The Kay Theater

Duane's take

Now here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Kay Theater in Rockdale, Milam County — and friend, this one's worth pulling over for. It started with a hut. Not just any hut, mind you — a surplus Quonset Hut, one of thousands of those all-purpose corrugated metal buildings that came out of World War II.

In 1947, E. L. Bryan and the Foy Arrington family bought one of those leftovers and had it moved to Rockdale, where it was about to become something nobody expected from a military surplus building: the second movie theater in town.

Now, a half-cylinder of corrugated steel sheets is not exactly what you'd picture when you hear the words "streamline moderne." But that's exactly what local carpenter Jack Kyle, Sr. had in mind when he directed several Rockdale high school students to build the sloping concrete floor and the façade. A stepped plaster wall outlined in neon. An entry drum of plaster and glass blocks.

Paired double doors. A central sign. And up on each side of the rotunda, large letters spelling out K-A-Y — named, the marker tells us, for the Arringtons' daughter, Katherine.

Mr. and Mrs. Foy Arrington had something to say about that Quonset Hut shape, too. They said the architecture, and I'm giving you their words here, "lends itself naturally to excellent acoustics and a pleasing interior appearance." They weren't wrong.

That curved steel ceiling was doing real work. Construction wrapped up just in time — just in time for a Thanksgiving 1947 opening. Then the very next night came the dedication ceremony.

Postmaster Clyde Franklin served as master of ceremonies, and Mayor J. B. Newton stepped up to introduce the feature: "Rolling Home," starring Russell Hayden, Jean Parker, and Raymond Hatton.

Rockdale had itself a theater. Mr. Arrington manned the ticket booth and ran the projector.

His wife managed the concessions. Large box fans made the Kay one of the few air conditioned locations in town — which, in a Texas summer, is not a small thing. People came for the movies and stayed for the cool air, and that was just fine.

But the marker doesn't let us off easy here. As with similar facilities at the time, African American patrons walked upstairs to separate balcony seating. That's the reality of the Kay Theater's early years, and it sits right there in the inscription — part of the story, not apart from it.

The Kay closed in 1962. Sat vacant for many years. Then in 2004, restoration began through the Kay Theater Foundation, and today it stands as the last remaining theater in all of Milam County.

A surplus military hut, a carpenter, some high school kids, a neon-trimmed rotunda, and a Thanksgiving opening night. The marker puts it plainly: the Kay Theater recalls a time when going to the movies was a cultural event — central to the social life of many young people. Some buildings outlast their era by becoming the memory of it.

The Kay Theater is one of those buildings.

What the marker says

In 1947, E. L. Bryan and the Foy Arrington family bought a surplus Quonset Hut, one of thousands of the all-purpose metal buildings made during World War II. The hut was moved to Rockdale to become the core of the second movie theater in town. Local carpenter Jack Kyle, Sr. Directed several Rockdale high school students to build the sloping concrete floor and façade for the streamline moderne-style Kay Theater, named for the Arringtons’ daughter, Katherine. A half-cylinder of corrugated steel sheets forms the walls and roof. The entry includes a stepped plaster wall outlined in neon, an entry drum of plaster and glass blocks, paired double doors, a central sign and large letters spelling K-A-Y on each side of the rotunda. The owners, Mr. and Mrs. Foy Arrington, said the Quonset Hut architecture “lends itself naturally to excellent acoustics and a pleasing interior appearance.” Construction of the Kay Theater was completed in time for a Thanksgiving 1947 opening. At a dedication ceremony the next night, postmaster Clyde Franklin was master of ceremonies and mayor J. B. Newton introduced “rolling home,” starring Russell Hayden, Jean Parker and Raymond Hatton. Large box fans made the theater one of few air conditioned locations in town. Mr. Arrington manned the ticket booth and was the projectionist, and his wife managed the concessions. As with similar facilities at the time, African American patrons walked upstairs to separate balcony seating. The kay theater closed in 1962 and was vacant for many years before restoration began in 2004 through the Kay Theater foundation. Today, the last remaining theater in Milam County recalls a time when going to the movies was a cultural event and central to the social life of many young people. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2013