Alabama Bookstop Theater: The Balcony Is Closed for This Performance

You were maybe planning to stop by the Bookstop in the old Alabama Theater on Shepherd for one last browse before the store closes on September 15th? Do a little clearance-sale shopping, grab a coffee up on the balcony and look out over that live-on-stage magazine stand?

It may be a little too late for that now. On the Houston Press Twitter feed this weekend, Katharine Shilcutt reported that the upper levels of the store are already cleared and closed . . . for good.

Photo: Houston Press

6 Comment

  • Wow, this is so sad. One more unique place gone:(

  • yes, booooo.

  • Did some bargain shopping there this weekend. Don’t write it off yet! There are still some great things on clearance, and a lot of the books that would normally have been housed in the balcony (business, reference, etc.) have been moved downstairs. I think they’re just trying to consolidate as they start to clear out.

  • I was just over there a week ago. I moved into town on W Dallas not too long ago, and visited this place Tuesday of last week for the first time. I was flabbergasted (in a good way) to see the architecture. Good stuff like this is so rare. Then I realized it was closing…if only I’d known about it sooner.

    I do have one bright spot though, someone decided my blog was fun enough to sponsor a giveaway of a funky modern kitchen item. The link is below if anyone is interested.

    http://sporkintherd.blogspot.com/2009/08/twisted-giveaway.html

  • Genuinely sad to see it go. Lived right around the corner from the Alabama as a kid back in the 70’s. When I was 10, my mother (yes, my mother) took me there to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show during its hey-day as the ultimate midnight movie experience. It blew my tiny little mind.
    The interior of the cinema was magical. I can’t even remember just how many movies I saw there (or even how many I snuck into!) but I vividly remember sitting in that theater and looking at the gothic art-deco and feeling that long lost thrill of being at the cinema, even if the film was rubbish. So long Alabama, you’ll be fondly remembered.