What happens now to Fort Worth’s Downtown Cowtown at the Isis theater? Here’s what we know
Earlier this month, the lights at the Downtown Cowtown at The Isis theater were dimmed for good without much fanfare. The owners of the iconic movie theater located in the Fort Worth Stockyards announced Sunday afternoon through a post on social media that they were no longer operating the venue.
“Thank you to all of our patrons and visitors for your undying support of this incredible and unique vision we call Downtown Cowtown at the Isis Theatre,” a Facebook post read. “It is with the deepest sadness that we announce, effective immediately, we personally will no longer be operating the theatre.”
The theater hosted its last event Nov. 11.
After the final event, the building was more or less shut down without much fanfare or notice to the public, said Ryan Bijan, a volunteer at the theater who curated vintage movies to screen at the theater for his Cowtown Movie Classics brand.
Jeffrey and Debbie Smith, the theater owners, told the Star-Telegram that they will share their reasons for closing the venue at a later date.
How the Downtown Cowtown at the Isis theater got its groove back
With an earnest hope for a revival, the Smiths reopened the historic theater at 2401 N Main St. in 2021. The 500-seat theater boasts a single screen, along with a vintage lobby and bar. The theater building had been left to deteriorate for years, its future uncertain. Then the two theater professionals bought the place.
Many were excited to see the lights at the iconic theater come back on after 30 years in the dark. The extensive renovations took nearly three years. What sets the theater apart from the typical multiplex cinemas of today is that anyone can pick a movie from the rotating list of 40 titles to watch — they just have to be the first to show up ahead of the screening time.
A year ago, the theater’s most daunting challenge was letting its Fort Worth public know that it was back.
“We’re fighting 33 years of people being like ‘Oh it’s closed, someone should do something’,” theater publicist Lee Littlefield told the Star-Telegram last year.
The single screen theater showed movies three times a day, seven days a week and featured a 1920s style cocktail lounge. The renovations also allowed for the theater to be booked for private events.
The Isis theatre first opened over a century ago in 1914, where it was housed in the same building as a pharmacy, a Western Union telegraph office and a twelve key rooming house.
In 1935, a piece of film ignited and burned the building down, but the theater reopened a year later under the “New Isis” name. A few years later in 1942, the Marine Creek flood filled the theater with four feet of water.
By 1988, the theater had shuttered and sat dormant for nearly 30 years until the Smiths bought the building in 2016. Renovations begun in 2017 and finally in 2021 the Isis Theatre reopened.
“[The theater] has such a rich and tremendous history with it, we wanted to make sure that we honored that,” Jeffrey told the Star-Telegram in 2022. “We were spending as much time as needed to make sure we matched what was originally there. Our intent was to bring it back the way it was in the late 20s, early 30s.”
‘Y’all will be missed’: Downtown Cowtown Isis theater closing
It was a surprise to many in town as the news hit social media.
“Very sad news! Y’all will be missed!,” a comment read on Facebook.
Another commenter wrote: “I am very sad to hear this. We love the theater and all it has brought to the Stockyards. I hope it continues to be a bright spot on the Northside. I also want Jeff and Debbie to be blessed for their hard work in bringing the theater back to life.”
A few asked if anything could be done to reverse course. Others simply shared memories of past concerts and movies.
To those who worked at the theater like Bijan, notice came three days before the final event earlier this month.
“Nobody knew anything, we were often in the dark,” Bijan said. “Our understanding was that everything would be up and ready to go by December, but that was not the case.”
The movie buff did say, “They were able to do something no one else could in 30 years, my entire lifetime. Jeff was the first person to really take the initiative to bring it back to life, to make it happen.”
‘The memories and stories we all have created here will last a lifetime’
Not long after the theater reopened it hosted a red carpet premiere for “12 Might Orphans,” the the Fort Worth-inspired biographical sports film.
In November 2022, the theater hosted a red carpet premiere for “Yellowstone” season 5. Series creator Taylor Sheridan was in attendance, along with cast members such as Luke Grimes, Jefferson White and Kelsey Asbille.
Just a few weeks ago in early November, the Isis Theatre also hosted the 17th annual Lone Star Film Festival where the Sheridan-produced “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” debuted its two-episode premiere.
“Although this chapter is coming to an end, the memories and stories we all have created here will last a lifetime,” the theater’s Facebook post read. “It has been honor to serve and entertain the historic Fort Worth area for the past two years and we are all so incredibly grateful.”
