Three Windows over the Wallace Marquee Hold a Family Story

Look above the Wallace Theater marquee at 823 Houston Street. The building tells two stories at once. Wallace and Rose Blankenship built the theater in 1928, but the three windows overhead were not just trim or office space. They opened from the family's apartment.

The Blankenships lived over the theater until 1944. Downstairs, people came for the movies. Upstairs, family life went on above Houston Street. The building was a business, a home, and a downtown landmark under one roof.

The theater was remodeled in the early 1950s. In 1954, it added CinemaScope and showed The Robe, bringing the new wide screen to Levelland. The Blankenships later grew their South Plains theater holdings to 23, including drive-ins. The Wallace kept showing films into the mid-1980s. Today, the building is a stop on Levelland's self-guided history walk. The marquee draws the eye from the sidewalk, but the apartment windows are still easy to spot from Houston Street. For years, someone went home at night by walking upstairs from the picture show.