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The Rose Theatre Beautiful was not the first movie house in Bastrop when it opened in 1927. But it was -- and was meant to be -- the most impressive.
C.J. Goodwin, owner of the Princess Theatre, built the Rose for an estimated cost of $75,000 as a venue for silent motion pictures and traveling vaudeville acts.
Goodwin was the former mayor of Bastrop and would run a successful campaign for another term later that year. He named the theater for his wife, Rose Ames Goodwin, whose portrait now hangs in the foyer.
His opulent theater might be seen as a reflection of the Roaring ‘20s and the general spirit of the times.
The Mississippi River flooded northeast Louisiana in 1927, but it was also a time of unparalleled development in Bastrop. The Morehouse Enterprise reports construction of Bastrop City Hall and the first Bastrop High School, as well as new businesses such as the Coca-Cola bottling plant, ice cream and coffee plants.
The Enterprise reports on the grand opening of the Rose in the April 5, 1927 edition:
“All arrayed in its splendor, the beautiful Rose Theatre will hold its formal opening tonight. The event that people have been dearly awaiting will take place tonight, when this beautiful Temple of Amusement ... will be officially dedicated to the people of this city and parish.”
Tickets for the opening were 25 cents for children and 75 cents for adults. The first three shows were “Orchids and Ermine” with Colleen Moore and Jack Mulhall, “The Mona Lisa” with Hedda Hopper and Crawford Kent and “Dumb Luck” with Andy Gump.
Live music was slated for the evening by Miss Ruby McMathe, organist. There were also plans for the City Band to give a concert outside the Rose before the doors opened.
“The theatre is modern and complete in every detail,” reports the paper. “The house has a seating capacity of 750. The seats are all modern, and are among the best to be obtained.”
Some of these original seats may still be found in the balcony and in storage.
The theater’s “beautiful color scheme” was designed by C.A. Roberson. The interior walls were painted in a graduated blend of light blue to dark mulberry; the ceiling was gold; the woodwork was walnut-finished; and the arch over the stage was of “Italian finish, in gold and purple colors.”
Not many people know the Rose was built with a basement, divided into a large room and a smaller crawl space beneath the stage. The original purpose of the basement is unknown.
The Rose Theatre Beautiful was not the first movie house in Bastrop when it opened in 1927. But it was -- and was meant to be -- the most impressive.
C.J. Goodwin, owner of the Princess Theatre, built the Rose for an estimated cost of $75,000 as a venue for silent motion pictures and traveling vaudeville acts.
Goodwin was the former mayor of Bastrop and would run a successful campaign for another term later that year. He named the theater for his wife, Rose Ames Goodwin, whose portrait now hangs in the foyer.
His opulent theater might be seen as a reflection of the Roaring ‘20s and the general spirit of the times.
The Mississippi River flooded northeast Louisiana in 1927, but it was also a time of unparalleled development in Bastrop. The Morehouse Enterprise reports construction of Bastrop City Hall and the first Bastrop High School, as well as new businesses such as the Coca-Cola bottling plant, ice cream and coffee plants.
The Enterprise reports on the grand opening of the Rose in the April 5, 1927 edition:
“All arrayed in its splendor, the beautiful Rose Theatre will hold its formal opening tonight. The event that people have been dearly awaiting will take place tonight, when this beautiful Temple of Amusement ... will be officially dedicated to the people of this city and parish.”
Tickets for the opening were 25 cents for children and 75 cents for adults. The first three shows were “Orchids and Ermine” with Colleen Moore and Jack Mulhall, “The Mona Lisa” with Hedda Hopper and Crawford Kent and “Dumb Luck” with Andy Gump.
Live music was slated for the evening by Miss Ruby McMathe, organist. There were also plans for the City Band to give a concert outside the Rose before the doors opened.
“The theatre is modern and complete in every detail,” reports the paper. “The house has a seating capacity of 750. The seats are all modern, and are among the best to be obtained.”
Some of these original seats may still be found in the balcony and in storage.
The theater’s “beautiful color scheme” was designed by C.A. Roberson. The interior walls were painted in a graduated blend of light blue to dark mulberry; the ceiling was gold; the woodwork was walnut-finished; and the arch over the stage was of “Italian finish, in gold and purple colors.”
Not many people know the Rose was built with a basement, divided into a large room and a smaller crawl space beneath the stage. The original purpose of the basement is unknown.
The Enterprise reports Goodwin planned daily matinees at 3 p.m. and evening shows at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. “Only first run high class and stock shows will be shown in the theatre,” according to the paper.
Skip ahead to the 1950s.
Film-going had become less of a formal experience and a more popular pastime for youngsters. The Bastrop Kiwanis Club held annual “Kids’ Days” at the Rose with free popcorn and special programs.
Carolyn Lucas of Bastrop said she lived a few blocks south of the Rose, near the old high school and the Coca-Cola plant. She used to walk to the theater to see movies.
“I remember they used to have Midnight Movies on Saturday nights,” she said. “They would show things like ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Dracula,’ scary movies. We would always go, and our parents would let us.”
Lucas has preserved a Rose Theatre handbill from April 1956, listing all the shows for that month.
“That was the year I graduated,” she said. “I kept [the handbill] in my yearbook.”
The Rose was showing “The Rose Tattoo” with Burt Lancaster, “Not as a Stranger” with Frank Sinatra, “The Lieutenant Wore Skirts,” “The Kettle in the Ozarks” and “Picnic.”
Lucas also recalls the Rose Drive-In, located in the area known as the Peach Orchard near the Bastrop Wal-Mart Supercenter. The drive-in was showing “Marty” with Ernest Borgnine, “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” with Spencer Tracy, “Good Morning, Miss Dove” and “Kiss Me Deadly” in April 1956.
Ticket prices were 50 cents for adults and 20 cents for children, according to the handbill.
The Rose Theatre continued as a movie house until it closed in the 1970s, and stood empty until 1985, when the Goodwin family donated it to the Cotton Country Players and volunteers began to restore the old building as a playhouse.
The Rose was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, and remains the only former theater in Morehouse Parish that continues to function as an entertainment venue.
