Setting Sights on the Rice

On Friday, January 31^st, 1941, a new center of entertainment and community held its formal debut. Throughout the decades since its grand opening, the Rice Theater has hosted a variety of events from film screenings to Christmas celebrations, including political talks, workshops, community competitions, and more. Time has not always been kind to the theater, as it has undergone countless renovations and restorations and even closing down in the late twentieth century. There has been mention of the Rice Theater’s history here and there, such as on the City of Crowley’s website, the Acadia Tourism website, Crowley Historic Tour, Explore Louisiana, and other such sites, though some information has been left out that is particularly fascinating. The theater’s construction did not start off well. The original lot and project was bought and commissioned by the Southern Amusement Company in 1940 at a total cost of $48,520.42 including property cost, building permit and construction, plumbing, electricity, and yes, even air conditioning. Though it should have originally opened sometime in late 1940, the Great ’40 Flood that hit Crowley in August of 1940 delayed construction and pushed it’s opening back to January of 1941. After the design process was finished, the Rice boasted a capacity of one thousand patrons, quite a large crowd for the 1940s, especially under a single screen. For a long time, following racial tensions in the South, the theater would be segregated, where Black families were required to sit in the balcony, though there were always welcome to attend performances. The slew of entertainment that occupied the Rice’s schedule of course included films, ranging from horror films, action movies, documentaries, political commentary, and even silent films. Movie screenings were not the only events that crowds of people, often more than the Rice actually had capacity for, flocked in droves to see. One of the theater’s most popular events was the annual Christmas party, where children and their parents were given free tickets to see the chosen Christmas movie of the time, as well as given free candy and experience a Santa meet and greet, wherein Santa Claus would arrive at the theater on a fire truck spreading merry and spirit. In fact, in 1954, the annual Christmas celebration welcomed a staggering 3600 people, consisting of 1500 children, causing the theater to play the movie multiple times to ensure every family was able to participate in the festivities. Other community events included duck-calling competitions, children’s French-speaking competitions, copper matinees to support the war effort during World War II, fundraising events for various charities, and, prior to the city outlawing gambling in 1954, bingo nights featuring cash prizes. This theater represented the pinnacle of entertainment and community in Crowley, though history had not always been kind to it. On multiple instances fires broke out, there was attempted arson, called in bomb threats, and break-ins occurred, though that never stamped on the theater's spirits. Throughout the theater’s life, it seems as though it was always in repair. One such instance of these repairs was actually for good reason, where the theater began installing new film equipment in July of 1954 that could play cinemascope films with stereophonic sound. This was a unique experience, however, as the decades following would require countless resources and labor dedicated to repairing the theater on multiple occasions. An example comes from an excerpt of The Crowley Post-Signal in 1988 following the theater’s purchase after being closed for some years, stating that the smells and litter within the theater were nearly overwhelming. From 1986 to the early 2000s, the Rice Theater would be purchased by the City of Crowley in an effort to restore the center to its former glory, and as a result the theater’s name would be changed to the Rice City Civic Center in hopes of hosting more community focused events. Still, the theater continued to specialize in film screening, and its name was changed back to the Rice Theater in 1996. What is the least talked about, but possibly the most interesting, is the Rice Theater’s relationship to the afterlife. On multiple occasions spanning from 2012 to 2017, Louisiana Spirits Paranormal Investigations visited the theater in hopes of witnessing the supernatural, hopes that would come true. In reports from their visits, they experienced whispering on the stage, knocks coming from the stage and balcony, the piano ringing out with a single key, light coming from a hole in the stage door being covered briefly indicating someone standing on the other side, doors opening by themselves, and several interesting audio clips they obtained where they seemingly speak with the spirits that inhabit the theater’s walls. While it is possible these experiences were mere fantasy, they were clearly valid enough to warrant multiple return trips by the ghost hunters. Overall, the Rice Theater served, and continues to serve, as a pillar of its community, hosting films and public events that put smiles on the faces of the people of Crowley. Though its restoration project will likely never be fully completed, the historic nature of the building connects generations of patrons to each other, and those who knew the theater as it was decades ago can feel confident in knowing that new generations will continue to see it flourish.