Historic Forest Theater reopens in South Dallas as iconic tower lights up after 60 years

A beloved South Dallas landmark is getting a new life. 

After decades of closures and millions of dollars in renovations, the Forest Theater is reopening,  with a new concert hall, retail shops, and community spaces. 

On Sunday,  its iconic tower will light up for the first time in more than 60 years.

Ninety-two-year-old Willie Mae Coleman grew up in South Dallas. When the Forest Theater opened in 1949, it quickly became the talk of the town. 

"That tower that stood out with the lights, that's how you'd identify yourself in South Dallas, and we'd stand out and look up at it and look up like this, "oh, my gosh, this is pretty," said Coleman. "We'd say 'one of these days they'd let us go in, yeah, one, maybe.'" 

The theater first opened as a whites-only venue in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood. By 1956, demographics had shifted, and the theatre began serving black audiences. Meanwhile, highway construction split the neighborhood, destroying thousands of homes and triggering economic and community changes. Coleman eventually got her chance to step inside.

"We had a good time, oh, it was so nice to see the big musicians come to our community," Coleman said. 

The theater closed in 1965 as ticket sales declined. But despite the closing, there were still pop-up shows over the years, including acts like Tina Turner, B.B. King, and Gladys Knight. From 2002 to 2008, Grammy winner Erykah Badu helped revive the venue, but after another period of activity, it fell quiet again.

"It was a wave of openings and closures," said Elizabeth Wattley, the president and CEO of Forest Forward, the non-profit spearheading the grand reopening. 

 Until now. The historic theater is reopening to the community on Sunday after several years of restoration and neighborhood revitalization. 

"We are going to light the tower for the first time in over 60 years," Wattley said. "I hope that people feel the revival, the renaissance, the arts that are here, the rejuvenation, the revitalization, right. I hope they see that light come on and know that it is a new day of things that are designed and built for them to use." 

Preservation Dallas says that saving historic places impacts the city as a whole. Forest Theater received a historic land designation in 2015. 

"A lot of people might feel like it's only impactful to this area of Dallas, but in fact, it is so important to the fabric of what makes Dallas an incredible city. We have incredible historic spaces across the city. They take time, effort, and funding to be able to take care of in perpetuity," said Sarah Crain with Preservation Dallas. "And when we save places like this, we're really saving stories. We're saving Dallas history stories, and we want to be able to save them for the next generation of Dallasites." 

The revamped venue will feature an education lab, recording studios, community meeting areas, and retail.

"We can do concerts, plays, dance, comedy, rentals, weddings, so it was absolutely designed to accommodate a number of events and opportunities," said Wattley. 

And while there's fresh paint and new tiles, the essence of the theatre still remains. For Coleman, who once could only admire the theater from the outside, witnessing its revival is a dream come true.

"This is so exciting, I ain't never seen anything like this in our neighborhood," Coleman said. "I'm so happy. I told them I'm coming every day." 

The grand return of the theater is on Sunday, Nov. 1.

Tickets are still available. For more, click here.