Breckenridge Texan

By Jean Hayworth/Breckenridge Texan

Jean Hayworth

From 1950 through the late 1970s, Breckenridge offered entertainment in the form of movies at a couple of drive-in theaters on the west side of town. But, back in its earlier days, the city was home to several movie theaters, including the National Theatre, which has since been restored to its former glory.

Most people who lived in Breckenridge in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s likely remember the Corral Drive-in, which was located west of Breckenridge on Highway 180 West, near the road to O’Neal Drive. It was located on the north side of the highway, accommodated 300 cars and was opened by 1949. It was initially operated by R.A. Noret; however, by 1953, the drive-in was taken over by B.E. Garner, who maintained it until 1955, when William “Bill” Creagh took over ownership and kept it going into the late 1970s.

Families could load up and take a car full to the drive-in for a night’s entertainment that typically included cartoons and the latest news shown prior to the main feature. Sometimes, there was even a double feature.

In an aerial view picture, the Corral Drive-in was shown to still be intact in 1983, but it was demolished by 1995. The ramps and foundation for the movie screen can still be seen in an aerial view.

At one time, there was also a Breck Drive-in Theater, and a few former residents from that era also might remember another drive-in theater named the Trail Drive-in, which opened in February 1955. It was also located west of town, but on the south side of Highway 180 West. That drive-in entrance is now a deserted lot that sits between the Regency Inn and H&H Garden Center. It was visible in an aerial view in 1955, but was demolished by 1960.

There was a small business that sat on the southeast corner of where the drive-in was located, which also was demolished about the same time.

Before the time of the drive-ins, the downtown area of Breckenridge offered several movie theaters. In the 1920s and ’30s some of the theatres closed, moved and re-opened with different names. So, at times, it is difficult to follow which theater was which.

The Alhambra Theatre, which was adjacent to the Sager Hotel on the northeast corner of Breckenridge Avenue and Walker Street, was later known as the Palace Theatre. (Original image part of the Basil Clemons Photograph Collection, University of Texas at Arlington Libraries)

The Alhambra Theatre opened October 18, 1920, alongside the Sager Hotel on the northeast corner of Breckenridge Avenue and Walker Street.  By 1929, it was known as the Palace Theatre, which was originally located in the 100 block of West Walker Street.

On Feb. 24, 1921, a fire swept through “Block 10” in downtown Breckenridge, destroying or heavily damaging numerous buildings, including the original National Theatre. Just a few months later,  the Breckenridge American advertised the opening of the newly rebuilt National Theatre by F. W. Zimmerman on July 2, 1921, with a capacity of 500 seats, at a cost of $750,000, which may have been a bit of an exaggeration, according to the article. The theater was located in the same place it is today, the 100 block of East Walker Street. Later was called the Regal Theatre and then went back to being called the National Theatre.

This undated Basil Clemons photo of the National Theatre was likely taken in 1921, the year the two movies shown in the picture, “Why Girls Leave Home” and “Bob Hampton of Placer,” were released. (Original image part of the Basil Clemons Photograph Collection, University of Texas at Arlington Libraries)

In those early days, there were live, stage shows or plays in some of the theaters, and in the beginning, silent movies were shown in black and white. Gradually, the movies changed to include sound and eventually color.

In 1931, a 375-seat Plaza Theatre opened and operated through 1938. However, by 1939, it vanished from any listing, but re-appeared in 1942 and was listed through 1944, but then vanished from the scene altogether.

In 1945, the Buckaroo Theatre advertised to have 350 seats. There is a postcard of the main street in downtown Breckenridge, which shows the Buckaroo Theatre and the Palace Theatre and in the next block was the National Theatre.

The Anderson family — Will, Rebecca, Naomi and Elijah — arrive at the National Theatre for a December 2023 piano concert. The theater’s new marquee was installed last September. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Through the years, Breckenridge also had theaters named the American Theatre, the Ruby Theatre and the Broadway Theatre.

According to an article in the Breckenridge American in October 1967, the radio station, KSTB, announced that they were going to build a 300-seat theatre and it would be called the Regal Theatre. The radio station had purchased the old Palace Theatre, which was razed, so the Regal could be built in that spot. However, the Regal Theatre was never built. Eventually, the National Theatre was temporarily renamed the Regal Theatre, according to some sources.

In the mid 1996, the Friends of Historic Breckenridge took over ownership of the National Theatre, which had a collapsed roof at that time. Cavanaugh Garza and some other volunteers constructed a stage. On a very hot late April day the following year of 1997, metal chairs were set up in the open cavity, which would become, once again, the National Theatre. On that day, a group of budding, local thespians put on three performances of a play that Garza had written, called, “Pictures, Planes and Crude Oil,” as a fundraiser to get the extensive renovations off to a big start, which initially called for a roof.

The play included several historic figures of Breckenridge history that included Earl Akin, pioneer aviator and glider designer; Walker Sayle, the elected sheriff of Breckenridge in 1912; Basil Clemons, noted photographer from the Oil Boom era; Dr. Alexander Miller, an early physician in Breckenridge who was killed; and Frank Pellizzari, Jr., who had a boot and shoe repair shop in town and was head of the Boy Scouts. A few of the cast members included the Jim Bob Coody as Walker Sayle, Bob Sims, John Cook and Virgil Moore III, who all portrayed Earl Akin in the three performances; Kevin Simmons as Neal Jefferson, an attorney; Chuck Dollins as Delaney Alexander, manager of the Sager Hotel; Ky Ash as Dr. Alexander Miller; and Guyla White as Katherine Jefferson, daughter of Dr. Broyles, who shot Dr. Miller.

The National Theatre could have its own big story for all the renovations, which were completed over a period of almost three decades, with the Friends of Historic Breckenridge (FOHB) spearheading the process of getting the theater renovated, as money or grants became available, and even to this day, more renovations have been completed with new seats in the theater.

The American Theatre, seen in the background of this 1923 Basil Clemons photo of “Street makers paving Walker St. in Breckenridge with bricks,” was located just west of the old Stephens County Courthouse on what is now the southwest corner of the courthouse lawn. (Original image part of the Basil Clemons Photograph Collection, University of Texas at Arlington Libraries)

The original National Theatre, pictured here to the left of the Stephens Hotel, burned in a fire on Feb. 24, 1921. It was rebuilt later that year. (Original image part of the Basil Clemons Photograph Collection, University of Texas at Arlington Libraries)

A man on stilts advertises for one of the Breckenridge theaters in this 1926 Basil Clemons photo, also pictured above. This photograph shows the National Theatre, the Alhambra Theatre and the Palace Theatre. (Original image part of the Basil Clemons Photograph Collection, University of Texas at Arlington Libraries)