The Poly Theater is on the block again, this time at $39 a square foot.
The theater built in 1950, at 3200 Strong Ave. and consisting of 5,150 square feet, is going for $200,000, according to LoopNet.
It is being offered by Ellis & Tinsley Inc. The building is vacant.
The property is zoned E, neighborhood commercial, which includes beauty/barber shops, bookstores, drug stores, studios, offices, public and civic uses and health care, as well as retail sales, banks, restaurants, gasoline sales, bakeries, and alcohol sales for off-premise consumption, and as part of food service.
“This property would be great for an owner user or an investor that wants to redevelop the site,” according to a summary of the property. “Minimal off-street parking, but the building is secure and has a recently replaced roof. Interior is in shell condition and ready for finish out. Would be a great music studio, private office, church, school, daycare, or any other facility that might cater to the neighborhood.”
Like the Berry and Ridglea, the Poly Theater was built during time when suburban, neighborhood theaters were a thing. The most famous of these probably was the Texas Theater, which Lee Harvey Oswald ducked into in 1963.
In Fort Worth, the first of its kind was the New Tivoli on Magnolia. Fort Worth historian Richard Selcer wrote in the Star-Telegram that New Tivoli’s success led to construction of others, including the White Theater; the Rosen in Lake Worth in 1941; the Bowie on Camp Bowie and the Tower at Six Points in 1942. The New Isis, which is enjoying a resurgence after renovation, made its debut on North Main in 1944.
The Poly opened in 1951. An ad with a headline “Our Sixth Anniversary Message” was published in 1957 in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“When we opened the Poly Theater, it was with mixed feelings of hopeful anticipation and optimism. It soon became evident, however, that we had filled a need for recreation and relaxation in the Polytechnic community. Times without number, you have justified our optimism with your splendid patronage. With the deepest gratitude, therefore, we wish to take this occasion to express to you our most sincere thanks. Moreover, in the future we have resolved to bring to you programs selected with even more careful attention to your desires and strengthened with the finest short subjects available. Each and every program will consist of the finest Hollywood has to offer.”
It was signed, “Yours for Better Movie Enjoyment, the Management of the Poly Theater.”
Actor Norm Alden, a Fort Worth native, made at least one stop there. He joined his mother to go see 1965’s “Red Line 7000,” a Paramount production in which he was a featured star.
“It was a funny feeling since I’m an old Paschal boy who grew up thinking Poly was enemy territory,” he told the Star-Telegram.
Alden went on to call “Red Line 7000,” a car racing film starring James Caan, the “greatest action” picture of the year.
One can neither confirm nor deny, but Caan was said to have later been a restless critic of the movie, calling the film “a joke.”
