Alabama Theatre, Art Deco cinema in Upper Kirby district, Houston, United States

The Alabama Theatre is a 739-seat movie theater at the corner of Alabama Street and Shepherd Drive in Houston's Upper Kirby district, built in 1939 in Art Deco and Streamline Moderne styles. The building now houses a Trader Joe's grocery store, which preserved the balcony, the entrance mosaic tile floors, and the ceiling medallion.

The 739-seat Alabama Theatre opened on November 2, 1939, screening Man About Town with Jack Benny; it was Interstate Theater Corporation's tenth Houston-area theater. Competition from multicinemas, television and videotape cut attendance, and the theater closed as a cinema. It reopened in 1984 as the Alabama Bookstop bookstore, later acquired by Barnes & Noble, and closed in September 2009 after 25 years.

Trader Joe's kept the theatre's history visible: the marquee was rewired, the ceiling medallion took 1,000 hours to refurbish, and the entrance mosaic tile floors and balcony were preserved. The store displays themed posters such as "Gentlemen Prefer Blonde Ales" and "Reservoir Hot Dogs", plus a genuine poster of Man About Town, the 1939 opening film.

The location is easy to find and Art Deco details are visible from the exterior, though the interior now operates as a retail space. Visitors should check current business operations before visiting, as access and hours depend on the current tenant.

Bookstop co-founder Gary Hoover said his architects arranged the conversion so the building could be turned back into a theater if the bookstore failed. The 1983-84 renovation kept the murals and balconies, and the store became Barnes & Noble's most profitable location before closing in September 2009.