its glory and splender. I only wish to be able to have seen it. I had not even been born yet... You say the Talley's lived upstairs, I wonder at what point the Youngbloods lived up there as well. but that's another part of the history.......

[Jules321]

its me again...I've done some research and found some near 400 movie titles that played here. I didn't find all the showings, lots of gaps in the dates of my newspaper archive search online. I still need to make a trip to the main library to see if any of those date gaps can be filled. I see that the last record I found so far is of Feb 20, 1959 as the last known movie shown which happened to be Frankenstein 1970 and Bowery Battalion. Then it was a Country and Western Music Hall, A Beauty Salon and even a house of worship to the Philidelphia Church. Then I read that it was Vandalized sometime early September of 1959...A Slashed Screen, burn Seats...Seems so Dramatic even....this has been an interesting investigation so far....its a wonder why this building isn't a Historical Landmark...

I did see a large gap in showings from 1955 through 1958, even a change in management, articles of lost purses and wallets here at the Hi-HO...but once the vandalism took place....everything went quiet.........then eventually Southern Steel (Now Southern Folger) purchased the building and Land making it what it is today.

I'm still in awe that Ms Patsy Cline Graced our once stage as did Ray Price.....very cool...How many times have I stood in the very same place she did.....these walls heard her voice, not via a recording.....have a great weekend