Wallace Blankenship saw potential in Levelland, Texas.
Renovations are underway!
Our Mission and Vision: "To complete the restoration and renovation of the Wallace Theater as the premier boutique venue for arts & cultural educational opportunities, live performance, and film experiences because everyone in the South Plains deserves access to these opportunities in an outstanding environment."
To make our vision a reality, we must complete our capital renovations. They are broken down into three steps:
1.) Restore & Renovate: Maintain historic features, update to meet today’s standards
2.) Improve & Enhance: Expand space to provide more amenities & services
3.) Preserve the Future: Establish an endowment to ensure long-term sustainability and continued growth
Thanks to the generosity of our community and many area foundations, as of April 2022 we have begun restoration and renovation work inside the Wallace Auditorium. We will have the HVAC system, fire suppression, and a new stage installed by the end of 2023. We anticipate completing all Captial Renovations by December 2024.
Humble beginnings
The original Wallace in Levelland, Texas, was built in 1925, just across the street from its current location.
The first cooling system for a Levelland theater was an old dempster windmill at the back of the theater. It was driven by a three-horse electric motor and pulled in fresh air from the shady side of the building.
The location of the first Wallace Theater in Levelland came at the suggestion of Judge John H. Doyle, the county’s first judge. It must have been a bit of a gamble for Wallace Blankenship. According to Editor Orlin Brewer of the Levelland Daily Sun News in 1957, Wallace didn’t hesitate a minute at the suggestion of Judge Doyle. Wallace started working towards locating the theater here the very next day.
“I felt like Levelland would be a good town and would be the county seat,” said Blankenship.
He guessed right.
A NEW LOCATION
Where it stands today, The Wallace was built in 1928, and the original Wallace across the street was renamed the Rose; eventually, the Old Rose when the New Rose was built next door.
On Wednesday, October 5, 1949 the Wallace Theater in Levelland, TX reopened as “West Texas’ Finest," fully renovated to be the movie palace Wallace Blankenship had been dreaming of since 1926.
At the time, the Wallace Theater was a state of the art theater that boasted E-7 Simplex projectors, 4 star Western Electric Sound, fully upholstered opera chairs, and most impressively fully automatic (winter and summer) air conditioning!
The renovated theater included deep carpets to hide foot traffic sounds, a cry room, and a smoking room. The lights of the marquee were described to be as bright as any you would envision on Broadway in New York City.
By 1957, Wallace Blankenship had built the largest small town theater chain in America. “That a business enterprise such as he built could originate in Levelland will forever be a credit to the city, just as Blankenship was a credit to the county and area,” said Brewer.
Blankenship saw the potential in Levelland and that great potential is being realized and is still thriving today.
“That a business enterprise such as he built could originate in
Levelland will forever be a credit to the city just
as Blankenship was a credit to the county and area”
A NEW LIFE
In March of 2002 George & Iris Keeling had the opportunity to purchase the Wallace Theater. Motivated by childhood memories and a love of Levelland, George saw this as an opportunity to invest in and serve the community. From the beginning, and still today, it is a community project. People are excited to see something happening in the old building, to share their stories, and be a part of building the next phase of history.
Once the building was purchased George started a major clean out project. One of the first things to do was remove the 300 long time unwelcome residents of the building... pigeons. George hired pigeon catchers who removed the birds and found them new homes. Next was to to open up the drop down ceiling in the auditorium to reveal the beautiful scrolling mural from the 1950s. George hired students and local youth groups to help with a lot of the clean out to help them raise funds for school and church trips.
The loft space of the Wallace has been fully renovated as the first phase of the project. Visitors will see significant work and improvements in the lobby with freshly painted walls and stained concrete set to showcase and accent a variety of art work and styles. In the upstairs loft, originally the living quarters for the Blankenship Family and later theater managers behind the balcony, you will find a unique and beautiful venue with extraordinary views of downtown Levelland. It is really quite a site to see the lush green lawn and old courthouse from this vantage point.
A majority of the work and renovations that have been done are not visible. When George Keeling purchased the building over 20 years ago, there were significant structural concerns with the second story and loft. Steel beams had to be installed in the ceiling of the lobby to support the second story and additional steel work was done in the loft to reinforce the roof. The 501c3 organization was established in 2015 and the building is now owned by the 501c3 organization.
A Tribute to Royce Blankenship
On Saturday, January 11, 2020 Royce Blankenship, son of Wallace Blankenship passed away. Royce grew up in the Wallace Theater and had many fond memories of the Wallace, Levelland and his time in the movie business. We are thankful that he shared a few of those memories with us. We will cherish them along with his memory and will forever be thankful for the investment his family made to our community.
TIMELINE
1925 | The original Wallace Theater of Levelland is built
1928 | The new Wallace Theater is built at 823 Houston Street
1949 | The newly renovated Wallace Theater is opened
1957 | Wallace Blankenship has built the largest small town theater chain in America
Mid-1980s | Closed
2002 | George & Iris Keeling purchased the Wallace to restore and revitalize
2015 | Community leaders form non-profit organization to continue restoration and renovation efforts