The River Oaks Theatre Turns 87 on Thanksgiving Weekend by Replaying Its Opening-Night Film

"Newest, safest, finest neighborhood theatre." According to the building's National Register nomination, that is how the River Oaks Theatre was advertised when it opened on West Gray on Tuesday, November 28, 1939. The feature that night was Bachelor Mother, with Ginger Rogers and David Niven.

This year November 28 lands on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The theatre is marking its 87th birthday by showing Bachelor Mother again at 1:15 that afternoon, on the same date and in the same building as its first show. The rest of the weekend's schedule fills in around it. For anyone in River Oaks hosting family that week, the theatre's anniversary has quietly become the best-planned outing of the holiday.

Same Date, Same Film, 87 Years Apart

The anniversary screening listing calls it a celebration of the theatre's 87th birthday, with "the very first movie shown at the theater in 1939." The film runs 92 minutes and is scheduled for laser projection. Ginger Rogers plays Polly Paris, a department store clerk who finds an abandoned baby on the steps of an orphanage. Everyone assumes the child is hers. Charles Coburn and David Niven play the store owner and his son, and they offer her a job on the condition that she raise the baby.

The opening night in 1939 had a guest list. The National Register nomination for the building, filed through the Texas Historical Commission, names the speakers: Hugh Potter of the River Oaks Corporation, Houston Mayor Oscar Holcombe, architect H.F. Pettigrew, and the artist who created the interior work. The Houston Post ran a full recap the next day. Pettigrew's Dallas firm, Pettigrew & Worley, designed the building. The architectural documentation classifies it as Streamline Moderne, though Houston coverage has often called it Art Deco. Buck Winn Jr. painted the original mural over the foyer stair and created the auditorium's "Land" and "Sea" bas-relief sculptures.

Five Years Ago, There Was No Birthday to Celebrate

The theatre closed in 2021 and stayed dark for more than three years. Here are the main dates from the balcony renovation to the reopening:

1. 1986. The original balcony was split into two additional auditoriums.
2. 2007. The City of Houston designated the theatre a local landmark, according to the National Register nomination.
3. March 25, 2021. The theatre closed after lease talks between operator Landmark Theatres and shopping center owner Weingarten Realty fell through, as the Houston Chronicle later recounted.
4. March 2021. Texas Monthly reported that more than 100 people protested. Former manager Maureen McNamara helped start Friends of the River Oaks Theatre to push for its preservation.
5. February 2022. Kimco Realty had taken over the shopping center through its 2021 merger with Weingarten. Houston Public Media reported that Kimco signed a new theatre lease with Houston-based Culinary Khancepts, the company that runs Star Cinema Grill.
6. 2023 to 2024. A rehabilitation approved by the Texas Historical Commission removed non-historic carpet and seating, took off the fabric that had covered the relief sculptures, and kept the historic metalwork.
7. October 3, 2024. The theatre reopened with three auditoriums and a separate private lounge. The Texas Historical Commission lists it as added to the National Register in October 2024.

The people behind the restoration included Culinary Khancepts owner Omar Khan and development vice president Jason Ostrow. Robert Saucedo was named artistic director. When the theatre reopened, Houston Public Media described a main auditorium of nearly 250 seats, two smaller rooms upstairs, and new projection and sound systems.

The 87th birthday is the theatre's third since reopening, and this year the date happens to fall on a Saturday.

The Rest of Thanksgiving Weekend on West Gray

Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. The theatre has scheduled three events over the next two days that suit a mixed group of guests:

• Saturday, November 28, 1:15 p.m. Bachelor Mother, the anniversary screening.
• Saturday, November 28, 7 p.m. Unbelievable: The Magic of Jamie Salinas takes place in the theatre's 20-seat VIP Lounge. Seating is general admission, first come, first served, and tickets are limited.
• Sunday, November 29, 3:30 p.m. The Muppet Christmas Carol is part of the Essentials program, presented with the Alley Theatre and the Houston Cinema Arts Society. It is rated G and runs 85 minutes, with Michael Caine as Scrooge and Kermit as Bob Cratchit.

Together they cover most of a household. Saturday afternoon is a 1939 Ginger Rogers comedy for the guests who enjoy classic film. The magic show is for adults after dinner, and with only 20 seats it will sell out first. The Sunday matinee is a short G-rated film for the youngest guests, and it lands on the weekend that turns the season toward Christmas.

Also on the calendar that week: Persepolis on Sunday, November 29, and Best in Show on Monday, November 30, both part of the theatre's In Memoriam repertory series.

If the Guests Arrive Before the Holiday

November is a full month at the theatre. A few dates in the weeks before Thanksgiving are worth knowing:

Saturday, November 7. The Invincible Czars play live scores to Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror at 6 p.m. and Faust at 9:30 p.m.

Tuesday, November 10. Addams Family Values screens at 7:15 p.m. as part of Cozy Cinema. The house lights stay brighter, cozy clothes and quiet crafts are welcome, and guests who come 30 minutes early can join a DIY art activity led by Alexandra Drake.

November 12 through 15. Five by Almodóvar shows The Skin I Live In, All About My Mother, and Volver on consecutive nights, then closes with Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Talk to Her on Sunday.

These listings come from the theatre's Coming Soon page, which currently runs through December 17. Showtimes can change, so check the listing before you buy tickets.

Planning Around a Full House

Most of the hosting details are in the theatre's FAQ.

Parking. The garage behind Barnes & Noble, across West Gray in River Oaks Shopping Center, is free. Paid spaces are on both sides of the theater and in front of it. On a holiday Saturday, the free garage is the easier choice for a group arriving in more than one car.

Tickets. Regular admission is $15. Matinees before 5 p.m. are $13, and so are tickets for children 10 and under and for seniors 65 and over. High-demand titles add $1. Live events and special programs are priced individually and may cost more. In place of sales tax, each ticket carries a $1 historical credit fee that goes toward preserving the building. Online and app purchases add a $2.30 service fee per ticket. You can buy tickets in advance online or at the box office. The theatre does not take phone orders.

Food. The dining room is the auditorium. The dine-in menu offers snacks, entrées, cocktails, beer, wine, and nonalcoholic drinks, and guests order from their seats. Outside food and drinks aren't allowed. The theatre suggests arriving early so food orders go in sooner, and the lobby bar opens before each show.

Young guests. Children must be at least two to attend films rated PG or lower, and at least three for PG-13 and above. Children under two are admitted only to Kids Camp screenings. That means a two-year-old can see the G-rated Muppets on Sunday.

Across the street. If the group has time before the 1:15 show, Flea Style opened in March at 1963 W. Gray St., Suite A, in River Oaks Shopping Center. According to Community Impact, the Texas lifestyle shop has a custom hat bar, a Belt Bar, and space for private hat-bar parties.

The anniversary screening is the only listed showtime for Bachelor Mother. It starts at 1:15 p.m. on November 28 in the building where the film first played that same day in 1939.

At Wheless Realty, our family has been part of Houston for four generations, and we pay attention to the places that hold River Oaks together, the River Oaks Theatre among them. If you'd like to talk about the neighborhood, its history, or a property near West Gray, let's start a conversation.